February 22, 2021
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Managing your District Data
How does MiDataHub ensure the district can manage its data for initiatives like MICIP and Return to Learn Benchmark reporting?

The Michigan Data Hub is funded through Section 22m of the School Aid Act.  While we receive state funding through CEPI, MiDataHub is owned and managed by the ISDs and districts in Michigan and is for the primary use and benefit of those districts.  The MiDataHub Data Hosting Agreement has been reviewed and revised over the life of the project, and its core philosophy remains that the hosted data belongs to the districts that provide it.  Per our data hosting agreement (DHA) MiDataHub does not share out data with CEPI, MDE, other state agencies, or any other entity without permission from districts.  We have taken great strides to ensure that the data hub cockpit application provides districts complete control over the data they submit and provide to the applications and systems the district chooses to use. 
That control includes:
  • The ability to e-sign or revoke agreements regarding systems they use;
  • The ability to create, activate, and inactivate data exchange with systems they use, whether vendor or State of Michigan provided;
  • The ability to completely remove data for one or all years that the district has data hosted in MiDataHub.

In the case of MICIP, MDE issued guidance last Friday.  Know that MICIP does not receive any data from MiDataHub.  The planned use of the system will be for districts to be able to embed visualizations of district and building-level aggregate data into the improvement plans in MICIP if they so choose.  That embedding is simply storing a link to the visualization in MICIP, with no student or aggregate data actually being stored in MICIP at all.  Districts have full control over what they choose to put in their plans and the plans are only viewable to those authorized to develop and approve them.  Districts will also have control over whether their data is even aggregated for use in MICIP and districts will be able to choose not to use any visualizations from MiDataHub in MICIP, even if they e-signed the MICIP agreement.  At no time will any PII or student-level data flow to that system.

The Return to Learn legislation is the first time that MiDataHub has been required to be involved in an aspect of state reporting.  The Return to Learn benchmark assessment language in 104(8-15) of PA 149 requires all districts to report the educational progress of students in grades K-8 in various manners.  With the exception of the four MDE-identified benchmark assessments, that information will be provided by districts in a form and manner prescribed by CEPI and MDE.  Presently, the plans are for that information to be entered into GEMS/MARS by districts in summary form, and will not require data to be provided to or via MiDataHub.  

In the case of the MDE-identified assessments (DRC, iReady, NWEA, and Star), the legislation requires that data be provided to MiDataHub in aggregate form to compile and provide to CEPI and MDE so they can report to the governor and legislative committees.  This legislation was put together fairly quickly, without time to fully research and detail the process, but the intent was that only district-level aggregate data would be provided to CEPI and MDE from the data compiled by MiDataHub.  There are a few wrinkles to having districts produce those aggregates directly:
  • There is no definition of what the aggregate looks like right now, so there is no way to communicate to districts how that should be created.  This is in process, but not ready just yet.
  • Once a definition is available, districts would need expertise and staff time to produce the aggregates, which many districts would struggle with.
  • If a district were to undertake the aggregation work, there is a great likelihood that there will be inconsistency in the way the data is created, which would render analysis and use of the resulting data less accurate.

Having MiDataHub compute the aggregates for districts is primarily a means to reduce the burden to districts of that work and to ensure a more consistent aggregation across the state.  MiDataHub was created for the purpose of integrating systems and making that data available to districts for their use.  Creating the aggregate on behalf of districts is another appropriate use of that capability.  The resulting file sent to CEPI and MDE will be no different in nature whether the aggregate is compiled by MiDataHub or provided by the local district in aggregate form directly, and in neither case will any PII or individual-level student data be made available to CEPI and MDE.  

In order to have an aggregate computed by MiDataHub for Return to Learn purposes a district will need to:
  • Integrate one or more of the four assessments into their MiDataHub data, and 
  • create (or ask MiDataHub Support to create) an integration that provides the data for aggregation. 

Both of those tasks are fully within district control.  In the upcoming months, we will be hosting webinars for districts using each of the four assessments to discuss the process in more detail. 
M-STEP Integration Status
The M-STEP integration with MiDataHub allows for M-STEP results (along with other state assessment data as that is added) to be transferred from MDE’s data systems to your MiDataHub database nightly, for possible use in data exports and other data systems your district uses (MICIP, etc.). 
Benefits of this integration are:
  • The MiDataHub team is currently working with vendors to see the benefit of ingesting this assessment data.
  • MICIP - MDE SIP tool
  • Ability for a district to export the results from a district's DataHub in any format.
  • We will continue the conversation with SIS vendors for interest on ingesting the data nightly
 
Currently, the team at MiDataHub is working closely with MDE on a staggered implementation of reactivating the State Assessment integration for districts that had this functionality previously activated in the MiDataHub cockpit.

