WISEdash for Districts: Snapshot Dashboards
About the Data | Data Quality Indicators | Dynamic Crosstabs | FAQ | Resource Links
About the Data
The snapshot dashboards have primarily been created to assist LEAs with reconciling data prior to an annual snapshot date.
WISEdash is the source from which snapshot data is taken. WISEdash updates nightly, when WISEdata pushes data into WISEdash. If your data does not look accurate on WISEdash, it could mean that your information is not pushing: (a.) from your Student Information System (SIS) to WISEdata, or (b.) from WISEdata to WISEdash. Open a Help Ticket if your school or district is experiencing problems with proper data flow.
To find Snapshot Dashboards:
1. Click Dashboards in the top left side of the page, just under the WISEdash logo. A drop down menu appears.
2. Select Snapshots to view the snapshot dashboards.
NOTE: If you do not see the banner of menus across the top of the screen, there will be an icon in the upper right hand corner that provides a drop-down menu. This occurs when your browser window is very zoomed-in.
For detailed information on a particular snapshot dashboard, select the dashboard's name from the left-side menu of this webpage.
The TFS snapshot dashboard is the default snapshot dashboard. From here, click the blue Filter Data button to choose from various filters. All filters that you have selected display horizontally under the dashboard title as 'tiles.'
Data Quality Indicators
Specialized counts called Data Quality Indicators (DQI) are provided at the top of most snapshot dashboards. These focus on aspects of current data relevant to that snapshot and potential data quality issues that should be investigated prior to the snapshot. Additional information regarding content and usage of the snapshot dashboards are included directly on each dashboard. Click on the blue links to expand the help text.
There are three types of Data Quality Indicators.
- Informational indicators give you an easy way to see important counts or percentages for the topic at hand. For example, Count Inclusion TFS = Yes is an informational indicator.
- Caution indicators show you data that may be in error or may be questionable but may also be valid. Review the data more closely to see if it is correct.
- Goal: 0 indicators are similar to cautions, but suggest a goal such as a school count. Goal ‘zero’ indicators show you data where, in most scenarios, the count should be zero. If it is not zero, there is likely to be an error or the data may be questionable. You should review the data more closely to ensure it is correct.
NOTE: Any item on WISEdash that is underlined is interactive - click it to see a more detailed explanation of the data, down to the student level.
Dynamic Crosstabs: Introduction
On each of the snapshot dashboards, dynamic crosstabs allow you to change the way you view the data. The dynamic aspect of the Dynamic Crosstabs is found in the filters. After you apply a filter, you can move it to a row or a column. Each crosstab shows a list of filters, or ‘available data’ items (shown as gray boxes, and referred to in title case) such as Race, EL status and School Name. Some of these are only available in certain dashboards. For example, the May Demographics tab includes ‘Parent in Military’ as an available data item, but the Third Friday of September tab does not.
For more guidance on how to use the dynamic crosstabs, visit the WISEdash How-To: Use Dynamic Crosstabs page.
Frequently Asked Questions about Snapshot Data
- What are snapshots? In general terms, snapshots are pieces of data that are copied from active, dynamic tables in the DPI Data Warehouse (DW) - the data warehouse is the cloud where data is stored within the DPI after the nightly sync with WISEdata - at a specific point of time, to a “permanent” location to support current and future reporting. This facilitates reporting from an unchanging set of attributes, providing consistent, repeatable query results unaffected by the dynamics of real-world changes and corrections.
- The snapshot dashboards in WISEdash for Districts provide users with tools to query data captured in a snapshot and compare that data to their district’s current data. The purpose of the snapshot dashboards is for users to reconcile their data before the snapshot is taken. These comparisons can help the district identify and correct data reporting deficiencies in preparation for a future snapshot event.
- What data is captured in a snapshot? All current student attributes recorded in the Data Warehouse such as race, gender, ELL status, etc. - with the exception of disability information - is captured as of the date the snapshot is taken. This means that the snapshot will reflect the current data values from your SIS (which get sent to DPI nightly) regardless of the intended use of that particular snapshot. For example, if a student was not economically disadvantaged on the Third Friday of September (TFS) but became disadvantaged just recently, a TFS snapshot taken today would record that student as disadvantaged because that is the most recent data that has been submitted.
