About SchoolScope
Built by a parent who wanted better data — and couldn’t find it.
B
Brianna C.
Founder & Data Scientist
Data scientist and parent who got frustrated trying to choose schools. GreatSchools gave one number. Niche gave vibes. Neither showed whether a school actually pushes kids past the standard or just measures the neighborhood income. So I built SchoolScope — a tool that analyzes California’s own test data the way a data scientist parent would: splitting exceeded vs. met, measuring growth trajectories, and making all the methodology public.
Why this exists
Every parent making school decisions deserves better than a single number from a site funded by real estate ads. SchoolScope exists because public education data is powerful — but only if someone bothers to analyze it honestly and present it clearly.
We’re not funded by schools, advertisers, or real estate platforms. Our incentives point toward parents, always.
What we believe
- Public data should stay accessible. Every data point on this site comes from the California Department of Education. We don’t paywall the data — our analysis and personalization are the product.
- The exceeded vs. met split matters. Two schools can both report“70% proficient” and be completely different. We surface that distinction because it’s the strongest signal of a school that challenges students.
- Growth beats proficiency. A school that takes kids from 30% to 50% is doing harder, more valuable work than a school maintaining 90% with students who arrived already ahead.
- Transparency builds trust. Our full methodology is public. Every weight, every formula, every limitation — published. If you disagree with our approach, you can see exactly where.
Our standards
Public data only
All data from the California Department of Education. Verified, official, publicly available.
Open methodology
Every weight, formula, and data source published on our methodology page.
No school pays us
No school pays to be listed or ranked higher. No advertiser influences what we show.
Honest limitations
We publish what our scores can’t measure. A score is a snapshot, not a sentence.
Data sources
All school performance data comes from the California Department of Education, including:
- CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessment scores (ELA and Math, grades 3–8 and 11)
- Chronic absenteeism rates (2024–25 academic year)
- Suspension rates (2024–25 academic year)
- School entity data (names, districts, counties, coordinates)
Our current data reflects the 2025 test year. Data is updated annually when new CAASPP results are published.
Contact
Questions about our methodology? Found an error? Want to collaborate? Get in touch.