📰 The Report Card — May 2026
In This Issue
- 🏆 Customer Spotlight: Houston County Reduces Dropout Rate by 43%
- 🔦 Product Spotlight: FOCUS — See Student Risk Before Crisis
- 🔧 What We're Working On
- 📦 New Releases
- 👋 Before You Go...
Hi everyone!
Graduation season is winding down — ceremonies are wrapping up across the country, and if you're a school administrator, you know what that means: end-of-year data reviews, senior audits, the final push on graduation lists, and about fourteen things that were due yesterday. It's the most wonderful time of the year!
This month we're spotlighting a district that turned end-of-year data stress into something worth celebrating — a 43% drop in their dropout rate. We're also giving FOCUS its proper spotlight (it got a brief cameo in April and deserves better), sharing what's next on our roadmap, and welcoming you to the first-ever LinkedIn-only edition of The Report Card. Let's go.
🏆 Customer Spotlight: Houston County Reduces Dropout Rate by 43%
When Dr. Steven Hornyak's team launched Operation Graduation, the goal was straightforward: use data to keep more students on track to graduate. With Standard Ed's dashboards surfacing attendance, grading, and withdrawal trends in real time, Houston County School District didn't just meet that goal — they reduced their dropout rate by 43% in a single year. That's roughly 200 additional students who walked across a stage.
"We have always had the data available to us, but Standard Education's dashboards help us identify areas that need improvement. They wouldn't have graduated without your help."
— Dr. Steven Hornyak, Director of District & School Effectiveness
📊 By the Numbers
Houston County's results aren't an outlier — they're part of a broader pattern. According to PowerSchool's 2026 K–12 EdTech Pulse, 78% of district administrators rate attendance alerts as the most useful tech-powered notification, and 71% see high value in AI-powered early-warning systems. Districts aren't just open to these tools. They're asking for them.
PowerSchool 2026 K–12 EdTech Pulse →
🔦 Product Spotlight: FOCUS
Last month we mentioned FOCUS in passing. This month it gets its own spotlight — especially with Georgia's HB 268 compliance deadline arriving in June.
FOCUS is a 25-item self-report universal screener for students in grades 6–12. It takes 10–15 minutes and adapts automatically based on how students respond. When a student flags a risk, FOCUS routes them to your counseling or BTAM team the same day — with clear low/moderate/high indicators, no manual triage needed. It's not just a survey. It's the early-warning backbone your safety team needs to act before a situation becomes a crisis. Not in Georgia? The underlying goal — identifying students who struggle in silence before it's too late — applies everywhere.
🔧 What We're Working On
We're prototyping an MTSS Coordinator Dashboard — a unified view that triangulates attendance, behavior, and academic data so coordinators can make tier placement decisions without switching between dashboards. The data is already there; we're building the synthesis. We're workshopping an early prototype with districts before we commit to a full build. Interested in weighing in? Reach out — we'd love your feedback.
On the AI front, we're running a standing exploration track: a new prototype each month, tested with real users, to find where AI can genuinely move the needle for district teams. Can we surface actionable insights automatically? Help a counselor know which students to check in on first thing Monday morning? We're finding out. Stay tuned.
📦 New Releases
We announced last month that Assessment Manager supports MAP Growth and ACT. We didn't stop there and now support SRSS and AEPS-3, with more assessment types on the way. If you're an Analytics customer and haven't explored it yet, log into the Standard Education portal and look under your Assessments section. Not seeing it? Email support@standarded.com.
👋 Before You Go...
If you're heading to GAEL July 12–15, come find us — it's our first official conference. We'll have swag, demos, and a lot to talk about.
Also, welcome to our new home for The Report Card. This is our first email-free edition, and we're glad you made the move with us. Follow our LinkedIn page → so you don't miss future issues.
We asked last month for your best end-of-year routines — the invitation is still open. Drop your go-to move for closing out the school year in the LinkedIn comments, and we'll feature our favorites in an upcoming issue (plus some Standard Ed swag for anyone who makes the cut).
Until next month — go help some kids graduate. 🎓
The Report Card is Standard Education's monthly newsletter. standardeducation.com