Don’t fret, SMS analytics will be your assistant to identify patterns and trends so you can predict the future with confidence and make informed decision for your school.

In the context of a modern school management system, the role of analytics refers to educational data analytics where each student’s behaviour, performance, participation, growth, and even decline can be identified and resolved upon receiving insights.  

Schools themselves can fully capitalize on analytics to keep tabs on the numerous financial channels of the school, such as revenues, funding, and expenditures.

In this discussion, we will explore the ways analytics has revolutionalized educational institutions comprehensively-

What is Analytics in a School Management System?

In essence, analytics revolves around the collection, processing, and interpretation of data that influence pivotal decisions when you are at a crossroads.

When SMS software incorporates analytics, it traces down trivial to major intels from a myriad of sources—such as attendance logs, student performance records, financial reports, administrative procedures etc. Once the system generates all these data, it fleshes out meaningful insights, offering the opportunity to amplify the teaching quality, student outcomes and efficiency of your institution.

In layman’s terms analytics crawls over the data your SMS software produces and extracts the hidden secrets regarding your current and potential opportunities along with consumer behavior which transcends demographics. You will identify patterns and trends that are not transparent immediately, helping your school to solve problems before they escalate. This approach will let you predict future trends so you can stay ahead of time and optimize daily operations.

Now, from a more technical standpoint, school analytics mostly implement specialized software to accumulate real-time data from an array of systems, such as learning management systems, financial management, attendance tracking, etc. Afterwards, the system employs algorithms or statistical methods to analyze all the data and offer tangible takeaways.

Key Analytics Tools In School Analytics Software

In this segment, we will have a quick lowdown on the analytics tools used in SMS analytics software so that everything pans out effectively in the end:

• Revisiting the Past with Descriptive Analytics:

Through descriptive analytics tools, your organization receives a synopsis of the historical data that is more like a look back to what transpired in the past. In the educational framework, this type of analytics reviews historical enrollment data to track year-over-year changes, such as department-centric trends and shifts in demographic representation.

Furthermore, analyzing attendance patterns reveals critical issues like severe absenteeism, seasonal fluctuations, and departmental trends. This understanding equips your organization with the knowledge needed for effective resource allocation, program modifications, and addressing potential student drop-offs.

Having such analytics will prompt you to ask the right questions, such as

“ What Happened?” and the answer will be handed over to you with strategic solutions. Instead of mulling over every reason why things went south, you will receive a clear and straightforward explanation of what occurred and what to do!

• Uncovering the “why” behind institutional Trends with Diagnostic Analytics:

What sets descriptive analytics and diagnostic analytics apart is the way they collect and depict data. While the former gives you specific answers to ‘why,’ this one offers a comprehensive look at what has happened beyond reporting. It digs deeper to uncover why particular outcomes or events are emerging.

This tool assists educators, administrators, and policymakers in fathoming the crux of the matter behind perceivable patterns or trends in the data. For example, descriptive analytics shows that student performance in a specific course is declining, while diagnostic analytics goes the extra mile to spot the underlying causes.

It analyzes everything by correlating several data points, providing valuable insights into teaching methods, curriculum alteration, student engagement metrics, and external influences.

• Early Intervention with Predictive Analytics:

This tool helps organizations to anticipate trends and make reasonable decisions. For example, it takes stock of student’s past performance, attendance, and engagement ratio to forecast academic success and locate the students who may be at risk of underperforming.

The essence here is the “early detection” of ongoing affairs that might be problematic so that educators can intervene proactively and deliver targeted support and resources.

Hence, schools, colleges, and even universities can foster a more personalized and accurate learning atmosphere.

• Your Data Insights Turning into Strategic Actions with Perspective Analytics:

Now, this one extends beyond merely predicting future trends and results. It goes the extra mile by analyzing the feasible impact of different actions and curating the most effective schemes.

Employing data from a plethora of sources and benifiting from advanced algorithms, perspective analytics not only foreshadows what is imminent but also offers actionable proposals. Hereby, your business secures the best possible outcomes especially if you are trying to shift from reactive decision-making to a dynamic, optimized approach.

This process usually employs simulation, machine learning, and algorithm optimization to assess different scenarios and recommend the most favourable action. If your SMS analytics software makes good use of this tool, it can generate customized learning plans crafted to a student’s unexplored strengths, weaknesses, and learning preferences.

Must-Have Features of SMS Analytics At a Glance:

5 Ways Analytics Drive Success In Educational Institutions

By now, we have got a clear understanding of the analytics tools and how they work. It’s about time we learn about the role of analytics in modern school management systems and how it greases the wheels of educational institutes:

1.    Are You Offering the Right Courses?

You could be running a school or a university where course selection and curation is one of the hardest jobs. And this is where most of your manpower, resources, and labour go in without any compromises. Yet, you can’t take a bet on its efficacy unless you carry out a yearly review of the courses offered to your students.

