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Snapshot Preparation Guidance

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

 

What is a Snapshot?

Who Participates in Snapshot?

Why Do Snapshots?

Snapshot Dates

May Snapshot: What's Collected?

May Snapshot Training

December Snapshot: What's Collected?

December Snapshot Training

Snapshot and Data Errata

Snapshot Resource Links

Snapshot FAQs

Help Ticket

What is a Snapshot?

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Local Education Agencies (LEAs) across Wisconsin collect school data and submit it to DPI every day. This data is live, ever-changing day by day, as corrections are made, new information is added, and updates are completed. But on a pre-determined day twice a year, a "picture" of the data in our DPI data base is taken: a data snapshot.

Snapshots create a static collection of data. This data is used by researchers of all natures to analyze education outcomes in Wisconsin, including accountability report cards. The permanency of a snapshot is useful in that it supports current and future, short-term and longitudinal data reporting and data study. The static nature of a snapshot also facilitates reporting from an unchanging set of attributes because it provides consistent, repeatable query results that are unaffected by the dynamics of real-world changes and corrections.

On the snapshot date, the collection process occurs. DPI WISE applications are momentarily disabled to prevent glitches while data is captured. These 'forever frozen' pieces of data that are copied from active, dynamic tables in the DPI Data Warehouse (DW) are then saved to a “permanent” location.

Snapshot dates are announced to LEAs months in advance. It is recommended that LEAs focus on resolving existing errors well in advance of the designated snapshot date because once a snapshot of data is taken, the data is considered certified and final.

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Who Participates in Snapshot?

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All LEAs that submit data to DPI via WISEdata participate in student snapshot reporting. While there is also an annual staff snapshot for public schools, this webpage focuses on student data snapshots.

There are different data collection criteria for different types of LEAs. For details on required data elements, please reference the following sections:

May Demographics Snapshot: What's Collected?

December Student Snapshot: What's Collected?

 

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Why Do Snapshots?

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Snapshots will serve as the permanent data source for certified reporting by DPI. Snapshot data is used for the following:

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Snapshot Dates

Track important dates and deadlines in the WISE Events Calendar:

  • May 13, 2025: Date of May Demographics Snapshot
  • December 9, 2025: Date of December Student Snapshot

Snapshot dates are set to meet federal and state requirements. The dates are hard and fast. No extensions can be given. 

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May Demographics Snapshot: What's Collected? 

Tuesday, May 13, 2025, 9:00 a.m. Central Standard Time

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On this day at 9:00 a.m. (CT) the orange "Queue Import & Validation" button in the WISEdata Portal is disabled, preventing LEAs from manually triggering the validation processes. Other aspects of WISEdata Portal, as well as other applications, may be "locked" during the morning of snapshot to prevent errors in the system.

We recommend that LEAs proactively address issues well before snapshot day. The DPI Customer Services Team initiates data quality outreach to our schools starting in August, giving our local education agencies months of support to prepare snapshot data. A basic aspect of data quality includes making sure data is flowing from your vended student information systems (SIS) applications, including specialty vendors (i.e., special education or discipline vendors) to DPI, and that you have addressed all validation errors and warnings to the best of your ability.

Information captured in this snapshot will be used for state and federal accountability purposes this year as well as in future years. The specific required reporting captured in the May Demographics Snapshot links student enrollments and student demographics to assessment results of the following assessments: Forward, DLM, PreACT Secure, ACT, and ACCESS for ELLs. These data, once validated and processed, will display on the WISEdash Public Portal and on WISEdash for Districts.

Table of collections for Choice and Public schools for the May snapshot

WISEdata Portal validation warnings and/or errors will throw if values are unexpected or missing for the following:

Current Year’s Data: (Public & Choice) Demographics

Demographics: Public & Choice

All LEAs (public school districts and Choice schools) collect the following demographics for all students:

Disability Status

English Learner (EL) Status**

  • ACCESS score** (This is a calculated value)
  • ELP codes**
  • ** Choice schools receiving Title III funding are required to report their EL data This ensures compliance with federal guidelines and supports English learners effectively. Conversely, for Choice Schools not receiving Title III funding, EL data remains optional.

