Department of Curriculum, Instruction and Technology

Leap Cubes

• About Cognos Cubes
• Leap  Cube Logon (password required)
• Data Analysis Training Manuals

About Cognos Cubes

New York State school districts are about to enter the information age with a very successful concept from the business world: Data Warehousing. In a data warehouse, large volumes of data that may come from different sources are collected in a single electronic repository. When so organized, decision-makers can study relationships among data that would be difficult to examine were the data stored in separate places.

In schools are many forms of data – including student records, human resources records, standardized test data, transportation records, financial records, progress reports, and grade book records. Finding relationships among them can be difficult. Assembling these data sources in a data warehouse makes it easier for educators to determine relationships using electronic search tools available in the warehouse. From patterns that emerge in these relationships through electronically-assisted data analysis, educators can then develop new insights, or confirm already existing ones, into teaching and learning in their classrooms, schools and districts.

The Cognos Corporation provides several tools to search within a warehouse. Cognos tools create data "cubes" based on the desired output. This user-friendly interface provides rapid descriptive information that would otherwise require some understanding of a database query language to accomplish. The "cube" presorts data to allow multiple dimensions (variables) to be examined at one time. Cognos PowerPlay enables you to analyze data directly from your web browser -- you need no special software to access the cube.

Using the Cubes

All district superintendents have received user IDs and passwords that can be distributed as each superintendent desires. Log into the site using the user IDs and passwords, and remember the IDs are case sensitive and should be typed exactly as they were distributed.
Go to the login page for our Cognos Upfront online data analysis server.

When you log into the site, you see a display of several cubes. All districts can use four cubes on this site. These cubes have the words Nassau County in their title, followed by the content of the cube—ELA 4 or 8, and Math 4 or 8. Inside these cubes users will find three years of test data—1999-2001. The data can be disaggregated by gender, ethnicity, ELL status, disability status, mobility, and poverty. It can be displayed by building as well. Comparisons with data from other districts and with the entire county is also possible. Other more detailed disaggregations are also available. Download the training manual entitled “Welcome to Online Data Analysis” for a print reference.

Data Warehousing Service member districts can get into all the cubes. Their names are indicative of the contents of each cube. Two training manuals have been designed so far to assist Data Warehousing members to use their cubes. “Bridging the Gap” is the basic training manual, and “Using Grade 4 and 8 Item Analysis Cubes” is an advanced text designed specifically for the four advanced item analysis cubes.

The Data Warehouse offers regular training sessions.  Flyers on these training opportunities are  sent to all superintendents: For more copies or telephone assistance, call Elaine Kutlik, the Data Warehousing secretary, at 608-6629.