The Ed-Fi Alliance coordinates and publishes community-led standards and specifications for education and the exchange of education data.
The Ed-Fi Data Standard is the widely adopted, CEDS-aligned, open-source data standard developed by the educational community for the betterment of the community. The Ed-Fi Data Standard serves as the foundation for enabling interoperability among secure data systems and contains a Unifying Data Model designed to capture the meaning and inherent structure in the most important information in the K–12 education enterprise. more information ↗
An Ed-Fi compatible API application creates a REST-based interface for data exchange, where the messages conform to the Ed-Fi Data Standard. The Ed-Fi ODS/API is the Ed-Fi Alliance's production-ready reference implementation of an Ed-Fi API. Any interested party can build an alternate, compatible, application, by adhering to the Open API specifications and guidance provided in this space.
+------------------+ +---------------------+ +-------------------+
| Data Standard | ---> | API Specifications | ---> | Application |
+------------------+ +---------------------+ +-------------------+
| - Unifying Data | | - Resources API | | - Ed-Fi ODS/API |
| Model | | - Descriptors API | | - Ed-Fi DMS |
| - Extensions | | - Management API | | - Ed-Fi Admin API |
+------------------+ +---------------------+ +-------------------+
What makes an application an "Ed-Fi (compatible) API"? An Ed-Fi API must:
- Implement the following Open API specifications:
- And, adhere all of the normative guidance in the Ed-Fi API Guidelines (current version: 4.0.
Also see: Tips for Success in Building an Ed-Fi Compatible API
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