Economically Disadvantaged Status

  • It may be very handy to use the "Student Demographics" export in WISEdata Portal during your preparations for May Demographics Snapshot data.

Food Services Eligibility Status

Gender

 

Grade Level

  • Remember that as of 2024-25 school year, PK is not a grade. PK is a code, signifying students who: have not reached the age for first grade (aged 3, 4 or 5), and are not enrolled in K4 or KG, have an IEP, and receive primary educational services from the LEA/Agency.

Race & Ethnicity

  • Tribal affiliation is optional but highly encouraged partnering data for ancestry/ethnic origins and race.

For a complete listing of all demographics data elements: 

  • Visit the data element landing page
  • Set the Collection filter to 'Demographics,' and
  • Click the 'Apply' button.

For more information, please visit the following:

Current Year’s Data: (Public Only) Demographics

Demographics: Public Only

Public schools also collect these additional, required data elements:

Homelessness Program Association Status

For students experiencing homelessness, report all of the following data elements:

Parent in Military

Current Year’s Data: (Choice Only) Demographics

Demographics: Choice Only

Choice schools also collect these additional, required data elements:

Choice School Program Participant Indicator

For students attending a private school participating in the Milwaukee, Racine, or Wisconsin Parental Choice Program and if the student has met the qualifications for MPCP, RPCP, or WPCP. If a school chooses to report all students, then the non-voucher students should be reported as No. A WISEdata Portal Data Quality Alert will be generated for Choice schools with zero non-Choice students when that Choice school has opted in to the All Students Report Card. Visit the Report Card Selection data element page for more information.

A great resource for public schools/districts is the WISEdash for Districts: May Demographics Snapshot Dashboard webpage.

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artifactMay Demographics Snapshot Training Videos and Slides for 2023-24

For training materials from the May 2024 snapshot (from the 2023-24 school year), please visit the WISEtraining, Slides and Videos webpage (window will open in another tab).

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December Student Snapshot: What's Collected?

Tuesday, December 9, 2025, 9:00 a.m. Central Standard Time

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On this day at 9:00 a.m. (CT) the orange "Queue Import & Validation" button in the WISEdata Portal is disabled, preventing LEAs from manually triggering the validation processes. Other aspects of WISEdata Portal, as well as other applications, may be "locked" during the morning of snapshot to prevent errors in the system.

We recommend that LEAs proactively address issues well before snapshot day. The DPI Customer Services Team initiates data quality outreach to our schools starting in August, giving our local education agencies months of support to prepare snapshot data. A basic aspect of data quality includes making sure data is flowing from your vended student information systems (SIS) applications, including specialty vendors (i.e., special education or discipline vendors) to DPI, and that you have addressed all validation errors and warnings to the best of your ability.

The data collected for the December Student Snapshot spans multiple school years: 

  1. Previous year/s: Student year-end data, such as Enrollment counts, Attendance, Graduates, and Roster data.
  2. Current year/s: Demographics; TFS and Oct 1 data for public and federal reporting, report cards, and funding determinations; district library plans, graduation plans, and the topional but highly reccommended digital equity data.

WISEdata Portal validation warnings and/or errors will throw if values are unexpected or missing for the following:

Table of data collected from the previous school year for Choice and public schools for the December snapshot.

WISEdata Portal validation warnings and/or errors will throw if values are unexpected or missing for the following: 

Previous Year: Year-End (Public & Choice) Enrollment Data

Year-end completion data is about closing enrollment records from the previous school year and annotating completers/graduates from the previous school year.  Year End Completion data is used to calculate Graduation Rates and Chronic Absenteeism.

All data submitted from the previous school year (i.e., discipline records, attendance...) are associated with student enrollment records from that school year. As such, data collected from the previous year require enrollments and demographics data to be correct as well.

