Initial Assignment of Wisconsin Student Numbers (WSNs)

What happens if districts don't have WSNs for students by June 30?

We set June 30 as the due date for WSLS implementation because WSLS needs to be implemented using 2003-04 data and June 30 is the last day of the 2003-04 school year. If the data are submitted after June 30, the information needed by WSLS will still be for 2003-04 school year. These WSLS data will be used for 2003-04 Wisconsin School Performance Report and ESEA Report Card purposes. They will also be used as a starting point for 2004-05 enrollment reporting purposes.

Districts postponing the submission of 2003-04 WSLS data until after June may have more difficulty reporting 2003-04 data. A few reasons are provided below.

• The required data may not be saved locally.
• Local year-end processing may affect availability of the required data.
• Staff in your district and in other districts will need to respond to exit requests/confirmations generated by the WSLS match review process. Availability of district staff during July and early August is generally limited so responses may be delayed.

The fall 2004 ISES collection requires 2003-04 WSLS data as a starting point for 2004-05 enrollment reporting and for reporting of 2003-04 students who are not continuing in 2004-05. Additional 2003-04 demographic data beyond data collected as part of WSLS will be required by ISES. Fall is a busy time to try to play catch up even if data have been saved. In addition the longer districts wait the more match review work will be required prior to assignment of WSNs.

On the other hand, if all required 2003-04 data are saved locally, delays into July should not cause major problems for districts other than greater delays in receiving responses to exit requests/confirmations. Districts may choose to submit 2003-04 WSLS data through July if necessary due to local staffing or technical issues. Often district staff can continue to check WSLS exit/enroll email notifications and the WSLS Web application (Match Review and Exit Confirmation screens), offsite if necessary, in order to provide timely responses and minimize delays.

Delays in the submission of 2003-04 WSLS data until August are not recommended because time should be allowed to address WSLS file format, business rule errors, and possible matches. Some districts have successfully submitted a single file that has generated WSNs within minutes. Others have files fail or records requiring match review so receiving WSNs back takes longer. However, DPI strongly recommends that districts make every effort to receive all WSNs for their 2003-04 students by mid- August when other districts will begin submitting 2004-05 school enrollment changes.

Keeping WSLS data current will be more important after mid-August when 2004-05 school year starts than it is now due to the number of student movements between schools and new enrollment transactions. WSLS will not work efficiently if districts fall weeks behind. If WSLS data are out of date, then affected mobile students are more likely to receive multiple WSNs which will compromise a primary purpose of the system. WSLS business rules and automated/manual match review functions work best if data are current and complete.

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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.

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For questions about this information, contact Jean E. Whitcomb (608) 266-2937

Last updated on 2/28/2008 7:39:43 AM