XML Schema - Standard Interchange Schema
- Ian Christopher
Different use cases and different periodicities of data exchange require different interchange schema. Ed-Fi Data Standard v2.1 contains a set of 21 Standard Interchange Schemas to handle common data exchange use cases, including basic student profile information, attendance records, assessment results, program participation, and many other information-transfer scenarios.
The Standard Ed-Fi Interchange Schemas are XSD files, all of which use the domain entities and other types defined in the Ed-Fi Core XML Schema. Through field-testing, the standard Ed-Fi schema definitions provide a rigorous structure for data, but allow a reasonable degree of flexibility to account for different levels of source data availability. For example, source systems at the start of the year may have a less complete set of data than the same systems at the end of the year. Source assessment systems may have different ways of providing a means of identifying a student. The flexibility in the Ed-Fi Standard Interchange Schemas supports these realities in the field.
The Ed-Fi Standard Interchange Schemas are composed of elements from the domain and association types available in the Ed-Fi Core XML Schema, as depicted below.
High-level construction of Ed-Fi Interchange Schemas
The Ed-Fi Core XML Schema provides a library of building blocks from which to compose interchange schemas, as depicted in the figure below.
Detailed construction of Ed-Fi Interchange Schemas
Ed-Fi Interchanges are constructed by referencing the complex types for domain entities, Ed-Fi Descriptors, and associations.
The Standard Interchange Schemas in Ed-Fi Data Standard v2.1 are identified in the list below. Each schema is individually documented and described in depth in an Ed-Fi Standard Interchange Schema Brief.