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WISEdata

                             

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What is WISEdata?

WISEdata is a multi-vendor, open data collection system that allows school districts, charter schools, and private schools participating in a parental Choice program to submit data to the Department of Public Instruction (DPI) from the student information system (SIS) vendor of their choice.

WISEdata can do this because it uses an Application Processing Interface (API). This software allows communication between any SIS vendor (as the data sender) and the DPI (as the data receiver). This secure data flow saves thousands of hours that would otherwise be spent on manual data entry.

Data is always 'pushed' into WISEdata from a SIS vendor tool. WISEdata does not have the capability to 'pull' data into the portal from your SIS. WISEdata Portal is 'read only' for DPI employees. Data on the WISEdata Portal is not editable by DPI employees. Since every SIS is unique, please contact your SIS vendor to understand specific methods for and the timing of pushing data. 

WISEdata Portal: Verifies that data is pushed from your school information system (SIS) to DPI via the WISEdata API. WISEdata Portal houses data submitted to DPI from LEAs across the state of Wisconsin. Categories of data in WISEdata Portal (WDP) include:

  • Roster (includes Career Education) - Discipline - Graduation & Drop out rates - Completion & Exit types - Third Friday of September Enrollment - October 1 Child Count - Attendance - Demographics

WISEdata also links to other applications, such as:

  • WISEdash: Collected data from WISEdata portal is shared on WISEdash. WISEdash is the source of snapshot data reports. 
  • WISEsecure: Single sign-on capability, privacy protection
  • WISEstaff: Collection of required staff information; ensures data is attached to the appropriate person
  • WISEid: Assigns unique identification codes to each school staff member and student; ensures data is attached to the appropriate person

WISEdata Objectives

1. Provide Privacy Protection to Users - The system includes an integrated Access Management System that allows districts flexibility, while maintaining privacy and security in accordance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act and Wisconsin statutes. The system provides the right people with the right access to the right data at the right time, while ensuring that districts and schools maintain local control over granting user rights to secure DPI applications.

2. Provide Unique ID Numbers for Students and Staff - The system creates a single, secure, and consistent statewide identification number assignment system to be used for both staff and students that protects and safeguards data. The system consolidates the student unique ID generation system and a new staff unique ID generation into one interface, resulting in efficiencies in support, training, security, and application maintenance while also improving data quality.

3. Replace Outdated Data Collection Software - The department created a data collection system that is adaptable to changing federal and legislative requirements. Instead of collecting specific data through many different software applications and interfaces, the new system involves districts sending required data to the department with one tool. This also saves districts time, as it eliminates the need for them to create specific file exports for specific collections. The project calls for partnering with school districts’ SIS vendors to automate processes and validate data integrity to ensure accuracy. This is critical to ensure the legislatively-required data is of the highest possible quality.

4. Integrate the New Data Collection Systems with the Department’s Data Warehouse - The department integrated the new data collection system with WISEdash, the Wisconsin K-12 data warehouse. This impacts both the secured version of WISEdash (WISEdash for Districts), accessible only to school district staff, and the public version (WISEdash Public Portal).

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WISEdata Data Categories

Public education is funded primarily from local and state taxes. The federal government supplements less than 10% of public education funding. Despite this percentage being small, federal funding equates to billions of dollars each year, mostly through programs like the Child Nutrition Act, the Individuals with Disabilities Educations (IDEA) Act, and various Title programs. The majority of local funding for public education comes from property taxes.

The “cost” of using tax dollars is that people want to know what they’re paying for: If I’m paying local property taxes that may fund 80% of my local school district, how are the schools spending this money? How are the students doing? Are my local schools safe?

Answers to these questions and other education outcomes are displayed in data. Data that is collected daily (like attendance), once a year (like the 3rd Friday of September enrollment count), and as needed (like discipline incidents and special education reports).

The resources below reflect some of the largest collections and categories of data collected by the Wisconsin Department of Instruction (DPI), which is the State Education Agency (SEA). These collections exist to satisfy accountability reporting requirements as defined by federal and state legislation.