Please refer to the “DISTRICT STATUS” tab, “MSTEP” column found in the ISD and District Status Update worksheet to verify the status of your MSTEP Integration. A “1” indicates your district either has the integration activated OR is on the list of districts to have this integration configured.
If your district has a “0” and would like this integration created, please email support@midatahub.org including your district name and contact information. MiDataHub will activate this integration in your MiDataHub cockpit upon your request as we continue to reactivate the integrations statewide. We expect that all integrations will be up and running as of the end of February, 2021.

For more information on this integration please visit the product catalog entry, by clicking here.
Vendor Corner
SAS EVAAS
The team at EVAAS has informed its clients and MiDataHub that the final opt-in end date for the 2020-21 school year has been extended to March 31, 2021. For more information on this notification please review the recent SAS EVAAS - Final Opt-in notification or reach out to the support team at EVAAS by sending an email to evaas_support@sas.com.  

For further information on the opt-in process please visit the SAS EVAAS product catalog entry at www.midatahub.org or email support@midatahub.org.
MobyMax
You can now find MobyMax in the Datahub Vendor Catalog. MobyMax is a supplemental online curriculum resource for math, ELA, science, and social studies in grades K-8. The program includes adaptive, differentiated learning, formative and summative assessment, progress monitoring, and a variety of blended learning features for whole-group and small-group instruction. MobyMax and the MiDataHub have an active integration partnership for auto-rostering using the OneRoster specification. To implement the integration, simply pull your OneRoster key and secret from the MiDataHub and give the Moby support team a call at (888) 793-8331 or send us an email at support@mobymax.com.
The Vendor Corner will appear most weeks to highlight additions and changes to applications integrated with MiDataHub. 
Participation Update
New Live Districts
Bridge Academy
Central Academy
David Ellis Academy West
DeTour Arts and Technology Academy
Detroit Community Schools
Eagle's Nest Academy
Frontier International Academy
Genesee STEM Academy
Grosse Pointe Public Schools
Hale Area Schools
International Academy of Saginaw
Ojibway Charter School
Riverside Academy
Weston Preparatory Academy

New District Sign Ups
Lake Shore Public Schools (Macomb)
Richmond Community Schools


New Single Sign-on (SSO) Districts
Alcona Community Schools
Almont Community Schools
Alpena Public Schools
Battle Creek Montessori Academy
Benton Harbor Charter School
Blue Water Middle College
Bradford Academy
Bronson Community School District
Bullock Creek School District
Burr Oak Community School District
Burt Township School District
Capac Community Schools
Clarkston Community School District
Commonwealth Community Devel. Academy
Creative Montessori Academy
Crestwood School District
Dove Academy of Detroit
Dowagiac Union School District
East China School District
Eau Claire Public Schools
Four Corners Montessori Academy
Grand Blanc Community Schools
Grand Rapids Child Discovery Center
Grant Township S/D #2
Holly Academy
Huron Academy
Huron Valley Schools
Ivywood Classical Academy
Lake Superior Academy
Lakeview Sch. District (Calhoun)
Landmark Academy
Livingston Classical Academy
Macomb Montessori Academy
McBain Rural Agricultural Schools
Memphis Community Schools
Mid-Michigan Leadership Academy
Mio-AuSable Schools
Munising Public Schools
Muskegon Montessori Academy for Environmental Change
New Branches Charter Academy
Okemos Public Schools
Old Redford Academy
Orchard View Schools
Pentwater Public School District
Port Huron Area School District
Portland Public Schools
River Valley School District
Sanilac ISD
St. Clair County Intervention Academy
St. Clair County RESA
St. Johns Public Schools
Superior Central School District
Swartz Creek Community Schools
Three Oaks Public School Academy
Unionville-Sebewaing Area S.D.
Virtual Learning Academy of St. Clair County
West MI Academy of Environmental Science
White Pine Academy
Will Carleton Charter School Academy
Woodland Park Academy
Yale Public Schools

Need to register your district?
Please email us at support@midatahub.org.
Participation Count by System