Individual vs Aggregate Student Data

Individual vs Aggregate Student Data

Individual/identifiable student data is information about an individual student.  Examples include:

• Race/ethnicity of a particular student
• Attendance history for a particular student 

Aggregate data is summary information – could be about a particular group of students or a school or the entire District.  Examples include:

• % of MPS students who qualify for Free or Reduced Lunch
• Overall race/ethnicity demographics of MPS students
• Overall attendance rates of an entire class or school 

How do I access individual student data?

• Community Partners requesting access to individual student data must obtain an MPS Release of Information (ROI) for each student.  It is the partner’s responsibility to collect these forms.
• Community Partners cannot request any individual student data from MPS without signed ROI- this includes asking school staff to confirm a student’s enrollment or attendance.
  • Quick Tip: If you need simple demographic info such as student’s age, race, etc., consider collecting the info directly from parents as part of program registration.
• ROIs are valid for up to one year - MPS will not honor any ROIs beyond a year.
• Basic individual student data can be obtained through Community Data Portal
• Additional individual student data can be requested via the External Data Request Form (fees apply)
• MPS not required to share individual student data even with signed ROI- Partner must have a valid reason to access data.

How do I access aggregate student data?  

• MPS expects Contracted Community Partners to participate in the Aggregate Report process- Aggregate Reports contain summary demographics, attendance, behavior, academic proficiency and growth as well as district-wide comparisons
• School level or district-wide student data can be obtained from MPS Reports & Data  or  MDE Report Card -please check both of these sites before requesting data from MPS
• Additional aggregate data can be requested via the External Data Request Form (fees apply)
• Aggregate data can easily become identifiable data as you add more variables- please remember that MPS will not release any identifiable data without signed ROIs

Due to State law, MPS cannot share the Free and Reduced Lunch (FRL) status of individual students- this can only be shared in aggregate only.