| Term | Acronym | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| 616 or 616 Data | 616 | Required data submissions under IDEA section 616.[1] These data are submitted electronically through the EdFacts Metadata and Process System (EMAPS) via the State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report (SPP/APR) and report progress on performance indicators outlined in the State Performance Plan. |
| 618 or 618 Data | 618 | Required data submissions under IDEA section 618.[2] These data are submitted electronically via the EDPass data system and include data related to assessment, child counts, settings and environments, early childhood and secondary transitions, exiting, discipline, timeliness of the early intervention and special education process, and dispute resolution. |
| 619 or Part B 619 | 619 | The section of the Individuals with Disability Education Act (IDEA) that provides for access to a free and appropriate public education (FAPE) for children ages 3 to 5 (not in Kindergarten) under Part B of IDEA, also known as preschool special education.[3] |
| Access | The privilege or assigned permission to use computer data or resources in some manner. It governs the use and distribution of information, settings, and the general use of a system.[4] | |
| Accuracy | The closeness of computations or estimates to the exact or true values that the data were intended to measure.[5] | |
| Analysis | The process of systematically applying statistical and/or logical techniques to describe and illustrate, condense and recap, and evaluate data.[6] | |
| Annual Performance Report | SPP/APR | An annual report submitted to Office of Special Education Programs as required under IDEA Section 616 based on the State Performance Plan (SPP) which evaluates the State’s efforts to implement the requirements and purposes of IDEA and describes how the state will improve such implementation. See also State Performance Plan (SPP) and State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP).[7] |
| Anonymization | The process of de-identifying data which produces data where individual records cannot be linked back to an original child or student record system or to other individual records from the same source, because they do not include a record code needed to link the records.[8] | |
| Application | Software designed collecting, saving, processing, and presenting data. The terms application and software application are often used synonymously.[9] | |
| Assessment Data Collection | Collection of data submission files pertaining to student participation and performance on state assessments in reading/language arts, mathematics, and science for students in grades 3 through 8 and high school.[10] | |
| Attribute | An element that is associated with a particular entity or real-world object, concept or thing stored as data in the database. The term Attribute is often used interchangeably with Element.[11] | |
| Audit/Data Audit | The reviewing of data to assess its quality, compliance or utility for a specific purpose, often using defined metrics or criteria.[12] Similar to a financial audit, a data audit involves systematically evaluating information; however, it focuses on the quality and fitness of data rather than financial records. | |
| Authorization | The permission to access non-public information or use equipment that is either fully or partially restricted and the process of establishing what actions the authorized user is permitted to perform.[13] | |
| Batch Processing | A method of processing data in which multiple tasks or transactions are collected and executed together, typically without user interaction and often on a scheduled basis.[14] | |
| Business Logic | The procedures and guidelines that control the creation, processing, and manipulation of data inside an application. It functions as the foundation for how a program processes user input, performs calculations and workflows and enforces data validation requirements.[15] An example of business logic is how average attendance is calculated from attendance sheets. | |
| Business Requirements | Constraints, demands, necessities, needs, or parameters—defined by the users and other interested parties—that must be met or satisfied, usually within a certain timeframe.[16] | |
| Business Rules | Statements that impose constraints on the selection, relationships, and structure of the data elements in a database.[17] | |
| Category Set | The grouping that an SEA or Lead Agency uses to aggregate data before sending the data to EDFacts.[18] | |
| Centralized Data System | A data system in which all participating source systems (which are considered the single official source of data for each particular data point) copy their data to a single, centrally located data repository where they are organized, integrated, and stored using a common data standard.[19] | |
| Child Count | Child Count refers to a group of annual data collections required under IDEA encompassing Part C and Part B and may signify one or all of these collections depending upon the context. For Part B, requirements for the Child Count (also known as Child Count and Environments) data collections represent a point-in-time data collection based on an established child count date. Requirements for these collections are spelled out in both IDEA regulations and the EdFacts File Specifications for FS002 and FS089. For Part C, Child Count and Setting data collections include both point-in-time and cumulative (full year) counts. Requirements for these collections are spelled out in FS902, FS903, FS904, and FS905.[20] | |
