Frequently Asked Questions
What is EduSignal?
EduSignal is a free, public reference tool for looking up and comparing K-12 school district data in the United States. We aggregate publicly available education data — enrollment, demographics, test scores, and finances — for 13,000+ districts across all 50 states and the District of Columbia into a single, well-designed interface. One search, one profile, everything you need to understand a district.
Is EduSignal free?
Yes. District profiles, state pages, and the Explore Hub are completely free to use. No account is required to browse public data. We offer optional paid services for developers (API access) and researchers (bulk data exports), but the core reference tool is free for everyone.
Where does EduSignal's data come from?
EduSignal aggregates data exclusively from authoritative public sources. At the federal level, we pull from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data (CCD), the F-33 School District Finance Survey, and EDFacts. At the state level, we integrate assessment results, accountability ratings, and graduation rates directly from each state's Department of Education. All data is publicly available — we simply organize it into a more accessible format.
How current is the data?
Data freshness varies by source and category. State assessment data is typically from the current or most recent school year. Federal enrollment data from NCES is usually 1-2 years behind the current school year. Federal finance data from the F-33 survey runs about 2 years behind due to the Census Bureau's collection cycle. We display the data year for every metric so you know exactly what you're looking at. See our Data Notes page for detailed freshness information.
What data is included in a district profile?
Each district profile includes: enrollment figures with year-over-year trends, school counts by level (elementary, middle, high), staffing data including student-teacher ratios, financial indicators (per-pupil spending, total budget, revenue breakdown by federal/state/local sources), demographic data (racial/ethnic composition, free and reduced-price lunch rates, English learner percentages, students with disabilities), and academic performance (math and reading proficiency rates, graduation rates, and state accountability grades where available).
Does EduSignal include student-level data?
No. EduSignal does not contain any student-level or personally identifiable information. All data is aggregate, district-level data drawn from publicly available government sources — the same data published by NCES, state Departments of Education, and districts themselves. Demographics like racial/ethnic composition and free and reduced-price lunch percentages are reported as district-wide percentages, never at the individual level.
What is FRPL (Free and Reduced-Price Lunch)?
FRPL stands for Free and Reduced-Price Lunch, a federal meal assistance program. The percentage of students eligible for FRPL is commonly used as a proxy for the economic disadvantage level of a student population. Students qualify based on family income relative to the federal poverty line. Note that some districts participate in the Community Eligibility Provision (CEP), which allows schools with high poverty rates to provide free meals to all students — in these cases, FRPL percentages may not accurately reflect economic demographics.
What is per-pupil spending?
Per-pupil spending (PPS) is a district's total current expenditures divided by its student enrollment, reported through the NCES F-33 School District Finance Survey. PPS includes salaries, transportation, materials, and operations, but excludes capital outlay and debt service. It's heavily influenced by regional cost of living, staffing ratios, and fixed costs, so it's best used as a relative indicator within a state or region rather than an absolute measure.
Why can't I compare test scores across states?
Each state administers its own assessments with different difficulty levels, scoring methods, and proficiency thresholds. A student scoring "proficient" on Texas's STAAR may not score "proficient" on California's CAASPP. EduSignal displays each state's proficiency rates as reported, but we recommend comparing districts within the same state or using national benchmarks like NAEP when available. See our Data Notes for more details on cross-state comparisons.
How many school districts are there in the United States?
There are approximately 13,300 regular public school districts (local education agencies, or LEAs) in the United States, according to the National Center for Education Statistics. District counts vary dramatically by state: Texas has over 1,200 districts, California has roughly 1,000, and New York has around 700, while states like Florida operate on a consolidated county-based system with only 67 districts.
Who uses EduSignal?
Anyone who needs to understand a school district. That includes parents evaluating districts during a move, real estate agents answering client questions, local journalists covering education, school board members benchmarking peers, graduate students doing research, grant writers pulling demographic data, and district administrators doing self-assessment.
How can I cite EduSignal data?
For the underlying data, cite the original source (NCES CCD, F-33 Finance Survey, or the relevant state DOE). For EduSignal specifically, you can cite: "EduSignal. [District Name] District Profile. Retrieved [Date] from https://edusignal.ai/..." See our Data Notes page for detailed citation guidance and links to original sources.
Does EduSignal have an API?
Yes. We offer API access and an MCP (Model Context Protocol) server for developers building education-related applications. See our API documentation for details on endpoints, authentication, and pricing.
How can I support EduSignal?
EduSignal is a one-person side project that runs on donations and optional paid services. If you find it useful, consider making a contribution on our Donate page. Every donation goes directly toward keeping EduSignal free and accessible.