All LEAs (public school districts and Choice schools) collect the following data for all students, from the previous school year:

Enrollment Records

Enrollment records contain a vast array of data elements. When you are looking at a specific Student Detail screen in WISEdata Portal, you are viewing their enrollment record data.Enrollment records include the following sub-records:

  • Attendance record
  • Academic record
  • Graduation record
  • Program association record: You will also need to provide end dates for various program records associated with an enrollment record, such as a special education/sSEPA record.
  • Roster (details in the CTE& Roster accordion)

Enrollment Record Data Elements

During year-end roll over, it is important to enter an exit type, a term completion indicator, and an end date for the enrollment record. Exit Types are a key factor in determining dropouts. Read the guidance carefully. You can attend the Weekly WISE User Group to ask questions or submit a Help Ticket to get help from Customer Service Team.

  • Enrollment and Exit Date
    • NOTE for students receiving Special Education services: sSEPA Record end dates must exactly match the enrollment record end date! If these dates do not match, you will trigger validation Error 7161. Fix the error verify by extending the SSEPA End Date to match the Enrollment End Date.
  • 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)

For more information, please visit the following:

 

Previous Year: Year-End (Public & Choice) Attendance Data

Attendance

Attendance is a required part of a student enrollment record. Be sure to include actual days and possible days of attendance.

Previous Year/s: Year-End (Public & Choice) Dropout Data

Dropouts

WISEdata Portal can only hold three-years’ worth of data: the current school year, and the two prior school years (e.g., 2025-26, 2024-25, 2023-24).

Dropouts from Two Years Ago

The only use for the 2nd prior year’s data (data from two years ago) in WISEdata Portal is to resolve any outstanding full-term dropouts from the WISEdash for Districts Year End Completion Snapshot Dashboard if you are a public school or the WISEdash Extracts webpage if you are a Choice school.

Ignore all other errors and warnings for the 2nd prior school year that do not deal with dropout data.

Dropouts from Last Year

Dropouts are calculated based on student enrollment exit data. Each enrollment record should be reviewed for accurate exit data:

  • Exit Dates (Enrollment and Exit Date data element page)
  • Exit Type
  • Any subsequent enrollment communication needed (e.g., your school is informed in June that a student will not be returning next school year.
    • Follow up with the receiving LEA to ensure enrollment for the student exists.
    • If there is no subsequent enrollment in another LEA, please attempt follow up communication with the family/guardians.
    • Update the student's Exit Type accordingly. 

For more information, please visit the following:

Previous Year: Year End (Public & Choice) Graduation Data

Graduation

Graduation Graduation records are a critical component of enrollment records for students who complete their final year of high school, regardless of whether this occurs within the standard four-year timeframe, sooner, or takes more than four years.

Snapshot requirements represent multiple, specific data elements.

Required Data Elements Needed for all Graduation Records are:

Conditional Data Elements that May Appear on Graduation Record if Conditions Apply:

For a complete listing of all year-end reporting data elements, including graduation:

  • Visit the data element landing page

  • Set the Collection filter to 'Year End Completion,' and
  • Click the 'Apply' button for a full listing of all possible data elements related to year-end reporting.

For more information, please visit the following:

Previous Year: (Public Only) CTE and Roster Data*

CTE and Roster

Roster and CTE data are part of the student enrollment record. Roster and CTE snapshot requirements represent multiple, specific data elements.

  • Every course needs an Attempt Status Descriptor = Sufficient.
  • Special attention should be paid to the following specific roster course categories as these courses are associated with Perkins grant funding:
    • Career Education/CTE data: Visit (and bookmark!) the CTE Data Resources webpage (link opens in a new tab). The top two resources listed on this page (CTE Snapshot Prep Guide and the CTE WISE Guide for Data Reporting) are the best resources available for LEA staff working on CTE data reporting.
    • World Language
    • Arts Participation

For a complete listing of all CTE data elements:

  • Visit the data element landing page,
  • Set the Collection filter to 'Career Education,' and
  • Click the 'Apply' button for a focused collection of data elements that only relate to career and technical education courses and programs.

For a complete listing of all Roster data elements:

  • Visit the data element landing page,
  • Set the Collection filter to 'Roster,' and
  • Click the 'Apply' button for a listing of general ‘course master’ data elements.

