Boroughs ’02, Sayeski ’94 quoted in The Post and Courier about new school data tool

Reams of public school data are published every year in South Carolina, so finding a specific piece of information is like looking for a needle in a haystack. Until now. Two online data tools aim to make it easier for everyone to parse the glut of information and render it more useful for lawmakers, grant writers, researchers, journalists and the general public, reported The Post and Courier. One of the online tools, South Carolina Education Data Tool, was launched last month by The Riley Institute at Furman University.

A screenshot of graduation rates for selected SC high schools. Output from South Carolina Education Data Tool, The Riley Institute at Furman University.

Furman alum Ben Sayeski ’94 (political science) is co-founder and managing partner at Education Strategy Consulting, the group behind the new tool. Sayeski said the tool tamps down false assumptions and negative emotions surrounding public education. “This is public, this is transparent,” he said. “It needs to be easy to use, easy for people to access and to have better conversations — really to elevate the conversation about education just in general.”

“I’m often intrigued by things that surprise our assumptions,” added Bryan Boroughs, a 2002 Furman alum (psychology) and executive director of The Riley Institute.