Our Journey So Far

Education runs on data, but the specifications behind every exchange don't map cleanly. A coalition formed around a simple idea: align the standards already in use rather than replace them.

A neutral, open collaborative of standards development organizations comes together to coordinate and align disparate data standards across education, employment, and training — while respecting each organization's independence.

Leading bodies join the effort — 1EdTech, Access 4 Learning (A4L), Credential Engine, Dublin Core, ED3, the Groningen Declaration Network, HR Open Standards, MedBiquitous, and PESC — uniting the field's key players behind a shared goal.

EDU is established as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit to serve as a stable, long-term home for interoperability initiatives — a neutral convening force with a Board of Directors drawn from across the sector.

The initiative to build an AI-ready "source of truth" for interoperability — a shared semantic backbone and practical mapping layer that lets organizations keep their current systems while achieving governed interoperability.

A machine-readable, AI-ready representation of the Common Education Data Standards (in RDF/OWL) becomes the anchor for cross-standard mapping — the foundation everything else maps to.

A searchable, structured resource for implementers: canonical definitions, mappings, implementation notes, openness status, and governance metadata — lowering adoption costs for under-resourced districts, colleges, workforce boards, and employers.

A cross-referenced map of the education data standards world — spanning 13 standards organizations with plain-language descriptions and category overviews, so anyone can understand who does what and how the pieces fit.

Eight community demonstrations show real tools built on shared standards — from AI-driven equity-gap analysis on CEDS data to living competency profiles and a nine-standard data-model explorer — proof the backbone works.

Deepening cross-standard mappings, expanding the registry, and growing the coalition — building universal interoperability with targeted adoption pathways across the PK20W+ lifelong-learning continuum.