XML Format for the High School Transcript

NCES Data Conference

July 26, 2006

Washington, DC

John “Tom” Stewart

Former College Registrar

Bruce Marton

University of Texas at Austin

Topics

Bridging the Gap High School and College Local schools to District and State

Existing PESC standard for College Transcript

XML standard for High School Transcript

Building Bridges

Challenges (the Bridges)

Improving Service to Students

Accountability and Metrics Benefits and Incentives

First Bridge:Service to Students High School Students apply to

College Credentials sent to support

application Test Scores (SAT, ACT)

Electronic HS Transcript

Largely paper

Paper Process Uses Postal service

Slow Unreliable

Requires manual processing Vulnerable to fraud

Who really sent it Has it been tampered with

Paper Process Inaccurate

Data has to be re-entered Varying local definitions, usage Differing grading scales

Expensive Data has to be re-entered

Time-consuming

Electronic process

Very fast or Instant Reliable

Receipt confirmation Status report

No processing delay for printing Consistent data Encrypted Authenticated

Meeting student needs

Growing Interest in electronic exchange Demand from students Increased confidence in Internet

Vendor interest DocuFide Pearson Triand

Second BridgeAccountability No Child Left Behind

Identify at-risk schools School comparisons Aggregate data

State mandated metrics Graduation requirement

Exit testing enforced at postsecondary

Core course curriculum

Standard data gathering

Common metrics Translate from local systems Uniformity across systems

Technology Initiatives- SIF Schools Interoperability

Framework (SIF) Allows SIS applications to work

together and share data Technical specification

Infrastructure Unified K12 Data Model Support intra school/district Import external K12 data

Schools Interoperability Framework Zone Integration Server

Middleware specification Certified vendor solutions

Data Exchange Choreography Data transport

Standard data objects XML schema dictionary Comprehensive but not yet

aggregated

Third BridgeManaging benefits Admissions guarantees

Automatic acceptance Instant decisions

Scholarships, grants Requires earlier contacts with

students Interim transcripts to assess

progress

State Initiatives

Common Application process California Texas Florida

Centralized Award process Florida Georgia North Carolina

History of Standard

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) EDI initiative- 1988

K12 and postsecondary communities AACRAO CCSSO

Together developed EDI standard

EDI Standard

Governing body: ANSI X12 Transaction set 130

Student Education Record (Transcript) Approved 1992

SPEEDE Standardization of Postsecondary

Education Electronic Data Exchange ExPRESS

Exchange of Permanent Records Electronically for Students and Schools

SPEEDE College Transcript Very successful

700,000 transcripts exchanged last year

Revised to form XML Schema standard PESC approved May 2004

ExPRESS

Slow to be adopted EDI unfamiliar Considered expensive, difficult Wide variety of SIS systems Chronic under funding

Basic work intact ExPRESS still maintained and

supported

ExPRESS

NCES commissioned study of XML standard - 2002 Based on ANSI TS130 K12 community participation SIF compatibility Coordinated with PESC XML

standards Established viability

Functional specifications

Initiative History

Need for HS Transcript State of Georgia Texas Education Agency Vendor interest

College XML Transcript approved Workgroup chartered Fall ’04

First meeting at AACRAO Tech conference/PESC Fall meeting

Generated strong interest Meeting every week via conference call

Participants

State Agencies Oklahoma Georgia California South Dakota Arkansas New Jersey

Organizations Schools

Interoperability Framework

College Foundation of North Carolina

US Department of Education

High Schools Massachusetts Illinois

Participants

AACRAO SPEEDE committee Texas Iowa Florida California

Pearson Docufide SunGardSCT

ACT Nat. Student

Clearinghouse Strategic Explorers ESP Solutions AES The Common

Application Great Lakes Ed. Loan

Svcs.

Postsecondary model

College College

Secondary Model

SchoolDistrict

EducationAgency

HighSchool

College

Higher EdAuthority

State

Clearing-house

XML College Transcript

Limited to PS to PS Based on TS 130

SPEEDE/ExPRESS Basic structure for HS transcript in

place

Scope K12 vs. HS/Secondary only

Initial decision: Secondary to Postsecondary only

Now expanded to include agency and school to school exchange

At first workgroup was informal Established validity of concept,

commitment to process

Standards requirementsLocal flexibility

Standard methodologyNational consistency

Data Model Structure

Biographical, Student identifiers Credentials, Rank, GPA Coursework/Academic History Test Scores

State, local National tests permitted

Immunizations

Technology Initiatives -NCES National standard for course

classifications SNCC - existing SCED - replacement

Standardized course category definitions for states Georgia, California, Texas

To be released soon

User-defined Extensions

Allows mutually defined sub-schemas State systems Regional requirements Software specific needs

Allows strict standards within system

Other users can ignore National ratification not needed

Where we are

PESC High School XML schema ratified June 2006

Implementation Guide posted Continue Coordination with NCES

Core Components

Data DictionarySector Library

Sector Library

Sector Library

Application Schema

Application Schema

Application Schema

Application Schema

Application Schema

Application Schema

Standards Forum Core Components

CommonLineRosterResponse.xsd

PESC Core Components

Data Dictionary

CoreMain.xsdFinancial Aid

Sector Library

FFELAlternative.xsd

Academic Record Sector Library

AcademicRecord.xsd

Standards Forum Core Components

CommonLineRoster.xsd

CommonLineResponse.xsd

CommonLineReceipt.xsd

CommonLineRequest

.xsd

High School Transcript Schema

HighSchoolTranscript.xsd

College Transcript Schema

CollegeTranscript.xsd

TranscriptResponse Schema

TranscriptResponse.xsdPESC Core Components

Data Dictionary

CoreMain.xsd

Academic Record Sector Library

AcademicRecord.xsd

Standards Forum Objects – proposed

TranscriptRequest Schema

TranscriptRequest.xsd

Transcript Acknowledgment Schema

TranscriptAcknowledgment.xsdHigh School Transcript

SchemaHighSchoolTranscript.xsd

College Transcript Schema

CollegeTranscript.xsd

HighSchoolTranscript.XSD

HighSchoolTranscript.XSD

Implementation Guide

High School Transcript Implementation Guide

Where to get documents

www.pesc.org

NCES Code Format

SCED Codes Format

Questions