| Class | A defined container, similar to a folder, within an ontology, meant to only hold a certain type of information, e.g. Assessment.[21] | |
| Code Set (or Option Set) | The limited list of codes defining value options allowed for a data element. The code set contains numeric or alphanumeric "codes" without spaces or special characters. CEDS option sets provide a list of codes (code set) and corresponding narrative descriptions/definitions. Code set and option set are used interchangeably by some education and lead agency IT professionals.[22] | |
| Common Education Data Standards Initiative | CEDS | CEDS is an education data management initiative whose purpose is to streamline the understanding of data within and across P-20W institutions and sectors. The CEDS initiative includes a common vocabulary, data models that reflect that vocabulary, tools to help education stakeholders understand and use education data, an assembly of metadata from other education data initiatives, and a community of education stakeholders who discuss the uses of CEDS and the development of the standard.[23] |
| Continuous Improvement | An ongoing, intentional effort to improve products, services or processes. These efforts involve a series of iterative cycles that identify and test new approaches, tools, or strategies, collect data, and study the influence of those changes on outcomes of interest. Through these cycles the members of the system build capacity to test proposed changes; refine changes based on evidence; and increase the scale, scope, and spread of a change over time.[24] | |
| Coordinated Early Intervening Services and Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services | CEIS and CCEIS | Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CEIS) and Comprehensive Coordinated Early Intervening Services (CCEIS) are services provided by LEAs under IDEA to support children and students who are not currently identified as needing special education or related services, but who need additional academic and behavioral support in a general education environment. CEIS is voluntary and can serve students in grades K-12. CCEIS is mandatory based on the state’s identification of an LEA as demonstrating significant disproportionality and can support children and students aged 3 through grade 12.[25]Data related to CEIS and CCEIS are reported via EDFacts as part of the MOE/CEIS data collection through FS231 – 238.[26] |
| Data Analytics | Process for analyzing sets of data in order to identify patterns and draw conclusions.[27] The goal of analytics is to go beyond basic data collection, organization and reporting to establish a comprehensive approach to getting actionable insights that answer key priority questions and inform strategic decisions.[28] | |
| Data Cleaning | The process of ensuring that data in a database are complete, consistent, and correct by amending or removing data that are missing or incomplete, in accurate, duplicated, or improperly formatted.[29] Also known as "data scrubbing." | |
| Data Dictionary | A catalogue that describes the contents of a database. Information is listed about each field in the attribute tables and about the format, definitions and structures of the attribute tables.[30] | |
| Data Element | A data element is a unit of data for which the definition, identification, representation, and permissible values are specified by means of a set of attributes.[31] | |
| Data Governance | A formal and comprehensive set of roles, responsibilities, policies and practices designed to ensure the effective management of data within an organization that aims to improve organizational coordination, data quality and data use. Data governance addresses data security, definitions, collection, access, quality, accountability, and disposal.[32] | |
| Data Group | DG | A specific aggregation (i.e., group) of related data that are stored in EDFacts to satisfy the specific information need of one or more U.S. Department of Education Program offices.[33] |
| Data Informed Decision Making | A set of expectations and practices around the ongoing examination of data to ascertain the effectiveness of educational activities to improve outcomes for students and families.[34] | |
| Data Integration | The process of combining data from multiple sources into a cohesive and consistent view. This process involves identifying and accessing the different data sources, mapping the data to a common format, and reconciling any inconsistencies or discrepancies between the sources. The goal of data integration is to make it easier to access and analyze data that is spread across multiple systems or platforms, in order to gain a more complete and accurate understanding of the data.[35] | |
| Data Life Cycle | Sequence of steps that data goes through from creation through archiving and destruction. There are many models for depicting the data life cycle, but most include the following basic steps: creation, collection, processing, management/storage, analysis, application/use, and archiving/destruction.[36] | |
