Running any kind of business is an extremely challenging thing to do with all of the problems that arise every single day. Business owners have to keep a close eye on managing the company and every movement and activity each person makes. One little mistake can blow up into a massive dilemma. It is crucial for companies to be prepared and well-equipped to deal with these troubles. Not much can be done to avoid them, but a lot can be done to fix them. The remedy to these issues is Decision Support Systems (DSS).  Decision support systems are a controlled group of people, procedures, software, databases and devices used to help formulate decisions to resolve problems. [1] These groups examine business data and provide interactive data support to companies during the decision-making progression. In today’s business world, business-owners and managers are not only making many decisions, but they need to act fast and make instant decisions. Companies always want to keep up and gain competitive advantages over others to successfully operate, which Decision Support Systems can help achieve. Decision support systems allow businesses to respond and acclimatize to the constantly altering business environment. Their function is to offer and produce the greatest possible profits, lowest costs, and best products and services by assessing and resolving “everyday business questions by compiling useful information from a combination of raw data, documents, personal knowledge, or business models.” [2] The other benefits Decision support systems provide companies are: “Speeding up process of decision making, Increasing organizational control, Speeding up problem solving in an organization, Helping automate managerial processes, Improving personal efficiency, Eliminating value chain activities” [2]  Decision support systems can be employed by many businesses or organizations, including school systems. “There is growing pressure for teachers to adapt to external competitive demands (e.g. statewide assessments, student selection based on school profiles) as well as to respond to demands from a diffuse set of clients, such as the local community or taxpayers, who wish to see a return on their investment.” [3] Old techniques of education such as intuition, teaching philosophy and personal experience are not too adequate anymore. In the United States of America, by law, it is required for every state to implement an assessment system intended to measure and validate student achievement and overall school performance. [4] Schooling systems have drastically changed from the way they were years ago and it is crucial for present-day schools to adapt to the changes that have been made.  The requirement to collect information from students in order to assess their success and use this data to advance school excellence is very much similar to the introduction of data-driven decision-making processes in business in the 70s and 80s. “Yet, despite both the mandates and the rhetoric, schools are woefully under-prepared to engage in such inquiry. There may be a wealth of potential data available to schools, a growing number of tests mandated at the state, local, and school levels for various purposes: dropout statistics, attendance figures, course enrollments, SAT and ACT scores, and results of teacher and parent surveys. But such data are not easily accessible or available for comprehensive analysis. [...] The practice of applying large-scale data to classroom practice is virtually nonexistent.” [3] The main concern is what should information systems look like to support informed decisions at the different levels of the school system, and how can diverse information needs of teachers, principals, administrators and politicians be recognized and met.  An example of this situation in the real world occurred in 2001, when the New York City Department of Education (NYCDOE) introduced a system-wide data-support tool for its school systems with the help of the Grow Network Company. The goal of these Data Reports was to utilize paper and online reports to present appropriate standardized test results to teachers, principals, and parents with specific recommendations of responsive actions. [5] Essentially this was done with a focus on grades 3-8 and had to incentive to use standardized assessment data, coupled with supporting resources and professional development, to significantly enhance the quality of instructional practice and student results.  In all kinds of businesses and organizations, it is important to always be well equipped and prepared for a bump in the road. To be successful, its key to have a Decision support system to provide the best service to clients and to run a successful company. Overall, school faculty and parents have found the Data Reports very successful, one of the reasons being “Information systems are often flooded with data, offering more data than decision-makers can effectively synthesize and use. The Data Reports present one specific and crucial data point – the standardized test scores. Because of the demanding accountability context in the United States, this is significant data to most teachers and administrators regardless of their concerns about the data’s reliability and validity.”[3] Data-driven decision-making will be an essential mission for school administrators and teachers in the future; and more countries will follow the U.S. example. [1] pg. 288: Fundamentals of Information Technology by Ralph Stair and George Reynolds. 6thEdition. [2] http://www.targit.com/en/landingpages/decisionsupportsystem/dss [3] http://www.ifib.de/publikationsdateien/SIGDSS03-1582.pdf [4] www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/cpg.doc‎ [5] www2.ed.gov/rschstat/eval/data-to-inform-instruction/report.doc