---
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title: Represent Special Characteristics
collection: admin
version: current
locale: en-us
portal_url: https://docs.salesforce.com/admin/current/en-us/sfdo/264-0-0/k12_represent_characteristics.md
canonical_url: https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.k12_represent_characteristics.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5
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content_type: documentation
content_hash: 415cf852b4b3a328d1fe89f52910f3f79f481c17fca9f067a6df2c7590b60bf1
description: Identify ways to track student performance, behavior, and characteristics in the K-12 Architecture Kit.
products:
  - Education
release: "264"
---
# Represent Special Characteristics

Identify ways to track student performance, behavior, and characteristics in the K-12 Architecture Kit.

- **[Student Performance, Behavior, and Characteristics](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.k12_represent_characteristics.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    How does Valley Elementary staff know if students are excelling or need help, are attending class and displaying good personal character, or are missing class or exhibiting concerning behavior? If a student has special needs, are they being met? These types of information are perhaps the most important pieces of the puzzle. Without them, Valley Elementary can't provide the educational experience its students, their families, and staff members deserve.
- **[Faculty and Other Contacts' Accreditations, Achievements, and Characteristics](https://help.salesforce.com/s/articleView?id=sfdo.k12_represent_characteristics.htm&release=264.0.0&type=5)**  
    And what about staff and other people who are connected to students or the school in some way? Many of them worked hard to complete special accreditations or learn special language skills. .

## Student Performance, Behavior, and Characteristics

How does Valley Elementary staff know if students are excelling or need help, are attending class and displaying good personal character, or are missing class or exhibiting concerning behavior? If a student has special needs, are they being met? These types of information are perhaps the most important pieces of the puzzle. Without them, Valley Elementary can't provide the educational experience its students, their families, and staff members deserve.

This is where some special types of information come in handy. At a minimum, we want to know:

- The grades a student receives for a specific grading period; we call these _Term Grades_.
- The times when a student has been tardy or absent; we call these _Attendance Events_.
- The achievements, accommodations, or family considerations a student might have; we call these _Attributes._

## Faculty and Other Contacts' Accreditations, Achievements, and Characteristics

And what about staff and other people who are connected to students or the school in some way? Many of them worked hard to complete special accreditations or learn special language skills. .

For example, it's important to know that a volunteer has sufficient security clearances to work in a classroom, that a teacher has proper or even advanced credentials, and that an individual has special language skills, for example, American Sign Language. These types of information are represented as follows.

- The type of credential or characteristic a person has and the dates when it's valid; we capture these as _Attributes_.
- The language a person speaks and their fluency level; we call these _Contact Languages_.