| Data Linkage | A process that brings together data from two or more sources with the object of consolidating facts concerning an individual or an event that are not available in any separate record.[37] | |
| Data Management | The act of planning for, controlling and delivering data so that the organization runs effectively. This function includes the disciplines of development, execution and supervision of plans, policies, programs, processes, practices and procedures that control, protect, deliver and enhance the value of data and information assets.[38] | |
| Data Manager (Part C or Part B) | An individual or group of individuals, if the role is shared, at the state education or lead agency responsible for overseeing the collection, management and federal reporting of IDEA data. The details and precise responsibilities of this role often vary from state to state.[39] | |
| Data Matching | A process of comparing records across one or more datasets to determine the likelihood of elements in each dataset representing the same real-world object, person, place, event or concept.[40] | |
| Data Model | A conceptual, logical, or physical representation of data elements, entities, and relationships.[41] | |
| Data Quality | The trustworthiness of the data being used, which includes the completeness, accuracy, consistency, availability, validity, integrity, security, and timeliness of the data.[42] | |
| Data Repository | A centralized place for storing, organizing, and sharing data in a logical manner.[43] It is a broad term that incorporates all types of data that are produced, stored, and used by an organization. | |
| Data Schema | A diagram, outline, or data model used to illustrate the pattern or structure of information.[44] | |
| Data Security | Protection of data from unauthorized access (accidental or intentional) modification, destruction, or disclosure. See also Information Security.[45] | |
| Data Standard | A set of commonly agreed upon names, definitions, formats, permitted values, and technical specifications for a given selection of data. Data standards are intended to improve the quality and share-ability of data.[46] | |
| Data Steward | An organizational leader and/or recognized subject matter expert designated as accountable for organization or agency-level responsibilities and the use of data.[47] | |
| Data Store | See Data Repository. | |
| Data System | The hardware, software, and other applications and processes that enable programs to collect data about children, families, workforce, and/or program characteristics (e.g., program quality), as well as the analysis, reporting, and data use practices associated with those data.[48] | |
| Data Use | The process by which people examine and make sense of data to inform decisions and actions.[49] | |
| Data Validation | The process of determining whether data or a process for collecting data meets a set of predefined rules.[50] | |
| Data Verification | The process of confirming that data handling processes and data transformations are resulting in accurate or expected results.[51] | |
| Data Visualization | The visual and graphic representation of data through charts, graphs, maps, interactive dashboards, and other visual imagery. Data visualization can help simplify large or complex data sets; reveal patterns, trends and relationships; and facilitate shared understanding.[52] | |
| Data Warehouse | A centralized repository that collects data from different operational systems and organizes it so it can be used for reporting and analysis.[53] | |
| Database | A structured, organized collection of data stored and accessed electronically.[54] | |
| De-identified Data | Records that have a re-identification code and have enough personally identifiable information removed or obscured so that the remaining information does not identify an individual and there is no reasonable basis to believe that the information can be used to identify an individual. The re-identification code may allow the recipient to match information received from the same source.[55] | |
| Deployment | Stage in software management where the software is installed on workstations or hosted as an application accessible to others.[56] | |
| Disaggregated data | Data that have been broken down by student population into smaller groupings, based on qualities or characteristics such as gender, racial/ethnic group, or family income.[57] | |
| Discipline | A federal IDEA data collection submitted by State Education Agencies through EdPass that provides student and child-level data for children and students with disabilities related to the suspension and expulsions, including removal duration, the use of alternative placements and the provision of IDEA services during expulsion.[58] | |
| Disclosure | Under FERPA, disclosure means to permit access to, or release, transfer, or otherwise communicate personally identifiable information contained in education records by any means, including oral, written, or electronic, to any party except the party identified as the party that provided or created the record.[59] | |
| Disclosure Avoidance | The efforts made to reduce the risk of inappropriately sharing personally identifiable information, including de-identifying data prior to dissemination.[60] | |
