Domain 6 - Data Systems, Assessment, and Professional Learning
This domain tests the systems that carry student data and the support structures around them: student information systems, learning management systems, rostering and single sign-on, help desk operations, and professional learning design. Items reward knowing which standard solves which problem.
Core rules and concepts
- A student information system holds enrollment, schedules, and grades as the system of record; an LMS delivers course content and activity. Rostering flows from the SIS outward.
- OneRoster standardizes rostering exchange between the SIS and vendors; LTI 1.3 standardizes launching and integrating tools inside the LMS; SAML-based single sign-on handles authentication.
- Data governance: know which fields are directory information under FERPA, limit collection to what is needed, and review vendor agreements before any transfer.
- Support runs in tiers - tier 1 triage and known fixes, tier 2 configuration and accounts, tier 3 engineering - measured against a service level agreement and ticket trends.
- Professional learning works when it is job-embedded, coached, and followed up; one-shot sessions rarely change practice. Evaluate with usage and outcome data, not attendance.
Worked example
A district rosters 4,800 students into 12 vendor tools by manual CSV upload. Reasoning: 12 uploads at roughly 20 minutes weekly is about four staff-hours per week, with error risk at every enrollment change. OneRoster 1.1 provisioning from the SIS removes most of that labor, but requires vendor conformance and a one-time setup. Recommend automated OneRoster sync, keeping manual uploads as a documented fallback.
Traps that cost marks
Conflating the SIS with the LMS; choosing a tool before checking integration standards; treating professional learning as a single event; declaring success from attendance counts rather than usage data.