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| This article was originally published as the Executive Summary of the handbook of the same name. This handbook helps to promote comparability of data at the local, state, and national levels, including data reported in The Common Core of Data (CCD) surveys. | |||
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To make appropriate, cost-effective, and timely decisions about students, educators must have accurate and complete information. Recognizing this need, most education systems have moved from paper documents in filing cabinets to automated student information systems. These systems provide teachers and others concerned with effective program design with day-to-day access to information about the students' background, learning experiences, and performance. They also provide the flexibility necessary to supply aggregate data to school boards, state and federal governments, and other interested parties and to conduct program evaluations. To be effective, however, these systems must record data accurately and comparably for all students, in all places, and at all times. The Student Data Handbook for Elementary, Secondary, and Early Childhood Education was developed by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to provide guidance concerning the consistent maintenance of student information. This handbook is useful to public and private education agencies, schools, early childhood centers, and other educational institutions, as well as to researchers involved in the collection of student data. In addition, the handbook may be useful to elected officials and members of the public interested in student information. This handbook is not , however, a data collection instrument, nor does it reflect any type of federal data maintenance requirements. It is presented as a tool to help the public and the American school system make information about students more useful and effective in meeting student needs. This handbook was developed with the assistance of local, state, and federal education representatives and researchers. The definitions included are consistent with current state and local practice, national standards movements, and federal reporting requirements. The terms, definitions, and procedures represent a consensus of what is considered "best practice" in data collection; they should be interpreted and applied according to local, state, and federal reporting requirements and restrictions for confidentiality and security.
The data elements included in this handbook represent the types of student information that could be collected and maintained in permanent or temporary student records, whether in paper format or in an automated database. An attempt has been made to be as complete as possible, with the understanding that many data elements will not be needed for all students. Data elements are presented in nine areas:
Each data element is defined, and lists of options and definitions are included where applicable. Data elements are also associated with the entities to which they pertain, such as persons, places, or things, about which data may be stored.
This handbook provides guidelines for designing student recordkeeping systems for use by schools, school districts, state education agencies, and other educational institutions. Included is a discussion of the benefits of a well-designed student record system, as well as potential uses of such a system at the school, district, or state level. Also included is a description of a step-by-step process for designing an effective student record system.
Communication among various levels of the education system is increasingly important. More and more, states are requiring that schools or districts submit portions of student records to the state. Another growing trend is the electronic transmission of student records when students switch schools/districts or apply to postsecondary institutions. This revision of the handbook adds detail about automating and exchanging electronic records, with suggestions for formatting data elements and arranging them in a logical and flexible design.
This handbook, in conjunction with other NCES documents, provides state and local education officials with important tools for designing and implementing automated information systems. Recent NCES documents dealing with the confidentiality of student records, decision making about the installation of technology, and ensuring security of technology are important adjuncts to this handbook.
Chapter 1 provides the user with an introduction to the handbook and its uses. Chapter 2 contains a more detailed description of the handbook's contents and uses of the handbook. Listings of other related documents that could be useful are also included . In anticipation of future updates, a description of the process for implementing suggested changes has been included. Chapter 3, "Building a Student Record System," discusses the collection, use, and dissemination of data and information about individual students and how student record systems can benefit the students and the school system. Chapter 4, "Data Elements and Definitions," includes a complete list of data terms (with definitions) considered important to the management of schools and the provision of services to students. Each entity listed refers to something, or someone, about which data should be maintained. Each data element refers to a particular aspect of student data for which some need was perceived within the school system. A definition is included for each entity and data element. Chapter 5 describes possible applications of the handbook. A table is provided that includes information about data element type and field length, attributes that could be useful to readers designing a data collection system, a survey, or a reporting format. Following the glossary and index are 12 appendices that contain important supplemental information. The appendices include comprehensive lists of coding options for some of the data elements in chapter 4. Included are code designations for states and outlying areas, countries, languages, occupational groupings, medical conditions and treatments, and listings of federal education programs and the names of those who contributed to the development of this revision. This 2000 edition of the Student Data Handbook updates the 1994 edition. Beginning with this edition, the handbook will be updated annually, with revisions posted on the NCES Web Site.
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