Your October CLASS Data Collection Playbook: 5 Steps for Louisiana Schools

The Louisiana Department of Education’s (LDOE) October CLASS submission is mandatory, complex, and vital for state funding and accountability - it also is due January 15, right after Winter date. 

Unlike MFP, CLASS requires extensive staff data often held outside your Student Information System (SIS). Here are five key steps for a complete, accepted, and error-free submission:

1. Start with HR: Unify Your Staffing Data

The foundation of your CLASS submission is a comprehensive, accurate staff list.

  • Request a Full Roster: Get a complete staff list from HR/payroll for anyone who worked between July 1st and June 30th.

  • Secure Non-SIS Data: CLASS requires details found in HR systems (e.g., certification, salary) and requires manual gathering and reconciliation.

  • Verify Louisiana Staff IDs: Ensure every teacher is correctly linked to their Louisiana Staff ID.

2. Build Files & Master the SFTP Process

The CLASS submission is a technical process of uploading specific LDOE-formatted files.

  • Format and Extract: Build your files, ensuring a single source of truth for consistent data points across all extracts.

  • Ensure SFTP Access: Files must be uploaded to a secure folder via an SFTP. Confirm access and folder structure beforehand.

  • Keep Timelines in Mind: Data updates overnight; plan submissions well before the deadline to allow time for processing and validation.

3. Target a 100% Acceptance Rate & Clear ADQs

A successful upload to EdLink is a two-part process: file acceptance and error clearance.

  • File Record Rejection: Check EdLink to ensure files are 100% accepted.

  • Clear Automated Data Quality Checks (ADQs): Review and resolve ADQs (errors). Common issues include incorrect co-teacher allocations, missing teacher-course linkages, and missing course codes.

4. Sync Student & Staff Enrollment Data

Staffing and student data are fundamentally intertwined in this collection. Mismatches lead to errors.

  • Enrollment and Schedule Alignment: Student enrollment and class schedules must match perfectly. Mismatched dates or missing schedules will cause errors.

  • Check SIS Demographics: Ensure student records are complete; missing critical demographic information may lead to roster exclusions.

5. Verify Rosters Against Your Source Documents

Do not rely solely on a "zero errors" report; cross-check the submitted data.

  • EdLink Validation: Use EdLink's staff and class validation reports to compare LDOE's view against your full HR staff list and SIS reports.

  • Prioritize (Mostly) Finishing Before Winter Break: The timeline is challenging. Aim to complete 90% of your submission before the break to leave time for final data loads and error clearance.

By adopting this proactive approach to preparing for the October CLASS collection snapshot, you can dramatically reduce the administrative burden of the collection and ensure accurate, reliable data.

Have questions about the steps outlined in this playbook? EdOps is here to support; reach out to us at info@ed-ops.com.

Student DataDan Theisen31-60