PowerSchool Integrated Data Exchange with Ed-Fi
Two key aspects are critical to understanding the workings of the PowerSchool implementation of the Integrated Data Exchange with Ed-Fi:
- Resources – These are the standard and South Carolina-specific Ed-Fi objects used to group and specify data by category and sub-category. Ed-Fi leverages standard protocols including the JSON data category format in order to allow school districts and the state to exchange information as defined within the Ed-Fi specifications. Ed-Fi Resources are persons, places, events, objects, or concepts about which data can be collected. A resource provides context for a data element, for example, Student Demographics, Student School, Student Academic Record, etc. The data elements within a resource are sometimes referred to as "properties." To supplement the standard Ed-Fi resources, the South Carolina Department of Education has defined custom extensions to capture additional state-specific data. Only the resources used by South Carolina are included in this guide.
- PowerSchool Ed-Fi Reporting Page – This is the vehicle for districts to manage and monitor the Ed-Fi Data Exchange process. This page is first organized by the two Ed-Fi transaction types that users will work with: Download Data and Publish Data. Within each type, data are grouped by category, and then by one or more data views, which provide summary information and details about the Ed-Fi resources, their associated data elements, and their publication status.