School systems rarely use the same codes for the same thing. One district might record an absence as AE ("Absent Excused"), while another uses EX ("Excused Absence"). Edlink keeps both: what the school calls it and what it means everywhere else.
What Is a Code Mapping?
A code mapping stores a district or school's local code along with a standardized value that Edlink uses across all integrations. Each code mapping has:
| Property | Purpose |
|---|---|
code | The short code from the school system (e.g. ISS1, AE, STG5). |
name | The label from the school system. |
description | More detail about what the code means at that school. |
mapping | The standardized value this code corresponds to. |
For example, a district might have an attendance flag with code ISS1 and name "In-School Suspension." The Attendance Flag code mapping stores that local code and sets mapping to in_school_suspension, which is the standardized Attendance Entry Flag value.
Why Code Mappings Matter
Code mappings let Edlink:
- Keep the original codes — The school's
code,name, anddescriptionare always available. - Make comparisons easy — The
mappingvalue is the same no matter which district you're looking at. - Customize mappings — Districts can change how their codes map to Edlink's values without changing their SIS/LMS.
When Edlink can't determine a good match for a code, the mapping will default to other during the first sync.
Code Mappings and Standardized Values
Some API resources have names that sound similar to the standardized values they map to, and that is intentional. The resource name (like Attendance Flags) is the district's code list, while the standardized value (like Attendance Entry Flag) is what Edlink uses in the mapping field.
| Model | Standardized Value | What It Represents |
|---|---|---|
| Attendance Flags | Attendance Entry Flag | Why an attendance record is unusual (e.g. a suspension or field trip). |
| Attendance Statuses | Attendance Entry Status | Whether an absence is excused, unexcused, or otherwise classified. |
| Attendance Types | Attendance Entry Type | Whether a person was present, absent, tardy, or not yet recorded. |
| Calendar Day Incidents | Day Incident | What happened on a calendar day (e.g. a weather or security emergency). |
| District Enrollment Roles | Person Role | A person's role within a district. |
| School Enrollment Roles | Person Role | A person's role within a school. |
| Enrollment Roles | Person Role | A person's role within a class. |
| Gender Identities | Gender Identity | A person's gender identity. |
| Grade Levels | Grade Level | The grade level a person is in. |
When you see a reference to a code mapping in the API, look up its id to get the local code details, then check mapping for the standardized value.