Rostering is the process of exchanging data between the school and the edtech vendors with whom they contract. It’s usually a pull and push process where data is extracted from the Student Information System (SIS) and then pushed to the vendor. The problem with traditional rostering is that the data exchange adds enormous risk to personally identifiable information (PII) because the information is copied and pasted to each vendor. It is a problem that does not get enough attention, especially now that schools are working with as many as 1,500 different vendors. There are several different rostering platforms and standards to be aware of – and it does get confusing.
What Is OneRoster?
OneRoster is a standard from 1EdTech (formerly IMS Global) that allows for data exchange between two platforms. The data is exported via OneRoster and the OneRoster file can then be uploaded to a OneRoster compliant application. The information in OneRoster includes names, email identifiers, course listings, and user roles.
What Is EdFI?
Ed-Fi is a non-profit that has established a data standard and an API that allows schools to roster data. Ed-Fi is not actually a rostering tool. Like OneRoster, it is a standard that sets parameters for other products. Companies like PowerSchool and many more SIS products use the Ed-Fi API for rostering.
What Is SIF?
SIF stands for School Interoperability Framework. The SIF initiative for scalable data exchange was developed to allow for synchronizing data entered in one system with the data in other systems within the SIF framework. It’s a complex process requiring a Zone Integration Server (ZIS) that is responsible for routing and integrating data. Like other traditional rostering services, it simply copies and pastes data from one system to another.
Which Is Better – OneRoster, EdFi, or SIF?
Each of these systems and platforms have helped to lay the groundwork for better interoperability, but none of them rise to the level of secure data exchange necessary in today’s educational environment. Most schools aren’t even aware of every vendor that might have a copy of the PII from their school. Hundreds of vendors duplicate student data, and not all vendors are approved by the district. The habit of duplicating student data has become commonplace, allowing for increased ransomware attacks and even lawsuits. School Passport is breaking this habit, minimizing the surface area to attack. Our cutting-edge technology solves the problem that traditional rostering vendors have created.
Why School Passport?
School Passport’s automated data exchange platform is designed to excel beyond the limitations of traditional rostering vendors. Easily implemented, our platform alleviates cumbersome internal data transfer processes. School Passport offers dozens of modules and features tailored to your school district’s unique needs and challenges. Our platform lets you quickly identify your data privacy risks and provides the necessary tools to control your data flow and minimize that risk.
“School Passport eliminates the need to share student PII with every vendor and is easy to implement. Our new version of School Passport uses easy-to-implement anonymization services to eliminate the need to duplicate student PII with every vendor that a school district might work with,” said Robert Iskander.
GG4L has already implemented our data exchange in 30,000 schools nationwide and has integrated with hundreds of EdTech vendors. We have a proven project management methodology to ensure that launching School Passport in your district will be easy for you and your vendors. We are establishing an early access and advisory panel to ensure we capture your thoughts, ideas, and challenges. Together, we can make a better, more robust, and sustainable solution that addresses the biggest challenges in education data exchange.
