This is a report evaluating the National Student Loan Data System (NSLDS), which is designed to track federal student financial aid (Title IV) programs and provide research and support functions such as prescreening of aid applicants for eligibility and enrollment status. The report finds that the Department of Education has made only limited progress in integrating NSLDS with other student financial aid databases, and notes several reasons why the department has been unable to create a seamless information exchange environment that would allow for full integration. These include: (1) neither the NSLDS nor other systems were designed for efficient access; (2) many of the systems are incompatible, lacking common data standards and identifiers; and (3) the Department has not developed appropriate systems architecture. In its conclusion the report recommends that the department develop system architecture that addresses system integration, common identifiers, and deficiencies in data standards. Appended to the report is a statement of objectives, scope, and methodology for the review, and the Department of Education's comments on the findings. (CH)