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WISEdata Annual Tasks Checklist

WISEdata Annual Tasks Checklist

WISEdata Annual Checklist

Schools are busy places every day, but there are a few extra busy times in every school year when it comes to data collection.

Data collection helps LEAs measure growth over time, so that data needs to be as accurate as possible. Each year, DPI collects data from WISEdata in multiple collections for snapshots.

Busy time of the school year for data collection are:

This page is intended to be a helpful guide, providing general 'checklist' style information to help ensure you prepare for each of these data snapshots by:

  • completing the required tasks and
  • preparing the necessary data elements.  

Click the links below to navigate to different sections of this page:

Training Opportunities

Start of the Year Tasks

Annual WISEdata Snapshot Collection Information

Notes for Choice Schools

End of the Year Tasks

           

artifactTraining Opportunities

Use our WISEdata Events Calendar to view valuable events related to student reporting and add them to your calendar with a simple click of a button!

Please Join Us for a Weekly Webinar!

  • The WISE User Group Webinar is on Tuesdays from 1:30-2:30 p.m. September - June and monthly over the summer.
  • We cover updates, demos, and Q&A for WISEid, WISEdata, and WISEdash.
  • You can view information and enter questions directly in the agenda and in the online chat after the meeting has started.

The Customer Services Team Provides Snapshot Preparation Training

  • Snapshot prep training sessions will include year-end data from the previous school year, before the December snapshot.
    • Snapshot training is typically provided both in person and virtually.
  • Visit the Snapshot Preparation Guidance page for details on why snapshot data is so important, and to view preparatory slide decks and webinars.
  • Visit the Snapshot Data Quality Auditing webpage for detailed 'how-to' information about how to locate and audit your data.

DPI Provides Some Year-End Training

  • This training has been made available for Choice schools. Here is the 2023 End of Year Choice Training video to watch.
  • If you want to see more opportunities for this, click the "Submit Feedback" button at the bottom of the page and tell us about it.
  • This training covers details for how to complete the year-end tasks (“rollover”) in your SIS.
    • Your SIS vendor may also offer training. Please reach out to your vendor tool representative for more information.

Independent Study

  • The WISEtraining webpage has a wide variety of different training materials.
  • Use WISEtraining:
    • as you onboard new staff
    • and to refine your student reporting skill set
    • Use the "Submit Feedback" button at the bottom of the page to tell us about any information you'd like us to add/update to WISEtraining!

I Still Need Help...!

  • It is inevitable that questions will occur while working in the WISEdata Portal, WISEid, and WISEdash for Districts applications.
  • Please don’t hesitate to submit a Help Ticket so our Customer Services Team may provide assistance.

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artifactNote for Private Choice Schools

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artifactStart of Year Tasks

To start off each school year, you'll need to complete several important tasks to prepare for the year's WISEdata collections. These tasks include general SIS preparation, collecting student demographic data, uploading WISEids for students and staff, and ensuring that you and other staff have access to the WISEdata applications they need to perform necessary data collection and data quality tasks throughout the school year.

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General Preparation

Get a WAMS ID

District Security Administrator Tasks 

Assign User Roles

Update Agency Contacts

Complete School Directory Updates

Student Information System (SIS)

Select a Student Information System (SIS) Software/Vendor Tool: Check your SIS software versions and update for the latest release.

Ed-Fi Credential

Consider Assembling a Data Team

  • WISExplore provides processes and resources supporting data-informed , decision-making for school and district leaders. The WISExplore data inquiry process is central to this work. Professional learning resources are provided to support data leadership, data literacy and the inquiry process for educators statewide.
  • Log on to WISEdash for Districts to find dashboard information about:
    • Improvement Planning (all dashboards)
    • Early Warning (Absenteeism, FAFSA)
    • Data Quality Reviews (snapshot dashboards).
    • Pay special attention to Graduation Rate, Dropouts, Absenteeism, and Cohorts.

