Cautions | Definitions | Scope | Sources of Data | Using WINSS

Cautions

1. In 2004-05, the PI-1290 Fall Enrollment Collection was replaced by the Individual Student Enrollment System (ISES). Movement to ISES was a major change for Wisconsin and for school districts. It marked the use of a unique student ID to track where a student is enrolled, attendance and academic outcomes, exit information including transfer/dropout status and high school completion, and demographic data required for mandated disaggregated reporting. ISES enrollment data for this 2004-05 initial transition year are not comprehensive so should be interpreted with caution.
2. 2005-06 ISES enrollment data are believed to be more reliable than 2004-05 ISES enrollment data. However, implementation in some districts was more difficult than in other districts and there are likely to be some continuing data reliability issues in 2005-06.
3. In some cases the student counts used in calculating percents or rates come from different collections or are as of different dates. See "What are the sources of WINSS enrollment data?" below. At best, these percents and rates must be interpreted as estimates. These percents/rates can exceed 100% if the count of students in a group on one date exceeds the total count of students in a school or district on another date.
4. In 2010-11, modifications were made in the collection and reporting of race/ethnicity data. Two new categories were added increasing the number of categories reported from 5 to 7. Although key language used in defining the five continuing categories was unchanged, some modifications were made which should be considered when comparing 2010-11 data by race/ethnicity with data for earlier years. See below.

How is enrollment defined?

For WINSS purposes, enrollment is the count of all students who receive their primary PK-12 educational services either (1) directly from school district employees or (2) from third parties under the direct supervision of the school district. Third parties might include technical colleges, community-based organizations, nonprofit-nonsectarian agencies, universities, school to work program providers, cooperative educational service agencies, out-of-state school districts, private schools, residential care centers, Wisconsin Center for the Blind and Visually Impaired, Wisconsin School for the Deaf, County Children with Disabilities Education Board schools, etc.

If a district is accountable for a student's educational outcomes, then the student is expected to be included in the district's enrollment counts. Students need not occupy a seat in a school building to be counted. Criteria that apply to counting of students in school districts also apply to nondistrict charter schools (under s. 118.40(2r) , Wis. Stats.).

All enrollment counts on WINSS are as of a specific date, generally the third Friday of September. Prior to the 2006-07 school year, enrollment counts by student demographic group came from several sources. Counts for limited English proficient (LEP) students were as of spring semester. All other counts were fall counts but dates of counting varied by student group. Beginning with the 2006-07 school year, all counts labeled as "enrollment" on WINSS with the exception of WSAS enrollment counts, are as of the 3rd Friday of September and come from the Individual Student Enrollment System (ISES). For WSAS reporting purposes enrollment has been and continues to be as of the time of fall testing.

What is the scope of these counts? Are all students enrolled in public schools included?

In general, yes. All public schools required by law to submit School Performance Report data (e.g. graduates, dropouts, attendance etc.) are included in these counts. This includes schools operated by districts (under ch. 119 or ch.120, Wis. Stats) and nondistrict charter schools (under s. 118.40(2r) , Wis. Stats.).

Students need not occupy a seat in a school building to be counted as enrolled. Districts submit enrollment data for all students who receive their primary PK-12 educational services either (1) directly from district employees or (2) from third parties under the direct supervision of districts.

WINSS enrollment counts do not include students in schools operated by State Department of Corrections schools, or State Department of Health Services. These schools are not required to submit School Performance Report data.

Are private schools included in these enrollment counts?

No. Only schools required by law to submit School Performance Report data (e.g. graduates, dropouts, etc.) are included in these counts. The data provided on WINSS are data collected by DPI to meet data reporting requirements in state and federal law. Nearly all these requirements apply only to public schools. DPI has very little data about private schools.

What is the grade range covered by enrollment counts?

Wisconsin collects and reports enrollment data for all students regardless of grade. Data are disaggregated by grade and in several other ways. For grade level disaggregation purposes students below 5-year-old kindergarten are counted in a single group called Pre-K or Pre-Kindergarten. Students in this Pre-K group include students with grade level codes K3, K4, and PK in our individual student data collection.

Why do different enrollment counts appear for the same school and year under different WINSS topics?

For certain WINSS topics data are reported only for students in specific grades. For example, truancy and retention are reported only for students in grades K-12. Extra-curricular activities are reported for students in grades 6-12. Dropouts are reported for students in grades 7-12. Community activities are reported for students in grades 9-12.

In these cases, enrollment counts are for the grade range relevant to the specific WINSS topic. The grade range of the topic is generally reflected in the enrollment column label for the table under each WINSS graph.

The grade range of the enrollment count used in WINSS graphs and tables may be further narrowed if the "view by: grade" option is selected or if counts are for a specific "school type" (e.g. High School).

What are the sources of WINSS enrollment data?

Beginning with 2004-05, enrollment counts are based on data collected by the Indvidual Student Enrollment System, third Friday of September count date, unless otherwise indicated below.

