Due to legislative mandate, the Ohio Department of Education (ODE) was required to develop a system (the Education Management Information System) that would increase the amount of information available to state-level policy makers and the public. Some recommendations for improving the function of EMIS are offered in this report. The text provides an overview of EMIS's establishment and past efforts to reform the system. Detailed information, such as the EMIS data elements, reliance on a computer network, funding history, and the process of submitting EMIS data, is offered. Concerns that emerged from a study of the system centered around the low priority afforded EMIS by the ODE, the inadequacy of the system, a lack of communication, and the cool interest in EMIS at the district level. Some of the recommendations for improving EMIS include heightening the accuracy of its data, clarifying expectations for EMIS, using more individual student data, and converting EMIS to a relational database. It is argued that for EMIS to function better, the ODE must lead all efforts to improve the system. Six appendices feature a selected bibliography, fluctuation analysis of EMIS data elements, the EMIS data elements, and other information. (RJM)