For more information, please visit the following:

Previous Year: (Public Only) Discipline Data*

Discipline

Discipline snapshot requirements represent a multitude of specific data elements. 

For a complete listing of all discipline data elements:

  • Visit the data element landing page,
  • Set the Collection filter to 'Discipline,' and
  • Click the 'Apply' button for a full listing of all possible data elements related to a suspension or an expulsion.

For more information, please visit the following:

Previous Year: (Public Only) Program Record, Language Services Data*

Student Language Instruction Program Association (sLIPA) & Language Instruction Education Program (LIEP)

Some students (e.g. English Learners or EL students) attending public district need language support services.

In WISEdata Portal, this is the Student Language Instruction Program Association (sLIPA) record.

For a complete listing of all language services data elements:

  • Visit the data element landing page,
  • Set the Collection filter to 'English Learners,' and
  • Click the 'Apply' button for a full listing of all possible data elements related to English learners.

For more information, please visit the following:

Previous Year: (Public Only) Program Record, SpEd Data*

Student Special Education Program Association (sSEPA)

An individualized education plan (IEP) for a student attending public district or an individualized service plan (ISP) for a student attending a private school.

In WISEdata Portal this is the student special education program association or sSEPA record.

For a complete listing of all special education services data elements:

  • Visit the data element landing page,
  • Set the Collection filter to 'Special Education,' and
  • Click the 'Apply' button for a full listing of all possible data elements related to special education.

For more information, please visit the following:

Previous Year: (Public Only) Timely Initial Evaluations, Indicator 11 Data*

Timely Special Education Evaluations (Indicator 11) data

The December Student Snapshot captures Indicator 11 data from the previous (i.e., 2024-25) school year.

For a complete listing of all special education data elements:

  • Visit the data element landing page,
  • Set the Collection filter to 'Special Education,' and
  • Click the 'Apply' button.
  • All Indicator 11 data elements are marked with (Indicator 11) after the data element name.

For more information, please visit the following:

December student snapshot collections from the current school year.

WISEdata Portal validation warnings and/or errors will throw if values are unexpected or missing for the following: 

Current Year: (Public & Choice) Demographics

Demographics: Public & Choice

All LEAs (public school districts and Choice schools) collect the following demographics for all students:

Disability Status

English Learner (EL) Status**

Economically Disadvantaged Status

Food Services Eligibility Status

Gender

Grade Level

  • Remember that as of 2024-25 school year, PK is not a grade. PK is a code, signifying students who: have not reached the age for first grade (aged 3, 4 or 5), and are not enrolled in K4 or KG, have an IEP, and receive primary educational services from the LEA/Agency.

Race & Ethnicity

Tribal affiliation is optional but highly encouraged partnering data for ancestry/ethnic origins and race.

For a complete listing of all demographics data elements: 

For more information, please visit the following:

Current Year: (Public Only) Demographics Data

Demographics: Public Only

Public schools also collect these additional, required data elements:

Homelessness Program Association Status: For students experiencing homelessness, report all of the following data elements (located within the Dmeographics category filter): Parent in Military
Current Year: (Public Only) Digital Opportunity Data

Digital Opportunity

Optional, but highly recommended.

Choice schools do not report this data, but are strongly encouraged to do so.

Digital Opportunity snapshot requirements represents multiple, specific data elements.

For a complete listing of all Digital Opportunity data elements:

For more information, please visit the following:

 

Current Year: (Public Only) District Library Plan Data

District Libarary Plan

Choice schools do no report this data.

District library plan snapshot requirements represent multiple specific data elements.

For a complete listing of all Digital Opportunity data elements:

For more information, please visit the following:

Current Year: (Public Only) Graduation Plan Data

Graduation Plan

Choice schools do no report this data.

Graduation Plan is submitted through WISEdata.

For more information visit the following:

Current Year: (Public Only) October 1 Child Count Data

October 1 Child Count

Choice schools do no report this data. 

October 1 data should not be reported in WDP without the associate sSEPA record.

