Data Notes & Methodology

How We Collect Data

Federal Data Sources

The foundation of EduSignal's district data comes from federal government sources, primarily through the Urban Institute's Education Data Portal, which aggregates data from multiple federal agencies:

• NCES Common Core of Data (CCD): The National Center for Education Statistics collects annual data from all state education agencies. This provides enrollment counts, school counts, staffing levels, student-teacher ratios, and demographic breakdowns for every public school district in America.
• NCES F-33 Finance Survey: Annual fiscal data including per-pupil expenditures, total budgets, and revenue breakdowns by source (federal, state, local). This data has a longer lag than other sources (typically 18-24 months).
• EDFacts: Academic performance data including assessment proficiency rates and graduation rates, collected by the U.S. Department of Education from state education agencies.
• NCES ELSI: The Elementary/Secondary Information System provides detailed staffing data including counselors, psychologists, paraprofessionals, and librarians.

State Department of Education Sources

While federal data provides a consistent baseline, state DOE sources provide richer detail, especially for:

• Accountability ratings: A-F grades, star ratings, or tier designations that states assign to districts
• State assessment data: Proficiency rates on state-specific tests (STAAR in Texas, NC End-of-Grade in North Carolina, etc.)
• Growth metrics: Value-added measures like EVAAS or student growth percentiles
• Chronic absenteeism: Percentage of students missing 10% or more of school days
• State-specific demographics: More current enrollment and demographic data than federal sources

State data is collected via a combination of automated downloads (where APIs are available) and manual processing of CSV/Excel files from state DOE websites. Each state's data is imported using state-specific scripts that handle the unique formats and field mappings.

Refresh Cadence

Federal data is refreshed annually, typically in fall when NCES releases updated CCD files. State data is refreshed as states release new accountability reports (usually fall for the prior school year). We aim to update state data within 2-4 weeks of official release.

How We Aggregate and Normalize

District Filtering

EduSignal focuses on traditional public school districts. We filter to NCES agency type 1 (local school districts), excluding:

• Charter school networks (agency type 7) — though charter schools within traditional districts are included in district totals
• Regional special education districts
• Vocational/technical districts
• State-operated institutions

State-Level Aggregates

State-level statistics (average per-pupil spending, average proficiency rates, etc.) are calculated using enrollment-weighted averages. This means larger districts contribute proportionally more to state averages, reflecting the experience of more students.

Computed Fields

The following metrics are calculated rather than sourced directly:

• Enrollment trend (%): Calculated as (current_enrollment - prior_year_enrollment) / prior_year_enrollment × 100
• Student-teacher ratio: Total enrollment ÷ Full-time equivalent teachers
• Student-counselor ratio: Total enrollment ÷ Guidance counselor FTE
• Demographic percentages: Each demographic group ÷ total enrollment × 100
• Revenue percentages: Federal/State/Local revenue ÷ total revenue × 100

Cross-State Normalization

While we present data in a consistent format, readers should be cautious about direct cross-state comparisons for certain metrics. See the Known Limitations section for details on cross-state comparability.

Data Freshness

Education data has inherent lags due to the time required for school years to complete, data to be reported, and federal/state agencies to process and release files.

Current Data Years by Category

State Data Years

State-specific data years vary based on when each state releases their accountability reports:

Known Limitations

Free/Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL) and CEP

FRPL percentage is commonly used as a proxy for student poverty, but this metric has significant limitations:

• Community Eligibility Provision (CEP): Schools and districts participating in CEP provide free meals to all students regardless of family income. In CEP schools, FRPL counts reflect the number of students eating school lunch, not the number eligible for free/reduced meals. This can significantly understate poverty levels.
• Direct Certification: Many students are directly certified for free meals through other programs (SNAP, TANF, foster care) without submitting applications. This improves accuracy but varies by state.
• Application burden: Families must submit applications, and not all eligible families do so. Under- reporting is common, especially in areas with immigration concerns.

For these reasons, FRPL should be considered a rough indicator rather than a precise measure of student poverty.

Cross-State Assessment Comparisons

Proficiency percentages cannot be directly compared across states. Each state sets its own proficiency standards and administers its own assessments. A student scoring "proficient" in Texas may not meet "proficient" standards in Massachusetts, and vice versa.

For this reason, EduSignal emphasizes proficiency relative to state averagerather than raw percentages. A district that is 5 points above its state average is performing better than typical for that state, regardless of how that state's standards compare to others.

For rigorous cross-state comparisons, researchers should use the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which administers the same test to representative samples in every state. NAEP data is not included in EduSignal.

Financial Data Lag

Per-pupil spending and budget data is typically 18-24 months old due to the NCES F-33 reporting timeline (see Data Freshness). Significant changes in district funding — from bond measures, state funding formula changes, or enrollment shifts — may not yet be reflected. For current budget information, consult district websites directly.

Charter Schools

EduSignal focuses on traditional public school districts (NCES agency type 1). Charter school networks and standalone charter schools are generally not included as separate entries. However:

• Charter schools that are authorized by and report through a traditional district may be included in that district's enrollment and school counts.
• State-authorized charter schools operating independently are typically not included.
• This varies by state based on how charter authorization works.

Missing Data

Not all data is available for all districts. Common reasons for missing values:

• Suppression: Small cell sizes (fewer than 10 students) are suppressed to protect student privacy.
• Non-reporting: Some districts fail to report certain data to state or federal agencies.
• Elementary-only districts: Districts without high schools will not have graduation rates or dropout rates.
• State data gaps: Some states do not report certain metrics (e.g., chronic absenteeism, growth measures) or report them in formats that cannot be easily integrated.

Missing values are displayed as "—" or "N/A" on district profile pages rather than as zeros.

State-Specific Notes

Each state has unique data structures, assessment systems, and accountability frameworks. Below are notes for states with significant variations from federal data.

Additional state-specific documentation will be added as more states are fully integrated. For questions about specific state data, please contact us.

AI-Generated Content

How to Cite

Citing EduSignal

When using data from EduSignal in publications or reports, please cite both EduSignal and the underlying data sources:

Citing Underlying Sources

For academic or formal publications, cite the original data sources directly:

Data Year References

When citing data, be specific about the data year. Different metrics on the same profile may come from different years:

• Enrollment data year is displayed in the Enrollment section
• Financial data year is displayed in the Finance section
• Assessment data year is displayed in the Academics section

District profile pages display the data year for each section. API and bulk export responses include data_year fields for each metric category.