Data Monitoring Help
Aug 12, 2026
Data monitoring is the process of comparing what happened in the field with what appears in the SIS, SIRAS, and CALPADS, then following discrepancies through correction and verification.
This article explains the monitoring method. For the recurring task schedule, use Data Monitoring Tasks.
Start with the real-world event.
A system discrepancy cannot be resolved reliably until the team knows what actually happened: enrollment, participation, evaluation, meeting, plan, service, transfer, or exit.
A system discrepancy cannot be resolved reliably until the team knows what actually happened: enrollment, participation, evaluation, meeting, plan, service, transfer, or exit.
Contents
| The Data-Monitoring Model | Investigation Workflow |
| How to Prioritize Findings | Monitoring Tools and Evidence |
| Common Mistakes to Avoid | When to Escalate |
The Data-Monitoring Model
Use four connected sources of information:
- Field reality: What the IEP team, enrollment staff, service providers, and family records establish actually occurred.
- SIS: Enrollment, identifiers, demographics, attendance, discipline, and other district-controlled information.
- SIRAS: Current status, meeting and plan data, services, archived reporting transactions, assignments, and local workflow history.
- CALPADS: Posted enrollment and SEDS transactions, certification reports, errors, warnings, and data discrepancies.
No single view should be treated as automatically correct when the sources disagree.
Investigation Workflow
- Define the question and date. Identify the student, population, report, error, or compliance concern and the date for which it must be accurate.
- Describe the expected result. State what should appear if the field event was entered and reported correctly.
- Compare the systems. Review SIS enrollment, SIRAS Current data and archives, and CALPADS history or reports.
- Confirm the field event. Contact the IEP team, enrollment staff, or other knowledgeable source when the records do not establish what happened.
- Identify the source of the discrepancy. Determine whether the correction belongs in the SIS, SIRAS Current data, a SIRAS archive, CALPADS enrollment, or a missing reporting transaction.
- Correct the source. Preserve the actual dates and outcome. Do not create a convenient history that did not occur.
- Submit or resend. Clear a posted IVR only after its cause is corrected, then send the applicable transaction.
- Verify the result. Confirm that the transaction posted and that the student or count now appears correctly in the intended report.
- Document unresolved work. Assign an owner, next action, and follow-up date.
For error-specific application of this workflow, see Process for Error Resolution.
How to Prioritize Findings
| Priority | Examples | Expected action |
|---|---|---|
| Immediate | Wrong student access, duplicate identity, invalid transfer, missing enrollment that blocks reporting, or a field event represented incorrectly. | Stop related processing, establish the correct history, and coordinate the correction. |
| Reporting blocker | Posted IVR, fatal certification error, missing prerequisite transaction, or rejected submission. | Resolve before the applicable submission or certification deadline. |
| Compliance risk | Overdue event, missing delay reason, missing Pending As Of, unfinalized meeting, or incomplete plan/service data. | Verify the event and complete the accurate reporting or follow-up workflow. |
| Warning or anomaly | Unexpected count, age/grade difference, unusual service pattern, or cross-system mismatch that does not block submission. | Review, document, and correct when the source data is inaccurate. |
Monitoring Tools and Evidence
- SIRAS Home: assignment, transfer, user, and workflow notifications.
- Predefined Student Lists: repeatable searches for specific monitoring conditions.
- MIS Summary Current record: the student's current operational data.
- Archived transactions: the dated reporting history that was or will be sent to CALPADS. See Current vs. Archived Records.
- CALPADS reports and extracts: posted state history, compliance reports, certification populations, and data discrepancies.
- SIRAS exports and saved snapshots: local evidence for comparison over time. See Census Day Search and Store.
- Statistical and indicator reports: aggregate patterns that help identify students requiring research.
Common Mistakes to Avoid
- Changing an accurate meeting, enrollment, or plan date solely to make an error disappear.
- Reactivating a finalized meeting when the correction belongs in Current data or an archived reporting transaction.
- Correcting only the Current record when the posted error belongs to a historical archive.
- Clearing an IVR before fixing the cause.
- Treating Active status as the certified CALPADS record without reviewing posted transaction history.
- Assuming the SIS, SIRAS, or CALPADS view is correct without checking the other sources.
- Sending repeated transactions without first reviewing related errors and prerequisite enrollment.
When to Escalate
Contact SIRAS Support when:
- the correct field event cannot be reconstructed from available records;
- SIRAS and CALPADS contain conflicting historical transactions that cannot be safely corrected locally;
- a duplicate record, identity, ownership, or transfer issue is involved;
- the same error returns after one or two informed correction attempts;
- the needed correction appears to require a specialized backdated or archive workflow; or
- the proposed solution would require changing an accurate finalized record.
Include the SSID, complete error text, Report Event Date, applicable archive or meeting, and a concise description of what occurred in the field.