| Dispute Resolution | A federal IDEA data collection submitted by both state education and lead agencies for Part B and Part C IDEA programs respectively. The collection includes information on activities related to written signed complaints, due process complaints, and mediation requests.[61] | |
| Documentation (system/processes/responsibilities) | Refers to the complete set of materials—policies, procedures, metadata, technical specifications, governance structures, and lifecycle records—that document how data are created, collected, processed, stored, secured, shared, and preserved across an organization’s information systems. This includes: Data process documentation (workflows, procedures, quality checks, transformations) Data system documentation (system design, architecture, metadata, technical controls) Data governance documentation (roles, responsibilities, policies, standards, authorities) Lifecycle documentation supporting creation, maintenance, use, retention, and disposition of data. Together, these materials provide the authoritative framework ensuring the transparency, integrity, quality, usability, and stewardship of data throughout its lifecycle.[62] | |
| Domain | A logical grouping or subject area used to organize data. Within CEDS, domains correspond to major P–20W sectors (such as Early Learning, K–12, or Postsecondary) and group data for navigation, organization and reporting.[63] | |
| Early Childhood Integrated Data System | ECIDS | A data system that collects, integrates, maintains, stores, and reports information from early childhood programs across multiple agencies within a state that serve children and families from birth to age 8. Typically, the data included in an ECIDS are related to the individual child, the child’s family, the classroom, the program/providers, and other services that provide comprehensive care and education for young children.[64] |
| Early Childhood Transition | The transition of children from the Part C program to preschool programs supported under Part B of IDEA. State education and Lead Agencies are responsible for ensuring these transitions are smooth, effective and timely.[65]The SPP/APR contains compliance indicators for both Part C and Part B (Indicator 8 and Indicator 12 respectively) related to the timeliness of this transition.[66] | |
| Early Intervention | EI | Services and supports provided to children ages birth through age 2 with disabilities and their families under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.[67] |
| EDFacts | A U.S. Department of Education initiative to collect, analyze, and promote the use of high-quality, pre-kindergarten through grade 12 data.[68]EDFacts centralizes performance data supplied by state education agencies (SEAs) with other data assets, such as financial grant information, within the Department to enable better analysis and use in policy development, planning and management.[69] | |
| EDFacts Coordinator | Individual who serves as the official representative of their state education agency to the U.S. Department of Education concerning the EDFacts Data Collection.[70] | |
| EDFacts Metadata and Process System (EMAPS) | EMAPS | An electronic reporting platform that facilitates the efficient and timely reporting of IDEA 616 data, known as the State Performance Plan/Annual Performance Report, from state education and lead agencies to the U.S. Department of Education.[71] |
| Ed-Fi (EdFi) | EdFi | An education data standard or common language for moving data from one system to another that enables systems to exchange data in a consistent format.[72] |
| Edit Check | Automated process or business rule programmed into the EDPass data submission system to prevent incorrectly formatted and inaccurate data from being accepted. Some edit checks also check for timeliness and completeness of the data submission.[73] | |
| EDPass File Specification | A document with guidance and the technical instructions necessary for building data files that are uploaded and submitted through EDPass.[74] | |
| EDPass Manager | One of two individuals (a primary and a backup) designated by either the state education or lead agency to oversee and manage state or agency staff access and role-based permissions to the EdPass reporting system.[75] | |
| EDPass Submission System | An electronic system that facilitates the efficient and timely transmission of EDFacts data from state education and lead agencies to the U.S. Department of Education.[76] | |
| Enterprise Architecture | A strategic framework that describes an organization’s mission, the information and technologies necessary to perform the mission, and the process for implementing new technologies in response to changing needs.[77] | |
| Entity | Within CEDS, persons, places, events, objects, or concepts about which data can be collected. An entity provides context for a data element.[78] | |
| Exiting | A federal IDEA data collection submitted by both state education and lead agencies for Part B and Part C IDEA programs respectively. The collection includes information regarding the counts and reasons children and students exited supports and services provided under IDEA, including aging out of programs, transferring from Part C to Part B services, and graduating high school with a regular diploma.[79] | |
