definitions

A. EDUCATION OUTCOMES DATA

  • HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE:
    • The following definitions are from the “Documentation to the 2014–15 Common Core of Data (CCD) Universe Files,” which can be found at https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pdf/2016077_Documentation_062916.pdf
    • To protect the confidentiality of individual student data, ACGRs are shown at varying levels of precision depending on the size of the cohort population for each category cell. There are some differences in how states implemented the requirements for the ACGR, leading to the potential for differences across states in how the rates are calculated. This is particularly applicable to the population of children with disabilities.
    • The 4-year ACGR is the number of students who graduate in 4 years with a regular high school diploma divided by the number of students who form the adjusted cohort for the graduating class. From the beginning of 9th grade (or the earliest high school grade), students who are entering that grade for the first time form a cohort that is "adjusted" by adding any students who subsequently transfer into the cohort and subtracting any students who subsequently transfer out, emigrate to another country, or die.
       
  • NAEP DATA:
    While proficiency scales for NAEP data changed slightly from 1992-2007 and 2009 onward, proficiency bands used in Bento for NAEP data are from the most recent thresholds. For more information on NAEP achievement levels by grade see:
  • AP DATA:
    The following definitions are sourced from The College Board’s website:
    • AP % Taking: Percentage of all students in 11th and 12th grade cohort who took at least one AP exam.
    • AP % Passing: Percentage of all students in 11th and 12th grade cohort who passed at least one AP exam. Please note the percent passing is out of total enrollment for 11th and 12th grade, not just the number of students who took at least one AP exam.
       
  • STATE ASSESSMENTS:
    • Mean Scaled Score: A score, derived from student responses to assessment items, that summarizes the overall level of performance attained by that student. 
    • Percent Below Proficient: The percentage of students scoring below the proficient level on a state assessment.
    • Percent Proficient or Above: The percentage of students scoring at the proficient level or above on a state assessment. 

B. Demographics Data

The following definitions are sourced from: Glander, M. (2016). “Documentation to the 2014–15 Common Core of Data (CCD) Universe Files” (NCES 2016-077). U.S. Department of Education. Washington, DC: National Center for Education Statistics. https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pdf/2016077_Documentation_062916.pdf 

 
 
  • ETHNICITY:
    In order to maintain consistent ethnicity categories across the various data sources displayed on the dashboard, all data are organized according to the following categories:
    • Black: Black or African American
    • Hispanic: Hispanic or Latino (where data are available)
    • White: White
    • Asian: Includes Asian and Hawaiian Native and/or Pacific Islander (where data for these groups are available) 
    • Other: Other includes American Indian/Alaska Native, Two or More Races / Multi-Race, and other
    • Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pdf/2016077_Documentation_062916.pdf
       
  • TOTAL STUDENTS:
    “Membership” - The count of students on the current roll taken on the school day closest to October 1, by using either the sum of original entries and re-entries, minus total withdrawals or the sum of the total present and the total absent. This number reflects the sum of students in grades prekindergarten through grade 13 plus ungraded students. It does not include adult education students. Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pdf/2016077_Documentation_062916.pdf
    • Note: Prekindergarten (PK) refers to a group or class that is part of a public school program and is taught in the year or years preceding kindergarten. This includes all groups or classes that are (a) supported with public education funds or fees charged by the local education agency, (b) administered by a public school, local education agency, or SEA and (c) offered to children who are below the kindergarten age requirement or meet some other criterion that establishes the state or local definition of prekindergarten. Examples of prekindergarten include but are not limited to: Head Start programs that are administered by a local education agency, education services provided to students with disabilities who are below kindergarten age, or programs that are considered school district enterprise operations, that is, they are supported wholly or in part by fees for services. For more detailed information about other grade definitions, see the SY 2014-15 Membership File Specifications linked here.
       
  • TOTAL TEACHERS:
    “School FTE” - Classroom teachers. Total full-time-equivalent classroom teachers. Total classroom teachers include Pre-Kindergarten, Kindergarten, Elementary, Secondary, and teachers of Ungraded classes. Full-time equivalency reported to the nearest hundredth; field includes two explicit decimal places. Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pdf/2016077_Documentation_062916.pdf
     
  • ENGLISH LANGUAGE LEARNER:
    “English language learner” (ELL) - Formerly referred to as LEP. Refers to students being served in appropriate programs of language assistance (e.g., English as a Second Language, High Intensity Language Training, bilingual education). Does not include pupils enrolled in a class to learn a language other than English. Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pdf/2016077_Documentation_062916.pdf
     
  • STUDENTS WITH DISABILITIES:
    “Special Education” - Individualized Education Program (IEP) Students. This field contains the count of all students ages 3–21 having a written Individualized Education Program (IEP) under the Individuals With Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Part B.  Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) are written instructional plans for students with disabilities designated as special education students under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Part B. Counts of students with IEPs are collected and published at the LEA level. Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pdf/2016077_Documentation_062916.pdf
     
  • LOW INCOME:
    “Low income” - The total of free lunch eligible and reduced-price lunch eligible students. The total is only available if both of the details (or the total) were reported. The National School Lunch Program (NSLP) is administered by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and provides low-cost or free lunches to children each school day. EDFacts file specification 033 (Free/Reduced-Price Lunch) directs states to report the number of students in each school that are eligible to receive a free lunch and the number eligible to receive a reduced-price lunch. These counts are also often used by researchers as a proxy measure of the socioeconomic status (SES) of a school’s student population. Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pdf/2016077_Documentation_062916.pdf
     
  • $ PER STUDENT:
    The “$ per student” is the division of the total expenditures for a school district/LEA or a state in 2013-14 by the total number of students in 2013-14 in that district/LEA or state. 
    • Total Expenditures: Expenditures data includes the following expenses (Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/f33ageninfo.asp)
      • Salaries and employee benefits
      • Instructional staff support services
      • Pupil support services
      • General administration
      • School administration
      • Operations and maintenance
      • Student transportation
      • Other support services (such as central administration and business services)
      • Food services
         
  • TOTAL ENROLLMENT:
    The count of students on the current roll taken on the school day closest to October 1, by using either the sum of original entries and re-entries, minus total withdrawals or the sum of the total present and the total absent. Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pdf/2016077_Documentation_062916.pdf
     
  • DISTRICTS/LEAS:
    The Local Education Agency (LEA) is the government agency at the local level, whose primary responsibility is to operate public schools or to contract for public school services. Also referred to as a school district. LEAs may or may not be coterminous with county, city, or town boundaries. The LEA names displayed in Bento are sourced from the 2014–15 Common Core of Data (CCD) Universe Files. Source: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pdf/2016077_Documentation_062916.pdf