Districts that use a third-party Special Education SIS vendor must still report the October 1 flag from their main SIS vendor tool.

IEPs should be locked before the snapshot. Locked IEPs work to ensure October 1 Child Count numbers are valid, and that all students that have an IEP are reported.

For a complete listing of all October I Child Count data elements:

IEP data elements

Current Year: (Public Only) Third Friday of September Enrollment Data

Third Friday of September (TFS) is the date DPI uses for enrollment data review. No data is collected in WISEdata until the December Student Snapshot. If TFS data is not entered into WISEdata completely or correctly on the TFS date, LEAs still have until December to make any corrections.

For a complete listing of all TFS Enrollment data elements:

  • Visit the data element landing page,
  • Set the Collection filter to 'Third Friday of September Enrollment,' and
  • Click the 'Apply' button.

For additional information, including a list of data elements, please visit the following:

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artifactDecember Student Snapshot Training Videos and Slides for 2023-24

For training materials from the December 2024 snapshot (from the 202-25 school year), visit the WISEtraining, Slides and Videos webpage (window will open in another tab).

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Snapshot Resource Links

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Snapshot and Data Errata

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What are Data Errata?

The data sent to WISEdata Portal by Wisconsin schools through their student information system(s) (SIS) is a 'live' collection. It is constantly changing with updates, corrections, and new submissions.

As stated in the introduction: a snapshot is static; it is taken on a predetermined date to capture the data that exists in WISEdash data warehouse at the time of the snapshot.

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. Translation of this Latin phrase means, "a correction of published information."

Errata address changes to data errors identified 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, the DPI Public Staff Reports, or on another DPI page.

Once the snapshot has been taken, that report is permanently frozen as is, much as we are in a family photo -- it is how we look at that point in time. So, while the snapshot itself cannot be altered, LEAs still have an opportunity to provide the most accurate information they can by writing a letter that states the nature of the data errors that are, and will ever remain, reflected on a snapshot report.

Please visit the data errata webpage for detailed explanations, FAQ, templates you can download, and examples on how to present your corrections with high-level language and other information. There is also a WISEstaff data errata page.

We present data errata because:

  • Snapshot data cannot be corrected. Once collected, the data stands.
  • DPI is diligent in providing you with the most accurate information possible. The data errata letters are in lieu of actual data correction.

The DPI Customer Services Team has an extensive process of reaching out to our stakeholders by conducting data quality outreach (where we reach out to LEAs via electronic communications and phone calls) starting every August and continuing through the December Student Snapshot date.

NOTE: Data Errata letters are PUBLIC RECORD. Student data-related letters SHOULD NOT CONTAIN S/PII!

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Snapshot FAQs

  1. What are the differences between the snapshot dashboards and the topic dashboards in WISEdash for Districts?

    • The Snapshot dashboards in WISEdash for Districts provide you with tools to query data captured in a snapshot and compare that data to their district’s current data from the main data warehouse tables. These comparisons can help the district identify and correct data reporting deficiencies in preparation for a future snapshot event. For more information on the snapshot dashboards, please see the About the Data Snapshots page. Note that the snapshot dashboards provide a way for districts to select the set of students that are/were attending a selected district/school or that are/were accountable by, but not necessarily attending, a given district/school.

    • The topic dashboards in WISEdash for Districts only show data based on the attending district or school/district that submitted the student records through WISEdata.

  2. Why doesn’t data in the WISEdata Portal match data in WISEdash for Districts?

    • Data flows nightly from WISEdata into WISEdash for Districts. Note that any data with errors have the potential to impact the data you see in the dashboards. The ‘critical’ icon in the WISEdata Portal notes specific errors that result in data not flowing from WISEdata to WISEdash. An easy way to think about it is that the data that you see in WISEdata Portal today will be in WISEdash tomorrow.

       

    • NOTE:  Depending on what time of day your LEAs SIS is configured to push data to DPI, it could miss the nightly sync job with DPI WISE applications.

  3. 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, to 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.

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Didn't Find What You Needed?

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The Customer Services Team is here to help!

Please submit a Help Ticket so we may better assist you.

 

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