| Extended Part C | The provision in IDEA that allows states the option to allow parents of children with disabilities to continue early intervention services after they become eligible for Part B preschool services, provided they were previously eligible and receiving services under Part C. This flexibility allows families to continue early intervention services until such time as their child enters or becomes eligible for kindergarten.[80] | |
| Extract, Transform, Load | ETL | A process of pulling data from source systems and transferring it into the data warehouse.[81] |
| Fact Type | A categorization or classification of data that is used to organize and manage information within a data warehouse or data management system. It essentially represents a specific type of factual data that is collected, stored, and processed within the system.[82] Fact types in Generate include, but are not limited to, Assessment, Child Count, Directory, and Discipline. | |
| Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act | FERPA | A federal law that establishes requirements for protecting the privacy of parents and students. It outlines what personally identifiable information can be disclosed, to whom and under what circumstances as well as the rights of parents and eligible students with relation to their child or student’s education records including the right to have access to their children’s records, the right to seek to have the records amended, and the right to consent to the disclosure of personally identifiable information from education records, except as provided by law.FERPA applies to all educational institutions or agencies receiving funding through any program administered by the U.S. Department of Education that either provides educational services or instruction or both to students or is authorized to direct and control public elementary or secondary or postsecondary educational institutions.[83] |
| Federated Data System | A data system in which individual source systems maintain control over their own data but agree to share some or all of this information with other participating systems upon request. System users submit data requests in the form of a database query via a shared intermediary interface that then searches the independent source systems. Data are queried from source systems and records and are matched to fulfill a data requestor’s information needs. The linked data are not stored by the system but rather are removed once delivered. The individual sources of data store and secure their data and provide them to the system only upon request.[84] | |
| General Supervision | The requirements and responsibilities under IDEA for state education and lead agencies to implement a system that ensures appropriate monitoring, technical assistance (TA), and enforcement of IDEA requirements and the expectation that monitoring implementation of IDEA will improve early intervention and educational results and functional outcomes for children with disabilities and their families.[85] | |
| Generate | A reporting application designed by CIID to improve data quality and simplify EdFacts Reporting for state education agencies.[86] | |
| Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act | HIPAA | Legislation that sets standards for the use and disclosure of individuals’ health information by organizations as well as for individual’s privacy rights to understand and control how their data is used.[87] |
| IEP Team | Multidisciplinary team involved in the development, review and implementation of an individualized education plan for a child with a disability. This team includes the parents, a representative of the public agency, an individual who can interpret the instructional interpret the evaluation results, and, as appropriate, a regular education teacher, a special education teacher, the child, and any other individuals whom the parents or agency identify who have knowledge or special expertise regarding the child, including related services personnel.[88] | |
| Individualized Education Program | IEP | A written plan for a child with a disability that outlines the child’s special education needs based on their disability, their educational goals, and the specially designed instruction and related services that the school district will provide to help the child meet their educational goals. It is developed, reviewed, and revised in accordance with IDEA regulations.[89] |
| Individualized Family Services Plan Team (Family Support Team) | Multidisciplinary team involved in the development, review and implementation of an individualized family service plan for an infant or toddler with a disability. |
| Term | Abbreviation | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Individualized Family Support Plan | IFSP | A written plan describing the supports and intervention services that will be provided to meet the needs, concerns, and priorities of a child with a disability aged birth to 3 years and their family.[91] |
