ISES: Q & A for Parents

Answers to parents' questions about new federal data collection requirements

2004-05

What is Wisconsin's Individual Student Enrollment System?
Wisconsin's Individual Student Enrollment System (ISES) is an electronic data collection system that will be used to follow the movements and progress of student groups as measured by such indicators as attendance, graduation, acquisition of English proficiency, and achievement on statewide tests. This system will be implemented in the fall of 2004.
Why is the Individual Student Enrollment System required?
Wisconsin devised ISES to meet federal data collection requirements and to continue annually receiving about $250 million of federal funds for schools. The federal No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act requires extensive new data collection and reporting for schools, districts, and the state. The NCLB calls for every student to be proficient in reading and math by the year 2014 and to meet other educational goals, including regular attendance, high school graduation, and proficiency in English. To determine if educational goals are met, the NCLB requires each school, district, and state to document the progress of all students. In addition, the progress of many specified student groups must be summarized and reviewed, including the progress of economically disadvantaged students, students with disabilities, students of color, and English language learners. There is no feasible alternative to this new system. In addition to meeting the new reporting requirements, this system will allow educators to (1) better account for students who move or are highly mobile, (2) more readily exchange student records among school districts, and (3) respond more quickly to student needs.
How will the Individual Student Enrollment System work? What student data will be collected?
All school districts will be expected to participate in the Individual Student Enrollment System with the program starting in 2004. Developing the system will require that every public school student in the state be assigned a unique student number, called the Wisconsin Student Number (WSN), by July 2004. The DPI will assign each student a WSN which, for data collection purposes, will be the student's sole identifier throughout his or her PK-12 experience. Parents cannot opt their child out of being assigned a number in the system.
In addition to the legal name of each student enrolled, public school districts will also supply the DPI with other data such as the student's gender, race, birthdate, and at least one parent/guardian name. This information will prevent data collectors from confusing students with identical names, similarly-spelled names, or aliases, for example, multiple David Smiths. WSLS does not require birth certificates or other documentation, but districts might do so. WSLS recommends but does not require additional data such as place of birth (city, county, state - country not collected), nicknames, and more parent/guardian names. The additional data will help ensure that WSNs are unique and that existing WSNs are retained when students move between schools. No personal contact information, such as addresses or phone numbers, or social security numbers will be collected or used by the system.
Will student privacy be protected? How?
Protecting student privacy is the highest priority of the Individual Student Enrollment System. Wisconsin residents have historically regarded the privacy of student records as extremely important. That priority will be preserved by the Individual Student Enrollment System. Under the new system, student records are expected to be as secure or more secure than most districts now keep them.
Student information is also protected by strict state and federal student privacy laws. Confidential data about individual students will not be accessible to the public. The public will not have access to the DPI confidential data base. Only data about student groups will be publicly reported. Measures that will be used to protect privacy rights include:
- encryption, or the conversion of a set of characters or numbers to a different set of characters or numbers through use of encryption software. For example, the name "Jane" might be converted to "k/+RQ[O." Countless software variations are possible.
- firewalls, or hardware and software that control access to secure networks. DPI will store student data in a secure location within a secure network.
- authentication, a process that verifies through a trusted third party source that a person is who they say they are.
- logins and passwords, or unique identification codes assigned to authorized school personnel. School boards will authorize staff access to student data on a need-to-know-basis as the work of the staff member requires. For example, if an authorized school staff member enters her login and password and her identification is verified, she can view certain student data not accessible to other staff or to the general public. If any other person tries to view the data, physical and network security measures, such as firewalls and the scrambling of data through encryption, will bar access and keep data private.
How will the use of Wisconsin Student Numbers help protect privacy?
Districts will use Wisconsin student numbers (WSNs) instead of names to submit data about student educational progress, such as attendance, grade level placement, dropout, graduation credentials, or acquisition of English proficiency. This will protect student privacy and facilitate reporting.
In addition, WSNs will be encrypted before storage at DPI to provide an extra measure of privacy. Student progress data, always confidential, will be attached to encrypted WSNs rather than to student names, and will then be stored in a secure location on the network. Confidential data will be accessible only to legally authorized persons with legitimate educational interests.
Will personal student contact information or social security numbers be used by the new system?
No personal contact information, such as addresses or phone numbers, or social security numbers will be collected or used by the WSN locator system. Following student progress over time can be done efficiently if WSNs are used; this is critical not only for NCLB reporting purposes but also to prevent students from "falling through the cracks."
Since students are not expected to know their WSNs, new schools or districts must have a way to efficiently locate these numbers in the system. Contact information is not needed to locate existing WSNs and these data are not in the system. Identifying information that will be used by the WSN locator system is now available in schools and is generally not considered an invasion of privacy. Information that will be collected, including student names, gender, race/ethnicity, birthdate, and one or more parent names, was carefully selected for its usefulness in locating existing WSNs of students moving between schools.
Who will have access to the Wisconsin Student Numbers?
Only authorized district and school personnel will have access to student numbers with student names and other identifying information attached, for the purpose of registering students.
When will the new system begin operating?
The system will begin operating in the fall of 2004. Districts will submit to DPI selected data for each student, including entry/exit status (transferred, graduated, or dropped out) and student status as a member of one or more NCLB-identified student group(s) including gender, race, disability status, economic status, English language proficiency, and migrant status. Data collected will be limited to that which is required to comply with federal law and will be far less than what is currently collected about students by your school.
Is this system in use anywhere else?
All Midwestern states and many Wisconsin schools have already adopted this type of system or are moving to implement similar systems. Student numbers and progress data are consistently included as components of these systems. Eventually, to comply with NCLB requirements, every state and many more schools are likely to implement a similar system.
Where can I get more information?
More information about Wisconsin Student Numbers and the Individual Student Enrollment system is available at http://dpi.wi.gov/lbstat/eseadata.html. To learn more about protecting the privacy of student records locally, contact your school or district.

Submit questions, comments, and suggestions about the WSLS or ISES to *dpistats@dpi.wi.gov or call 800-507-5744.

Submit questions regarding the ESEA Report Card Requirements to *dpieseadata@dpi.wi.gov.

Last updated on 2/28/2008 7:42:31 AM

Wisconsin's Individual Student Enrollment System

Answers to parents' questions about new federal data collection requirements