• Counts of economically disadvantaged students through 2004-05 are based on October DPI School Lunch Collection . The number of students eligible for free and reduced price lunch data is collected as of the last operating day of October of the current year. The actual participation data is collected. The counts are the numbers of children eligible for free and reduced price meals based on approved applications or direct certification.
• Counts of English language learners (ELLs, also known as limited English proficient students) through 2004-05 are based on the Limited English Proficient (LEP) data collection.
• Counts of English language learners for 2005-06 are based on data collected as part of the 2005-06 ACCESS for ELLs(tm) testing process. This was required due to the need to publish enrollment by language group. Language group data were collected for the first time in ISES in 2006-07. When language group is not needed for enrollment reporting purposes, then counts of English language learners for 2005-06 come from ISES.

Prior to 2004-05, enrollment counts are based on the PI 1290 Fall Enrollment Collection unless otherwise indicated below. For the PI 1290, school districts summed up their students and reported the total on the 3rd Friday of September rather than reporting each student individually electronically.

• Counts by disability are based on the PI 2197 Federal Student Data Collection (AKA December 1 Child Count). The federal child count requires the collection of disability conditions affecting students receiving special education and related services
• Counts of economically disadvantaged students are based on the October DPI School Lunch Collection .
• Counts of English language learners are based on the Limited English Proficient (LEP) data collection.

How and why have race/ethnicity reporting categories changed?

Beginning with 2010-11, the US Department of Education required educational institutions to collect and report racial and ethnic data in accordance with modified standards and aggregation categories. The seven modified reporting categories, and important information necessary for understanding these categories, are listed below:

 

A detailed description of the required modifications is provided in Final Guidance on Maintaining, Collecting, and Reporting Racial and Ethnic Data to the U. S. Department of Education. [more]

Prior to 2010-11, US Department of Education required educational institutions to collect and report race/ethnicity in one of five categories: American Indian or Alaska Native, Asian or Pacific Islander, Black Not Hispanic, Hispanic, and White Not Hispanic. Students identifying with more than one race/ethicity were counted in the category with which the student most identified. Consequently, students who might have selected two or more race/ethnicity category were required to identify a single category. Hispanic students could be counted in one of the other race/ethnicity categories, e.g. American Indian or Asian, rather than in the Hispanic category. [more]

The seven race/ethnicity categories will appear in nearly all 2010-11 WINSS reports about students. However, the five race/ethnicity categories will continue to be used in reporting results of statewide tests for the forseeable future. Bridging of Race/Ethnicity Data provides a general explanation of how race/ethnicity data collected in accordance with the modified 2010-11 standards are mapped back to the five pre-2010-11 categories.

How are enrollment counts by economic status determined?

Beginning with 2005-06, student enrollment records submitted with economically disadvantaged status codes other than N (Not economically disadvantaged) count as economically disadvantaged. Included as economically disadvantaged are (1) students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch based on an approved application or direct certification under the National School Lunch Program (NSLP) and (2) students not identified in (1) but for whom but other evidence indicates that the student's household income is at or below the income eligibility guidelines for free or reduced-price meals under the NSLP.

Prior to 2005-06, counts of economically disadvantaged students included only students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch based on an approved application or direct certification under the NSLP.

Why might the counts of students by economic status on WINSS be different from counts from other sources?

ISES data about economic status are included in a variety of DPI reports that are used for a variety of purposes. ISES data are aggregated in different ways for these purposes.

For WINSS purposes, students are included in counts for the district/school accountable for the students' educational outcomes. ISES data are also used for non-accountability purposes including e-rate discounts and to qualify site/centers under the USDA child nutrition programs. School counts used for these other purposes may not match those on WINSS because these other counts are based on where students actually sit even if accountability for the students' outcomes is assigned to another school, students served outside of school buildings are not counted at all, and in some cases charter, magnet, and partnership schools are excluded.

In some cases, poverty rates reported by other sources are not based on ISES data. ISES requires districts to submit current year poverty data. These data may be incomplete for districts participating in the National School Lunch Program under Provision 2 (approximately one percent of districts, all relatively small at this time) since Provision 2 requires updated income data only at periodic multi-year intervals. For 2008-09 and 2009-10, districts participating in Provision 2 for the lunch program include Crandon, Laona, Menominee Indian, Wabeno, and White Lake. Participating 2r charter schools include Central City Cyberschool (2008-09 and 2009-10) and BEAM (2008-09). Consequently, for districts not collecting current year data, other sources might use estimates based on data from earlier years.

Why are LEP enrollment counts by language group reported for only three categories, Spanish, Hmong, and Other?

For years, Spanish and Hmong have been the most common language groups reported for LEP students in Wisconsin. In fall of the 2008-09 school year, the Spanish and Hmong groups accounted for approximately 80 percent of the 47,866 LEP students enrolled. Over 100 language groups are included in the Other category. The next largest group accounted for only one percent of the 47866 LEP students.

Where can I get more information about using data on WINSS?

For more information about the WINSS Data Analysis Section, see Data Analysis Section - Frequently Asked Questions and/or Tips for First-time Users of the Data Analysis Section

See the Data Errata page for corrections submitted by school districts after final publication of WINSS and other reports.

See also:
Census 2010 - includes state & district demographics
WINSS Download Options - instructions for downloading fall district and school enrollment data by economic status, English proficiency status, primary disability and any other WINSS data
Enrollment of Limited English Proficiency Students by Language Group - includes separate counts for each of many language groups
Other sources of demographic data from the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction

For questions about this information, contact dpistats@dpi.wi.gov (608) 267-3166