The Legislative Office of Education Oversight (LOEO) assessed the planning and implementation of Ohios Education Management Information System (EMIS). The EMIS was mandated in 1989 as a provision of one of the most comprehensive educational reform bills ever passed in Ohio. The EMIS was developed based on an existing computer network, the Ohio Education Computer Network, which consists of the Ohio Department of Education (ODE), regional computer centers (A-sites), and school districts. A-sites are the regional data collection centers through which school districts send their EMIS data. Interviews with personnel of 14 school district, A-sites, and other interested parties conducted by the LOEO indicate that there has been poor communication between the ODE and the legislature, something that has resulted in underestimating the size and complexity of the EMIS and establishing an unrealistic time frame for planning and implementing the system. Systems development experts would consider the EMIS highly complex, but state legislation allowed less than 2 years for the development of the EMIS, and only 23 staff members were allocated to the project. ODE has not provided top level leadership for the EMIS. To date, the EMIS has resulted in the collection of more uniform data across schools and districts as well as more rapid access to information about education in Ohio. Many improvements in the EMIS have taken place, but much remains to be done before it becomes fully operational. Four appendixes contain a news release, details on the information management systems of some other states and a history of school data collection. (SLD)