Ed-Fi Domains
- Eric Jansson
Ed-Fi Domains
The scope of education data is large and its organization is complex. Domains serve to provide views of the Ed-Fi UDM to assist in its understanding and use. In many cases, a specific Ed-Fi data exchange schema may only deal with data in a single domain, such as assessment or enrollment. In other cases, it may span several domains, such as with a student transfer record.
The Ed-Fi UDM is organized into the following 17 base domains, all generally well-recognized in the K–12 education data space:
A brief description for each domain follows. Model details for each domain, including key entities, key concepts, and model diagrams are in the Unifying Data Model - v4.0 Model Reference.
Alternative and Supplemental Services
The Alternative and Supplemental Services domain represents a wide range of programs like education, alternative, extracurricular, supplemental, and early learning programs.
Sub Domains:
- Federal Programs
Assessment
The Assessment domain represents the structure of assessments, the educational standards and objectives measured by assessments, and student assessment results.
Sub Domains:
- Assessment Metadata
- Student Assessment
- Standards
Bell Schedule
The Bell Schedule domain represents the class periods and meeting times for a set of instructional dates.
Discipline
The Discipline domain represents discipline incidents (i.e., a violation or offense) and corresponding discipline actions (i.e., the punishment associated with an incident).
Education Organization
The Education Organization domain represents the organizational structure, hierarchy, and other associations of education organizations like schools and school districts.
Enrollment
The Enrollment domain represents student enrollment in a school and other associations with education organizations like school districts.
Finance
The Finance domain represents the financial information captured in accounts that may be used to link programs, staff, or classes for funding purposes.
Graduation
The Graduation domain represents graduation requirements such as credits and coursework required for graduation, and student outcomes after graduation such as enrollment in college.
Intervention
The Intervention domain describes educational interventions and, more generally, supplemental education content aimed at altering behavior or improving the understanding of a concept.
School Calendar
The School Calendar domain represents the instructional days, sessions, and grading periods defined for a school year.
Staff
The Staff domain captures information about a staff member's experience, credentials, and assignment and employment associations.
Student Academic Record
The Student Academic Record domain represents the various kinds of student performance reporting, ranging from grades received, to report cards, to a transcript that contains the final record of grades received.
Sub Domains:
- Gradebook
- Report Card
- Student Transcript
Student Attendance
The Student Attendance domain represents daily attendance and class period (i.e., section) attendance.
Student Cohort
The Student Cohort domain represents a wide variety of collections of students that are distinct from class rosters or program participants, like graduation cohorts or a principal's watch list.
Student Identification and Demographics
The Student Identification and Demographics domain represents the core information about students and parents.
Survey
The Survey domain represents the structure of surveys including the inquiry side for survey compositions and the response side for survey results.
Teaching and Learning
The Teaching and Learning domain represents the course catalog, student section enrollment, and associated staff.
Sub Domains:
- Course Catalog
- Sections and Programs
- Ed-Fi Unifying Data Model Handbook (v4.0)
- Ed-Fi Unifying Data Model UML Diagrams (Visio format, on GitHub)