- Disability information, however, is handled somewhat differently. Disability status, disability codes, education environment, and parentally placed private have associated begin and end dates that are also recorded in the snapshot. This allows the appropriate effective values to be selected for the intended use of that snapshot - i.e. disability attributes effective during the third Friday of September to be used in the TFS snapshot and those effective on October 1 for the Oct. 1 Child Count snapshot.
- All enrollment changes and attendance values for the school year-to-date are captured with every snapshot.
- How will snapshots be used? The snapshots will serve as the permanent data source for certified reporting by DPI. This includes TFS Count Date enrollment, Oct. 1 Child Count, certified attendance, high school completion, dropouts, statewide assessment demographics, and others. Refer to the Snapshot Preparation - Detailed Guide (slide deck) for more information about how to use these dashboards to prepare for an upcoming snapshot.
- How may data in the snapshot be different than the WISEdata portal? Data shown on these dashboards and all other WISEdash dashboards may differ somewhat from data shown on the WISEdata Portal for a number of reasons. Most often, this is due to data reporting errors that cause data values to be suppressed or rejected from loading into the Data Warehouse. In addition, data is loaded nightly into the Data Warehouse (this is the data which feeds into WISEdash) instead of being updated in real time as with WISEdata. Please continue to examine unresolved errors in the WISEdata Portal and rectify these whenever possible. WISEdata is a continuous process that requires regular attention to maintain accurate and current data
- When viewing snapshot data in WISEdash, it is normal and expected that current WISEdata values would begin to change over time as updates are made to the student data in your SIS. Changes made in your SIS will flow through WISEdata to the Data Warehouse nightly and be reflected in the next snapshot taken. As a reminder, however, once a snapshot has been taken, the data in that report is static, and changes will not be made to that snapshot.
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Will a student who transferred out continue to show in the WISEdash dashboard?
Whether or not a student shows in the dashboard depends on where the student went after leaving your district. If the student transferred to another reporting agency, such as another public district, all reporting accountability follows to the new agency. If the student transferred out of state, homeschool, or to a non-choice private school, your district is still accountable for the student's data as the last reporting agency in WISE for the current school year.
- At what time of year should the snapshot dashboards be used? The snapshot dashboards are designed to assist with verification and review of student data prior to the date on which the snapshot will be taken. In general, the snapshot dashboards are not intended for historic review. The October 1 Child Count snapshot Dashboard is an exception as this count is only available as a snapshot dashboard at present. At the beginning of the school year, snapshot dashboards for Attendance, Discipline, and Year End Completion are valuable to review the quality and accuracy of student data outcomes and demographics for the prior school year. Beginning October 1, review of the Third Friday of September and October 1 Child Count snapshot dashboards is critical to ensure timely and accurate data in the fall snapshot. In May, the May Demographics dashboard is useful to review the current state of demographics, but not outcomes, during the spring assessment windows.
- What is the SPED Assmt? The special education assessment (SPED assmt) is a demographic category that captures students in a special ed status over a range of time instead of at a point in time. Most of the demographic categories that are available for use in the crosstab display student counts as of the present moment. ‘SPED Assmt’ displays any student who had been reported as special ed within the date range, even if they are no longer reported as special ed. This is valuable when compiling data related to assessments. This is a calculation performed within WISEdash, not a data element submitted by a district. Results are displayed on the May Demographics snapshot.
- Why are some charts in green and others in purple? Two dynamic crosstab charts are provided. The Current View chart is green. It displays a single year of data determined by the Current View Year filter, annotated across the top of the screen, below the menu and subtabs. The present school year plus one previous year are available. Generally, you will want to use the current school year during preparation for this snapshot because the snapshot is taken during that school year. The Snapshot View chart is purple. It displays the most recent year of snapshot data (or the year determined by the Snapshot View Year filter).
- What’s the difference in data between Attending and Accountable in the student-school association (stu-sch assoc) filter? If the student-school association is set to Attending, students assigned to attend the selected district's schools will be included in the chart. Dashboards default to Accountable. If Accountable is selected, students for which this district is accountable (but not necessarily attending) will be included in the chart associated with the name of both the attending and accountable schools.