Good 'Back to School' Review for New/All Staff Involved with WISE Reporting

Upload WISEids

Once a Week for the First Two Months, and Before All Count Dates:

  • DPI recommends you upload a full Active Student WISEid file to the WISEid application at the start of each new school year, and once a week until you set up your 'SIS-to-WISEdata' transfers
  • Once your agency can confirm the nightly occurrence of WISEid to WISEdata uploads, manual uploads of Active Student WISEid files are not required.
  • We recommend doing a manual upload of Active Student WISEid files before each count date (TFS data element page, Oct 1 Child Count data element page) to catch any missed changes.
  • Uploading a full Active Student WISEid file accomplishes the following:
    • Obtaining WISEids for new students
    • Updating existing students’ WISEid records with corrections made in your SIS
    • Updating your SIS with corrected WISEid numbers when DPI finds and corrects duplicate ID numbers
    • Eliminating WISEdata Portal validation messages about differences in the data between WISEdata and WISEid

Beginning of the School Year:

  • Your school will need to obtain WISEids for the students who are reported to WISEdata.  
  • File layouts and templates are available for ease of uploading.
  • Be sure to include the following information:
    • Student Name: Use the name to identify the person. This is often the person’s legal name, which is often the name that appears on a birth certificate or a national legal identification document.
    • If the person is or was commonly known by another name, include that name in the Other Name field. This is especially important if the person is coming from a school district or other Choice school because both legal and Other Names are used in the matching process. Use of both increases the chances of finding matches or near matches.
    • Middle name can be an initial.
    • Race/Ethnicity: A two-part question is used to determine the race/ethnicity category to which the student belongs or with which race/ethnicity they most identify. It is required to answer both parts of the question. Both responses to the two-part question are submitted to WISEid and WISEdata. Please consider working with your SIS vendor to collect Ancestry/Ethnic Origins and Tribal Affiliation data elements.
    • Date of Birth
    • Gender
    • Parent/Guardian Name and relationship
Collect Student Demographic Information

Note: Data elements marked with an asterisk (*) symbol do not apply to private Choice schools.

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artifactAnnual WISEdata Snapshot and Collections

Extend the accordions below for a full and detailed description of all required data elements for the fall and spring snapshots.

December Snapshot

The WISEdata Student Snapshot takes a snapshot of data from three collections:

  1. Year-End Collection,
  2. Third Friday of September Collection, and
  3. October 1 Child Count Collection.

Spring Snapshot

After these collections, there is a student demographics snapshot in the spring. Collections and the specific data elements they include are listed below.

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Year-End Student Data Collection (part of December snapshot)

Note: Data elements and steps marked with an asterisk (*) symbol do not apply to private Choice schools.

Year End (YE) data includes all the previous school year’s end of year data:

Third Friday of September (TFS) Collection (part of December snapshot)

Note: Data elements and steps marked with an asterisk (*) symbol do not apply to private Choice schools.

Be sure that the student enrollment is marked with the Third Friday of September indicator as 'present' or 'absent' in your SIS. More details are available on the Count Date Status Indicator data element page

Enrollment is a headcount of students receiving primary educational services from a school district as of the 3rd Friday in September. This collection includes:

October 1 Child Count Collection (part of December snapshot)

Note: Private Choice schools do not participate in this collection.

WISEdata Spring Demographic Snapshot (spring snapshot)
  • Demographics
    • Disability Status
    • English Language Proficiency
      • Language Instruction Services
      • Students with English language proficiency classifications (ELP code) of 1-5 are considered Limited English Proficient (LEP). Students with limited English proficiency are also known as English Learners (EL) or English Language Learners (ELL). For former ELs the value reported is expected to be 6, and for students who were never ELs, an ELP code of 7 should be used.
    • Economic Disadvantage Status
      • Economic Disadvantaged Status is determined on household income information. Economic Disadvantaged Status must be reported for students regardless of whether or not the school participates in the National School Lunch Program.
    • Food Service Eligibility
    • Gender
    • Grade Level
    • Homeless Status*
    • Parent in Military*
      • Parent in Military is a self-reported data element from a student's parents. If the student meets one or more of the qualifications by answering Yes to at least one of the following questions, the student should be submitted as true for Parent in Military
    • Race/Ethnicity

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artifactEnd of the Year Tasks

Be Sure to “Close Out” Each School Year in your SIS

At the end of each school year, you will need to complete several important tasks to prepare for the Year End WISEdata collection. These tasks include general “closing out” tasks and ensuring year end data collections are flowing and being reviewed for the next Snapshot.

