Data Errata
Districts and schools work very hard to provide the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) with student demographic, attendance, enrollment, and special education data. They diligently compile and, nearly without fail, report this data through the WISEdata Portal to the DPI in a timely fashion.
The DPI then collects this data during various snapshots, aggregates it, and passes it on to you, the data consumer, through various means such as WISEdash, Report Cards, and federal ESEA Accountability reports. (Visit these other DPI webpages for more information about the December and May annual snapshots, as well as the annual Staff Collection snapshot.)
Unfortunately, this process is not perfect and there are times when data is misreported or not reported in a timely fashion. The following data errata are cases of such events. We present data errata because even in cases where we cannot report the data that is 100% accurate through the tools listed above, we want to be diligent in providing you with the most accurate information possible.
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What Are Data Errata?
Translation of this Latin phrase means, "a correction of published information." Despite all of our best efforts to get data accurate, this process is not perfect and there are times when data is misreported or not reported in time to be accurately represented on the snapshot report. This is when data errata letters come in to play.
Errata are changes that occur after final publication. Errata should be consulted for any dataset downloaded or used in educational research. At the Department of Public Instruction (DPI), we maintain this master errata webpage that contains changes brought to DPI's attention by school districts AFTER the data has been published on WISEdash or on another DPI page.
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Snapshot data cannot be corrected. Once collected, the data stands.
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DPI is diligent in providing you with the most accurate information possible. The data errata letters are in lieu of actual data correction.
NOTE: Data Errata letters are PUBLIC RECORD and SHOULD NOT CONTAIN S/PII!
What Data Errata is NOT
It must be very strongly understood that the data errata letter does not work as an alternative to getting one's data prepared for snapshot ahead of time. Every LEA is responsible for their data quality.
Submitting a data errata letter cannot change your snapshot data. Once the snapshot is taken, the data in the WISEdash (data warehouse) database cannot be changed. Data errors in your snapshot data are addressed by submitting a data errata letter via the WISEadmin Portal after the snapshot has occurred.
Along with submitting a data errata letter, we strongly encourage LEAs to continuously correct all data within their student information system and to push those corrections to WISEdata Portal (providing that the school year is one of the three school years still open in the WISEdata Portal).
These changes can potentially be reflected on the Report Card. For this to happen you must follow the Inquiry Process set by DPI's Office of Educational Accountability (OEA). Please review the Report Card Inquiry Overview webpage for details.
If your data errata letter is about October 1 Child Count, which can affect Maintenance of Effort (MOE) funding, please contact the DPI Special Education Team; either submit a Special Education Team Help Ticket, or call: 1 (608) 266-1781.
Retention Policy
WISEdata Portal: Four Years
The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) has legal obligations for record retention. There are different schedules for different types of records. The record retention schedule for data errata letters is five (5) years after the letter is posted.
Since WISEdata Portal retains three years worth of data, those same three years of data errata letters will remain on this webpage, plus the two years prior. This includes the following years, current as of Jan 1, 2024:
(2024-25), 2023-24, 2022-23, 2021-22, 2021-20
Data errata letters that are more than five years old will be deleted. Since all five years of data errata are being maintained on this webpage, there is no more need for the Archive page, and the URL for that page has been made inactive.
WISEstaff: Five Years
Due to the five-year cycle of teacher and other staff license renewals, the DPI LEAD (Licensing) Team requires five years worth of WISEstaff Data Errata Letters. This includes the following years, current as of Jan 1, 2024:
2023-24, 2022-23, 2021-22, 2021-20, 2019-20
How to Submit Data Errata Letters
Data errata letters are submitted through WISEadmin Portal. This practice has been in place since the 2018-19 school year. For instructions on submitting data errata through WISEadmin Portal, refer to the Data Errata section of the WISEadmin Portal: Info, Help and User Guide webpage.
It is imperative that you do not include any student-specific data (PII) for confidentiality and privacy reasons.
Steps in the Data Errata Process:
- Correct all incorrect data in the WISEdata Portal.
- Write your Data Errata letter. Do not include any personally identifiable information as Data Errata letters are published publicly. Visit the data errata webpage and the data errata WISEstaff data collection page for examples on how to present your corrections with high level language, and other information.
- Data Errata letters are submitted through the WISEadmin Portal. There is additional information on how to submit a Data Errata letter via WISEadmin on the WISEadmin Portal: Info, Help and User Guide webpage in the Data Errata Screen section in the event your LEA does need to submit one.
- If you do not have access to the WISEadmin Portal, reach out to your district staff first. You can also visit the WISEhome login page, click, "Need Help Signing In?" and then select one of the available questions that best addresses your situation.
Data Errata Letters
Five years of Data Errata letters are maintained by DPI. The headings match the Categories available on the WISEadmin Portal, and all appropriate sub-categories can be located in the accordions below.