The Education Data Model

The Education Data Model is a conceptual but detailed representation of the education information domain. The Education Data Model strives to be a shared understanding among all education stakeholders as to what information needs to be collected and managed at the local level in order to enable effective instruction of students and superior leadership of schools.

The Education Data Model is a catalogue of the data used in PK-12 education and a description of the relationships among those data. It is designed to be used as a reference tool that can be used to:

• Facilitate the identification, merging, and matching of data across different systems;
• Provide similar descriptions across LEA systems, across LEAs, and from LEAs to the state and federal government;
• Specify the content and structure of logical and physical data models.

The information in this conceptual model takes into account the processes associated with teaching, learning, and the business operations of education organizations. The Model focuses on granular information at the school and LEA level rather than upon aggregate statistics or indicators for accountability. However, the Model includes information that is necessary to produce aggregate and other types of statistics.

The Education Data Model can be used by educators, vendors, and researchers to understand the information required for teaching, learning, and administrative systems. The Education Data Model answers questions such as:

• What data do schools need to collect and manage in order to meet the educational needs of their students?
• What information is needed to effectively manage education organizations such that teaching and learning is successful?

A single, comprehensive model of education data is prerequisite to establishing automated systems with the right data, data that are comparable across time and systems, and data accurate enough to answer our questions.