WISEdata Annual Checklist

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Please go to the WISEdata Annual Tasks Checklist web page to review this important information, covering:

  • Public reporting Vs private/Choice reporting

  • Start of the year tasks

  • Annual WISEdata snapshot and collections

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Acknowledgment of Data Submission in WISEdata

Please go to the Acknowledgment of Data Submission in WISEdata page to read what the acknowledgment states. It is required that WISEdata users click “I agree” before obtaining access to the secure application.

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WISEdata Conference

Visit the WISEdata Conference page to view current information about this year’s conference.

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WISEdata Events Calendar

Visit the WISEdata Events Calendar page to view current and future trainings, webinars, and other events that support you and your use of the WISE platform of applications.

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WISEdata Portal Login

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Access your WISEdata portal by logging in via WISEhome.

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Why Use WISEdata?

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Under the plan approved by the legislature, DPI created the system to address the following:

  • Meet all required state and federal reporting mandates. Only data which are state and federal legislatively mandated and required are to be submitted in the system.

  • Create value at the school and classroom level by presenting data through the district WISEdash data portal to support instructional decision making.

  • Eliminate duplicate data collection tools and processes work by school district, charter school, private school, and department staff.

  • Partner with SIS vendors on data collection standards making high-quality data available more easily and frequently.

The WISEdata Vision

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction maintains a comprehensive data management system of data collection and reporting to maximize the efficient collection and use of high quality data to improve the educational success of all Wisconsin students and to meet federal and state reporting requirements. DPI data collection and reporting systems are necessary and useful, protect student privacy, and strive for improved development and maintenance.

Guiding Principles

  • Data Collection
  • Protect privacy in all data collections as required by law
  • Account for all students
  • Only collect data required to meet state or federal reporting mandates, as a condition of receiving funding under a grant program, or that answer critical questions to improve educational success. Data not required by state or federal mandates, including new data requirements created by proposed DPI grant applications, must be approved by the State Superintendent and meet the following criteria:
  • Resources--the department has the fiscal and human resources and capacity to collect data and report.
  • Maintenance--the department has the capacity to maintain the data collection and reporting over time.
  • Reasonable for Districts--the data is collected in a way that districts have the capacity to comply.
  • Ensure that data collected is valid (measures what intended to measure), reliable (comparable values in comparable situations across districts and schools), and useful (aligned with WI vision and standards for students, teachers, and school communities).
  • Design and modify data collection mechanisms to minimize data collection and reporting burdens on school districts and the department over time. This includes data standardization and efficient vertical and horizontal data transfer. Consolidation of collections should always be considered since it usually, if not always, reduces this burden.

Data Reporting and Presentation

  • Protect privacy in all data reporting as required by law.
  • Plan for data reporting as part of the data collection planning process. Ensure up front that the department has the fiscal and human resources to not only develop but also update and maintain reports and reporting tools.
  • Design reports that present a clear picture of Wisconsin's vision of success. To the extent feasible, align reports with standards for students (Wisconsin model academic standards and standards of the heart), staff (PI-34), and school communities (characteristics of successful schools).
  • Design reports that enhance the ability of users to translate reports into action steps towards this vision. Promote the efficient sharing of student data within and across schools over time. Include measures of growth or change and models of success that defy myths.
  • Promote investigation of relationships across topics to provide possible explanations for strengths and needs and action steps.
  • Create reporting and ad hoc query tools that maximize access, are user-friendly, and facilitate self-service for DPI and local educators, school communities, and the general public. Consolidation and cross-referencing of these tools should always be considered since it usually, if not always, facilitates access and self-service and saves money.
  • Connect reporting and query tools with information on data use and interpretation.

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WISEdata Portal and WISEdata API page

Visit the WISEdata Portal and WISEdata API page to get more information about WISEdata Portal (WDP) and its Application Programming Interface (API), Ed-Fi Credential.

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WISEdata Use Cases

These Use Cases are available through the WISEdata Ed-Fi documentations, Data Domains and Endpoints. From there, select the domain that pertains to your needs. 

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