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Privacy Rights in the Digital Age

Education Data Exchange Network (EDEN)

by Lauren Perelli

A digital repository of U.S. state education data for grades Kindergarten through 12.

Generally referred to as EDEN, and synonymous with EdFacts, the Education Data Exchange Network is an offshoot of the policies mandated by the No Child Left Behind Act. The database was created and afterward officially launched between 2003 and 2004. Shortly thereafter, EDEN and its accompanying tools were renamed EDFacts. In total, EDFacts consists of three data programs: the EDEN Submission System (ESS), the EDEN Survey Tool (EST), and the EDEN Staging database. All three work in tandem to collect and report aggregate data provided by state education agencies (SEA), local education agencies (LEA), and sometimes schools themselves. In addition, the EDFacts Metadata and Process System (EMAPS) supports the State Submission Plan and data designed for a webpage interface. The Education Data Exchange Network has evolved into a centralized source of key education statistics concerning the U.S. public school system. Navigating EdFacts procedures, data submission policies, and a series of transitions, local, state, and federal government personnel worked together to unify education data across the United States.

In 2003, the United States Department of Education implemented the Performance-Based Data Management Initiative (PBDMI) to address and improve the means through which each state facilitated the collection of education statistics. The purpose of the initiative was two-fold: to reduce the data collection efforts exhausted by each state, and to streamline the process to allow both the federal government and states access to the same uniform data sets. The outcome of the initiative was the Education Data Exchange Network. At first voluntary, on January 25, 2007 the Federal Register published a compulsory regulation directing all states to submit data to EDEN according to file specifications outlined by the Department of Education. SEAs faced fines if they failed to do so. Enforcing these requirements, however, boosted the current storehouse of information included in EDEN, and the government also extended technical assistance to smooth the transition. Additionally, between 2008 and 2010, the government funded the MSIX Data Quality program, the goal being to support state-level methods of recording migrant student data.

Each state has a designated SEA contact, also known as the EDFacts Coordinator, who submits the state's data to the EDEN/EDFacts Submission System. The submission of the data is summarized in the EDFacts Submission System (ESS) User Guide, supplemented by a detailed EdFacts workbook that is revised approximately every school year. Four reports help the SEA contract track the timeliness and accuracy of the data they enter into the ESS. Firstly, the Transmittal Status Report displays the status of recent files transmitted to the system and errors identified in these files, if any. Secondly, the Submission Error Report retrieves all submitted files with errors later found. The Submission Error Report can be limited or expanded to include one or more school years from 2007–2008 or sooner. Next, the Submission Progress Report allows the SEA contact to gage their progress for the current school year, and they can filter the results to view the numbers submitted at the state, local, or school level. Lastly, mirroring a practice the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) applies to their Common Core of Data (CCD), the Match Error Report ensures the directory listing of each school remains consistent by comparing the current and previous school year entries to CCD.

Beyond the reports, all data submitted by SEAs are subjected to a scrupulous, two-step edit, conducted first by the Education Data Exchange Network and then NCES statisticians assisted by the U.S. Census Bureau. Once the statistics are verified and published, two main outside sources analyze them. Professional researchers funded typically by the federal government or private sector organizations may either generate or evaluate EDEN data to serve the needs of specific projects and studies. On the other hand, private foundations—including private schools—not only refer to U.S. Department of Education data for their own uses, but also they generate data that will support the goals of their individual organizations. Although the various applications of EDEN data may appear endless, only just over 100 data groups represent the figures delivered to the Education Data Exchange Network. Data categories further define data groups. Among these groups are specific counts of students, ages 6 through 21, with disabilities who are enrolled in special education courses and Individualized Education Plans (IEP). This data speaks directly to the Individual with Disabilities Act, which has established explicit rules regarding the types of data to collect. Other data groups feature information on schools receiving Title I funding, graduation and dropout rates, teacher quality, homeless students, student performance in science, and math proficiency—to name a few. Data, however, is never submitted on individual students.

Though the U.S. Department of Education spearheaded the EDEN initiative, it transformed into collaboration between the Department, state and local education agencies, NCES, and most importantly schools. Today, the EdFacts website lists four overarching objectives: to inform policy and decision making; to alleviate the data collection burden shouldered by states; to enhance state software and tools which obtain and stockpile data records; and to deliver freely available, concise data to the local, state, and federal government. In short, the creation of the Education Data Exchange Network altered the course of U.S. education data and it will continue to play an essential role in present and future education issues.

Further Reading

1 

Ahearn, Eileen M. “Special Education in the New National Educational Data System.” Communication Disorders Quarterly 29, no. 4 (2008): 236–238.

2 

Kanstoroom, Marci and Eric C. Osberg, Ed. A Byte at the Apple: Rethinking Education Data for the Post-NCLB Era. Washington D.C.: Thomas B. Fordham Institute Press, 2008.

3 

Liss, Jerald M. “Creative Destruction and Globalization: The Rise of Massive Standardized Education Platforms.” Globalizations 10, no. 4 (08/01; 2015/10, 2013): 557–570.

See also: Big Data; Data collection; Educational setting, Privacy in an.

Citation Types

MLA 9th
Perelli, Lauren. "Education Data Exchange Network (EDEN)." Privacy Rights in the Digital Age, edited by Christopher T. Anglim & JD, Salem Press, 2016. Salem Online, online.salempress.com/articleDetails.do?articleName=PRDA_0071.
APA 7th
Perelli, L. (2016). Education Data Exchange Network (EDEN). In C. Anglim & JD (Ed.), Privacy Rights in the Digital Age. Salem Press. online.salempress.com.
CMOS 17th
Perelli, Lauren. "Education Data Exchange Network (EDEN)." Edited by Christopher T. Anglim & JD. Privacy Rights in the Digital Age. Hackensack: Salem Press, 2016. Accessed May 30, 2026. online.salempress.com.