Since each of your students is unique, their preferences and psychologies are different too. What may work for one student may not work for others, and fairly enough, you can’t cherry-pick in this regard.

Here, analytics take over the hard job for you by producing autogenerated reports in graphic detail so you can monitor how each student has responded to particular courses. When you are receiving all the information about the pass/fail ratio, and the average percentage of class attendees, you can step in and make targeted amendments.

2.    Are Your Students Improving?

Students only mirror the wisdom of their teachers and that’s why one of the greatest liability for any institution is to closely observe how the teachers and students are performing simuntaneously. For optimal success, both parties have to work in tandem and ensure the best possible outcome.

SMS Analytics helps you ascertain your institution's ranking and the progress of your students and educators. From monitoring grades, weaknesses, strengths, and behaviour to participation in extracurricular activities and skill development, you can do it all without any paperwork.

For instance, data analytics uncovers performance patterns that predict the number of students who will pass or fail ahead of time. This is when you intervene and offer tailored assistance to those who are struggling.

At the same time, you can determine whether the teacher assigned to the students is effective or not. Hence, you ensure being fair and square to everyone who is making an effort or lack thereof.

3.    Is Your Organization Complying with National or International Standards in Education?

If there's one thing parents do not compromise is the future of their children. And education happens to be the cornerstone of future endeavors. Thus, while looking for the best school parents often find themselves scrutinizing (some times more than necessary) as they can't afford to fumble.

Now, imagine what happens when parents search for universities. Surely enough, the stakes are high here, and opting for an ideal institution that matches the higher-level standards is the first thing you want for your child. All these come down to the national and global ranking of a certain institute.

Hence, when you are struggling to track the progress of your institution's ranking, data analytics come to the rescue. It helps you collate your organization depending on the standard of education in other countries and within your country.

In simpler terms, you can change and conform to the benchmark required to stand out and be acknowledged as one of the top educational institutes.

4.    Are You Ready for The Big Future Events?

Imagine, you are stressing about the orientation program of your university and suddenly it dawns on you that you don’t have enough funds for it! Scary right? Well, it can happen if you don’t manage your finances and budgets in advance with utmost caution and clarity.

Remember, your institution is not only for delivering lectures and handing out exam papers; given you need to organize club and sports events too. Besides, important events like award ceremonies, convocations and cultural competitions are also crucial regions where significant funding is necessary.

Here, incorporating analytics, you can smartly budget all the finances, from paying educational expenses and ancillary staff to maintaining routine repairs and more. It ensures you are not taken by surprise and collect funds required for particular events beforehand. Apart from that, school management analytics also help you optimize resource allocation in infrastructure and facilities management as well as staffing and human resources.

By analyzing usage patterns, demand forecasts and accessibility of classrooms, materials and faculty, SMS analytics takes resource allocation into the next level. In addition, Financial Analytics assist in planning your budgets and harnessing sponsorships by assessing expenditure patterns, revenue models, and financial trends.

5.    Do You Know How Each Department of Your Institution is Performing?

Understandably, the primary focus is always on the students, but it is also crucial to monitor the performance and progress of each department. Finance, transportation, and administrative departments must undergo monthly performance evaluations to verify unified and smoother operations.

With the appropriate implementation of a school management system, you can streamline this process, as it integrates all departments into a single cloud or web-based solution.

Through data analytics, you can effectively compare the efficiency of each department, identifying areas for improvement. While streamlining internal operations, your institution also improves its relationships with the parents, fostering consistent communication, rapport building, and overall engagement.

6.    Are You Updating Your Course Materials Timely?

While new textbooks are appearing even as we speak, existing teaching materials are also evolving to include fresh and up-to-date information. The objective is to equip each student with the skills and knowledge essential for today's fast-paced world.

However, your educational institutions may not receive timely updates about these new developments, leading to unsolicited repercussions for teaching obsolete textbooks. Imagine a librarian meticulously researching suitable course books for various subjects, only to find themselves overwhelmed by the volume of information and constant updates in the publishing world. It doesn't have to be this daunting, right?

In this respect, you can leverage data analytics to make the process more accessible than ever. Think of a system that automatically notifies you about the recommended standard textbooks and alerts you each time a new edition is released. This saves you and your employee time and effort while ensuring each student receives the most relevant and up-to-date information possible.

Onest Schooled’s SMS Analytics

If you are looking for the best SMS Analytics for your educational organization, Onest Schooled can be your dependable ally. It offers comprehensive and customized solutions for modern institutions. Schools greatly benefit from its vigorous reporting, financial management and transparency, customizable modules, resource optimization, data security, and more.