Please consult your school’s SIS vendor for more specific instructions on how to accomplish these tasks.

DPI Begins Review and Outreach of Year-End Data Each Fall

When the Customer Services team begins their fall Data Quality Outreach, it is coordinated with WISEdata Portal 'opening' data from two-years prior.

For example, in the Fall of 2023 (with the beginning of the 2023-24 school year), WISEdata Portal will present validation messages from:

  • the 2022-23 school year AND
  • from the 2021-22 school year. 

With the opening of these 'older' school years' data, schools may see unresolved errors and warnings. While this may be confusing, we have guidance on what to focus on and what is safe to ignore:

Data to Focus on Each Year
School Year Data/Record Data/Record Data/Record Data/Record Data/Record
Current Year (e.g. 2023-24) Oct 1 Counts Special Education records Student Demographics Student Enrollments TFS Counts

Prior Year (Last Year)

(e.g., 2022-23)

 Attendance Discipline Diploma Information Exit Dates Exit Types
Program Data Roster Data Special Education Records Student Enrollment Records  

2nd Prior Year (2 Years Ago)

(e.g., 2021-22)

 Only Resolve Data Issues (i.e., errors and warnings) with any outstanding full term dropouts from two-years-prior school year Ignore Data Issues Ii.e., errors and warnings) with dropout data.
Data Element 'Close Out' Tasks:
  • End Dates 
    • Exit Date is the last day a student receives services in your district. At the end of the year, this will be the last day of school. Make sure to enter your students Exit Dates in your student information system (SIS). 
  • Exit Types 
    • Enter an Exit Type for all of your students into your SIS. 
      • TC is the DPI-recommended default exit type code for batch jobs to exit students who are expected to continue schooling next year.  
      • If your school holds eighth-grade graduation ceremonies, do NOT enter credential values, as the student has not received an official credential. 
      • If you need help determining the appropriate exit type, refer to the Exit Type Decision Guides on the Exit Type data elements page, located below the table. 
  • Term Completion Indicator 
    • This is required in WISEdata, and in most cases will be set to ‘Yes’ so long as the student completes all the required courses and school requirements.  
      *Even if a student leaves for a summer trip or graduates early (if the student has met all the requirements), mark that the student completed the school term. 
      *If a 12th-grade student transfers to another school mid-year, at a point where he or she is expected to continue classroom work to finish course credits in the new school, the completed term should be set to ‘No’. 
  • Credential Type (Diploma Type)
    • If your school has 12th graders graduating, exit the students using the High School Completion (HSC) exit type and send the appropriate credential type (diploma type).
  • Food Service Program Exit Date

    • The Student School Food Service Program Association End Date refers to the month, day, and year on which the student exited the food service program or stopped receiving services for the school year being reported.

    • Submit the date in mm/dd/yyyy format.

  • ELP (English Language Proficiency) scores*
    • English language proficiency classifications are defined in PI 13.08 Wis. Admin Code. Students with English language proficiency classifications of 1-5 are considered Limited English Proficient (LEP). For students in grade levels KG to 12, the value reported is expected to correspond to the results from the most recent administration of the ACCESS for ELLs exam. This data element is optional for Choice schools not receiving Title III funding; Choice schools receiving Title III funding are required to report ELP.
  • sSEPA Record End Date
    • Make certain to end each Student Special Education Program Association (sSEPA) record in your special education system. 
    • While IEP (Individualized Education Program) dates can cross school years, sSEPA records must end within the school year - usually the last day of the student’s enrollment.
  • Other important collections included in year-end are: 

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