| Individuals with Disabilities Education Act | IDEA | A law that makes available a free appropriate public education to eligible children with disabilities throughout the nation and ensures special education and related services to those children IDEA governs how states and public agencies provide early intervention, special education and related services to more than 8 million (as of school year 2022-23) eligible infants, toddlers, children and youth with disabilities.[92] |
| Information Security | The protection of information and information systems from unauthorized access, use, disclosure, disruption, modification, or destruction in order to provide confidentiality, integrity, and availability.[93] | |
| Information Technology Team | IT | The personnel who work on the development of a data system, including database administrators, data modelers, developers and/or network/server administrators.[94] |
| Interoperability | A set of rules, definitions, and processes which enable different software systems to share information and work together.[95] | |
| Lead Agency | LA | An organization or agency in each state designated or established by the Governor responsible for the general administration, monitoring, and supervision of programs and activities provided under Part C of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.[96] |
| Lead Agency EDPass Managers | The individual who serves as the official representative of their lead agency to the U.S. Department of Education concerning the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part C data within the EDFacts Data Collection.[97] | |
| Legacy Data | Data stored in an older or obsolete format or data system that is often difficult to access or process.[98] | |
| Early Intervention Service (EIS) Provider | An entity (whether public, private, or nonprofit) or an individual that provides early intervention services under Part C whether or not the entity or individual receives Federal funds under Part C of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.[99] | |
| Local Education Agency | LEA | A public administrative unit within the state that exists to control, direct or operate public elementary or secondary schools or to provide special education services within public elementary and secondary schools. These units may or may not align with county, city, or town boundaries.[100] |
| Maintenance of Effort | MOE | The determination by the SEA that the LEA budgets, for the education of children with disabilities, at least the same amount, from at least one of the following sources, as the LEA spent for that purpose from the same source for the most recent fiscal year for which information is available: (i) Local funds only; (ii) The combination of state and local funds; (iii) Local funds only on a per capita basis; or (iv) The combination of state and local funds on a per capita basis.[101] |
| Memorandum of Understanding | MOU | A formal agreement between two or more parties that details the terms and conditions of the agreement.[102] Note: Many times, an MOU is required under FERPA when linking data. |
| Metadata | Defined most simply as “data about data,” metadata are structured information that describes, explains, locates, or otherwise makes it easier to retrieve, use, or manage an information source.3 In other words, metadata provide the context in which to interpret data.[103] | |
| Object Property | Indicates the relationship between two classes in an ontology.[104] | |
| Office of Special Education Programs | OSEP | Office within the U.S. Department of Education responsible for the administration and oversight of activities and funding provided under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.[105] |
| Ontology | A structured framework that defines entities and the connections between so that both people and computer systems can understand how data is connected.[106] | |
| Open Source Community | OSC | A governing body for the CEDS comprised of anyone interested in education standards – e.g. developers, program staff, federal, state and local education staff, and researchers. The CEDS standard is expanded and modified based on the needs and input of the Community. CEDS manages the CEDS Community’s needs and input via the Open Source Community on GitHub.[107] |
| Operational Data Store | ODS | A specialized database that collects and integrates data from multiple operational systems. It is designed to support efficient data processing, operational reporting, and real-time analysis.[108] |
| P-20W+ | A term used to refer to data from prekindergarten (early childhood), K12, and postsecondary through post-graduate education, along with workforce and other outcomes data (e.g., public assistance and corrections data). The specific agencies and other organizations that participate in the P-20W+ initiative vary from state to state.[109] | |
| Part B | The portion of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act that outlines the requirements and authorizes grants to SEAs and LEAs for providing special education and related services in serving school-aged children with disabilities ages 3-21 and preschool children with disabilities (ages 3 through 5).[110] | |
| Part B 619 | The section of the Individuals with Disability Education Act that provides special education and related services to children with disabilities aged 3 to 5 and, at the state’s discretion, to 2-year-old children with disabilities who will turn three during the school year.[111] Also known as preschool special education. | |
