A comprehensive repository that bridges the worlds of education and employment by capturing an individual’s formal and informal educational experiences, professional development achievements, soft skills, and industry-specific training programs. The approach provides a more complete picture of an individual’s abilities and experiences than is available with traditional academic transcripts and resumes. Employers may use the Wallet to verify and assess credentials, skills, and achievements — this occurs by jobseekers uploading and tagging in multiple formats demonstrations of their skills directly to employers (e.g., a video of a sales presentation or adding a publication to their Wallet).
The U.S. Department of Education (through the National Center for Education Statistics or NCES) developed a classification of instructional programs (CIP codes) in 1980 to support accurate tracking and reporting of fields of study and program completions. The CIP taxonomy is typically updated every 10 years. The majority of CIP titles correspond to academic and occupational instructional programs offered for credit at the postsecondary level. These programs result in recognized completion points and awards, including degrees, certificates, and other formal awards.
The CIP also includes instructional programs such as residency programs in various health professions that may lead to advanced professional certification; personal improvement and leisure programs; and programs taught in schools of continuing education and professional development (the majority of the latter group are non-credit).
The CIP is the accepted federal government standard on instructional program classifications and is used in a variety of education information surveys and databases.
States like Minnesota and Texas assign CIP codes to all approved academic programs, facilitating standardized data collection and reporting.
A digital archive collects and preserves digital materials to make them accessible for long-term use. Techniques include the use of digital storage technologies, metadata for organization and searching, and preservation methods that ensure the integrity and usability of the materials over time.
There are two types of archives:
Born-Digital Archives—Consist of materials that were created in digital format and never existed in a physical form; examples are emails, databases, websites, and digital publications.
Digitized Archives— Consist of materials that were originally physical, such as books, photographs, films, or audio recordings but have been converted into digital formats.
The purpose of these archives is to ensure that valuable information, historical records, cultural heritage, and research data are preserved in a way that guarantees long-term access. This is achieved through the use of digital storage technologies, metadata for organization and searching, and preservation techniques that ensure the integrity and usability of the materials over time (Ashikuzzaman, 2024, Library & Information Science Education Network).
Refers to the gradual loss, degradation, or inaccessibility of digital information over time. This can occur due to link rot (broken or outdated hyperlinks), obsolescence of digital formats or technologies, inadequate data preservation strategies, and the intentional or unintentional removal of content from the web. The phenomenon highlights the impermanence of online information and underscores the importance of digital archiving and preservation to ensure long-term accessibility and reliability of critical resources.
As defined by Wikipedia, refers to an online database of digital objects that can include text, still images, audio, video, digital documents, or other digital media formats or a library accessible through the internet. Digital libraries can vary widely in size and scope, and can be maintained by individuals or organizations. The digital content may be stored locally, or accessed remotely via computer networks. These information retrieval systems are often able to exchange information with each other through interoperability and sustainability.
Alternate names: Online library, internet library, digital repository, library without walls, digital collection
Are used to store and transport data. Many open data standards are expressed in one or more of the following:
JSON – a lightweight data-exchange and file format easily understood by computers and humans.
JSON-LD – Linked Data (LD). enabling a network of standards-based, machine-readable data across the web.
RDF-Resource Description Framework which includes a subject, object, and their relationship. Each piece has a URL. RDF is commonly expressed in Turtle format (compact, stackable, human-friendly) and can be expressed (serialized) in JSON-LD, among other formats.
OWL-Web Ontology Language, a complex language for taxonomies/classifications built on RDF.
XML – Extensible Markup Language, a language and file format similar to HTML that describes data with tags that the developer defines.
SKOS – Simple Knowledge Organization System, built on RDF/RDFS.
YAML – Yet Another Markup Language, which can parse other formats into a human-friendlier layout.
EDI-based standards – Electronic Data Interchange (EDI), a format to transport business documents between organizations and across industries.
CSV-Comma-separate Values, a text file that has a specific format that allows data to be saved in a table structured format.
Refer to individuals (or the population) in four categories:
Have been incarcerated or detained in a prison, immigration detention center, local jail, juvenile detention center, or other incarceration setting
Have been convicted but not incarcerated
Have been charged but not convicted
Have been arrested.
With the criminal justice system impacting so many individuals (research suggests that about one-third of adults in the U.S. has some form of criminal record, with higher proportions in poor communities and communities of color), there has been growing attention to the educational and employability experiences of the justice-impacted population to ensure that policies and practices do not unintentionally exclude applicants from educational opportunities and employment.
According to Education Design Lab, the term refers to the organization that delivers a credential to an individual’s digital wallet. This term is also known as an issuer.
Refers to the practice of hiring individuals with a criminal record (arrest or conviction records). Second chance programs provide employment opportunities to individuals with a criminal record, supporting their reentry into the workforce, upward mobility once employed, and improving equity in employment.
Alternate terms: Second chance hiring, second chance programs
Refers to an assessment administered and scored in a standard manner. All test takers answer the same questions, or selection of questions that come from a common bank of questions, in a consistent manner. Tests are administered and scored following predetermined guidelines to ensure uniformity across test takers. Tests are commonly administered to large populations and often graded by machines or blind reviewers to minimize subjectivity.
There are many uses for standardized testing, such as entry to any branch of the U.S. military; the knowledge portion of states’ driver’s license examinations; professional certifications; psychological testing; language proficiency; graduate and professional school readiness; undergraduate education readiness; secondary schools; IQ tests; and Achievement tests.
In elementary level education, standardized testing has been part of American education since the mid-1800s. Use increased after the federal No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) in 2002, which mandated annual testing for K-12 students in all 50 states. In K-12 education, tests are also used to determine readiness for kindergarten, identifying students who need special-education services or specialized academic supports, placing students in different academic programs or course levels, and awarding high school diplomas.
International-comparison tests are administered periodically to representative samples of K-12 students in a number of countries, including the U.S. to compare educational performance by countries. Key tests include the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS).
Results from standardized tests in education are used in many ways, such as (1) holding schools and educators accountable for educational results and student performance; (2) evaluating whether students have learned what they are expected to learn (meeting state learning standards); (3) identifying gaps in student learning and academic among various student groups, including students of color, students who are not proficient in English, students from low-income households, and students with physical or learning disabilities; and (4) determining if educational policies (investments) are working as intended.
