THE STATE EDUCATION DEPARTMENT / THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK / ALBANY, NY 12234 __________________________________________________________________________________________________________ Office of Elementary, Middle, Secondary and Continuing Education Information, Reporting and Technology Services Tel. (518) 474-7965 Fax  (518) 474-4351

This memo provides additional information on the requirement to submit secondary-level assessment, graduation, and dropout data electronically using the System for Tracking Educational Performance (STEP). Information, Reporting and Technology Services (IRTS) has developed a number of initiatives to ease the transition to electronic reporting. The IRTS Web site — www.emsc.nysed.gov/irts — has the latest information on STEP:

• STEP software,
• user and technical manuals,
• schedule of technical assistance workshops, and
• answers to frequently asked questions.

The current version of the software allows for importing and key entering data. By May 1, software that produces verification reports and an export file for submission to the State will be available. Please check the Web site regularly for updates.

IRTS is conducting a series of technical assistance workshops across the State in cooperation with regional information centers (RICs). We encourage you to send staff from your district to these workshops. The workshops are intended for staff who manage your student information systems and staff who are responsible for reporting secondary education results. A list of scheduled workshops is attached. Please check our Web site for additional workshops that may be scheduled in your area.

To help us communicate with STEP users, I am asking that each superintendent complete and return the attached form, designating a STEP coordinator for the district. We will also submit the name of this person to the RIC.

School- and district-level records must be aggregated into a district file for submission to the Department. The file must be delivered to your RIC for transmission to the State Education Department. The RIC may not transmit the file until the school superintendent has certified the accuracy of the STEP 2001-02 Verification Report. This report will be generated from Version 1.0 of STEP. The Department will accept files from July 1 until October 2, 2002. To verify accuracy of submitted files, IRTS will generate a second verification report from the district file and return it to the STEP coordinator by e-mail. If the report indicates that the file received by the Department was not complete and accurate, the district may resubmit a corrected file until October 2. No corrections will be accepted after that date.

If you have questions about STEP, please contact Michele Shahen or Charlene Swanson at (518) 474-7965.

Attachments

cc: Regional Information Center Directors

Each school superintendent must nominate one staff person as the district STEP coordinator. This person will serve as the principal contact in the district for Information, Reporting and Technology Services (IRTS) and for the regional information center (RIC). This person will be notified of updates to the software or manual. The regional information center will send error logs and verification reports to this person (if an agreement has been established for this service). IRTS will e-mail the final SED Verification Report to this person. IRTS and the RIC must be able to contact this person during the summer school recess. If necessary, please provide contact information for the regular school year and the summer. If you have already designated a coordinator for your district to the RIC, you should provide that name on this form. The information collected on this form will be shared with the RIC.

All districts must contract with a RIC to transmit the final STEP file to the Department. Has your district contracted for other services related to STEP with your RIC? Yes _____ No ______

What student information management system(s) (e.g., Winschool, Pentamation, SASI, etc.) does your school district use to maintain student enrollment, demographic, and/or assessment data?

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School Superintendent

Mail or fax this form by May 17, 2002 to:

The State Education Department
Information, Reporting and Technology Services
Room 863 EBA
89 Washington Avenue
Albany, New York 12234
Fax: (518) 474-4351