| Part C | The portion of IDEA that provides for comprehensive, coordinated, and multidisciplinary early intervention services for infants and toddlers (birth until age 3) with disabilities and their families. Some states elect to use the flexibility provided under IDEA Section 635(c) to extend Part C services for existing recipients until they enter or become kindergarten eligible.[112] | |
| Partner Support Center | PSC | The technical help desk for EDFacts that provides assistance to EDFacts’ customers who submit data to EDPass or use its analytical and reporting tools.[113] |
| Performance Indicator | Data that measure child and family outcomes as well as compliance with the requirements of IDEA that are reported by the state via their State Performance Plan/Annual Performance report (SPP/APR).[114] | |
| Personally Identifiable Information | PII | Any information that can be used to identify or trace an individual either directly or when combined with other information. As defined in FERPA, PII includes, but is not limited to: a student's name; the name of the student's parent or other family members; the address information (including email and street address) of the student or student's family; personal characteristics, including biometric data, fingerprints, photographs, gender or sex, religion; employment or medical information; a personal identifier, such as the student's Social Security number, student number, or biometric record; other indirect identifiers, such as the student's date of birth, place of birth, and mother's maiden name; and other information that, alone or in combination, is linked or linkable to a specific student that would allow a reasonable person in the school community, who does not have personal knowledge of the relevant circumstances, to identify the student with reasonable certainty.[115] |
| Production Environment | The live system where a software or database application is accessed by users. It hosts the final version of your application and handles actual data, traffic, and transactions.[116] | |
| Query | Tool for retrieving, manipulating and managing data stored in a database, allowing the extraction and performance of various operations on the data.[117] | |
| Redaction | The process of striking out or deleting sensitive data from records prior to disclosure in a way that meets established disclosure requirements (e.g., removing or obscuring personally identifiable information from published reports to meet federal, state, and local privacy laws, as well as organizational data disclosure policies).[118] | |
| Relational Data Store | RDS | A type of database where data is structured across multiple tables which can be joined together using unique identifiers that demonstrate the different relationships between the data.[119] |
| Results Driven Accountability | RDA | A revised accountability system under the Office of Special Education Programs. RDA shifts the U.S. Department of Education’s accountability efforts from a primary emphasis on compliance to one that puts more emphasis.[120] |
| Stakeholder Engagement | The process by which an organization systematically employs two-way communication and elicits active contributions from individuals directly or indirectly impacted to inform or provide feedback on its work.[121] | |
| Stakeholder | An individual or group who is directly or indirectly affected by or has an interest in a system, program or its outcomes.[122] | |
| State Education Agency | SEA | The agency primarily responsible for the state supervision of public elementary and secondary schools.[123] |
| State Performance Plan | SPP | A plan required under IDEA Section 616 that is submitted to Office of Special Education Programs by SEAs for evaluating the state’s efforts to implement the requirements and purposes of IDEA and describing how the state will improve its implementation of IDEA.[124] Each SPP includes measurable and rigorous targets and improvement activities for each indicator. See also Annual Performance Report (APR) and State Systemic Improvement Plan (SSIP). |
| State Systemic Improvement Plan | SSIP | A comprehensive, ambitious, yet achievable multi-year plan that states develop to improve results for infants, toddlers, children and/or students with disabilities and their families.[125] See also Annual Performance Report (APR) and State Performance Plan (SPP). |
| Statewide Longitudinal Data System | SLDS | A state data system that connects individuals’ data over time across at least two of the following domains: early care and education, K-12, postsecondary and the workforce in order to efficiently and accurately manage, analyze, disaggregate, and use individual student data consistent with the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6301 et seq.). An SLDS may also incorporate data from other domains, such as juvenile justice or corrections.[126] |
| Static/ Reporting Data System | A one-way system in which the end user is able to see data but is unable to modify those data. Some static/reporting systems do, however, allow users with permissions to run queries for analysis purposes. The data elements in this type of system are fixed and unchanging. Data are commonly loaded in periodic batches (e.g., annually). These systems are well designed for sharing data with the public.[127] | |
| Student Information System or Student Management System | SIS or SMS | A data system that educational agencies use to manage and store student data, including demographics (address, birthdate, gender, ethnicity, etc.), enrollment, attendance and academic records.[128] |
| Subclass | A more specific type of a broader class within an ontology that inherits the characteristics of that broader class while also including additional, more specific attributes. A subclass can be thought of like a folder within a folder, where the smaller folder represents a specific type of the larger one. For example, in CEDS a class such as Organization may have general properties such as name and website, while subclasses such as Postsecondary Institutions or Elementary Schools share those properties but also have attributes unique to their specific type.[129] | |
| Subject Matter Expert | SME | A person with direct, practical knowledge and authoritative expertise in a specific program, policy, or data area.[130] This may include early intervention or special education content experts for early childhood transition, IDEA discipline reporting, IDEA regulations and related state policy, or data system architecture. |
| Suppression | Removing data (e.g., from a cell or a row in a table or a report) to prevent the identification of individuals in small groups or those with unique characteristics.[131] This method may often result in very little data being produced for small populations, and it usually requires additional suppression of non-sensitive data to ensure adequate protection of personally identifiable information. | |
| Sustainability | The capacity to support a system or program over time with sufficient financial and human resources to meet current and future needs. Additionally, for data systems, this includes ensuring both a purpose and value through engaging and maintaining broad stakeholder support, widespread use, and a demonstrated return on investment.[132] | |
| System Deployment | The process of delivering, installing, and testing of a computer or system that is ready for use in real-world settings.[133] | |
| System Design | The means by which the operational needs of the data contributors and data users are translated into a technical infrastructure[134]. | |
| System Initiation/ Planning | A phase in the data system lifecycle that includes engaging stakeholders, articulating the system's goals, assigning roles and responsibilities, creating a communication plan, and defining the scope of the project.[135] | |
| System Requirements Analysis | A phase in the data system lifecycle in which the requirements for the system are identified and examined to determine whether they meet the stated needs and goals specified by the stakeholders.[136] | |
| System/User Acceptance Testing | A phase in the software development lifecycle in which end users test the functionality and quality of the system to ensure it meets the functional goals identified in the planning process.[137] | |
| Technical Assistance | TA | Activities to build the capacity of a program, organization, or individual to implement evidence-based practices and improve results. Under the OSEP-funded data TA centers, these activities are specifically designed to improve the capacity of states to collect, analyze, and accurately report IDEA data.[138] |
| Technology Platform | A computer or hardware device and/or associated operating system, or a virtual environment, on which software can be installed or run.[139] This may include the operating system, like Windows or Mac, hardware such as a computer or server, and any other software or settings that impact how software works. | |
| Test or Test Environment | The hardware and software set up used by testing teams to test the software, identify bugs and find a possible fix to ensure the quality of the software or updates to the software prior to release.[140] | |
| Transactional Processing System | A data system in which there is continuous updating of information through entries, deletions, and updates of data. In transactional processing, the data activities are processed one at a time. This is in contrast to batch processing, in which a group of activities are processed at one time.[141] | |
| Transformation Rules | The rules for converting a set of data values from the data format of the source data system into the data format of a different destination data system.[142] | |
| Unique Identifier | UID | A numeric or alphanumeric string that is associated with a single entity (e.g., a child, service provider, teacher, or local program) within a given system.[143] Also known as a Global Unique Identifier (GUID). |
| Use Case | An imaginary scenario that shows how a user interacts with a product to achieve a specified goal. Use cases help facilitate communication by defining user needs and desires and guide product development to ensure that the result matches users’ expectations.[144] | |
| User Interface/Graphical User Interface | UI or GUI | The means by which a user provides input and receives information from a system, device or application.[145] A graphical user interface is a type of user interface that enables interaction through visual elements such as icons, menus and windows. |