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About SchoolScope

School data
should be honest.

A clearer picture of public schools. Built from public data, with methods you can inspect and limitations you can see.

Read our methodology Explore schools

Our principles

What we stand for.

  1. No school pays for better placement.

    Schools cannot pay for a higher score or better visibility. No sponsored profiles. No premium listings.

  2. The methodology is public.

    See how we organize and calculate the information, including what’s included, what isn’t, and how we handle different contexts.

  3. A score is a starting point.

    A school’s score is one piece of the story. It can help you spot patterns, but it doesn’t capture everything that matters.

  4. Demographics are context, not score.

    Student demographics help explain a school’s environment. We show that context, but never use it as a direct part of the Scope Score.

  5. Data comes from the source.

    We use public education and community datasets, with named sources and reporting years so you can check the information yourself.

  6. Change matters alongside achievement.

    Where data is available, we look at results over time alongside current performance. These are school-level patterns, not individual student growth.

  7. Families should be able to question the weights.

    Every formula reflects choices about what matters. We publish our weights and reasoning so you can understand those choices—and question them.

Honest about the data

Honest about its limits.

What we can show

  • Reported academic results
  • Attendance and discipline patterns
  • Community context
  • Changes across reporting years

What numbers can’t tell you

  • How your child will feel in a classroom
  • The quality of every teacher or program
  • Why an outcome changed
  • Everything that makes a school a good fit

Year-to-year results may reflect different students. Observational data does not establish cause and effect.

Read our approach to quality →
How we approach equity

Demographics, income mix, and neighborhood profiles help explain a school’s context, but are never inputs to the Scope Score. Academic results can still reflect who enrolls and the resources available to students. Excluding demographics from the formula does not remove those relationships.

We show subgroup outcomes and resource differences where public data is available. Read why we show diversity but don’t score it →

Where the information comes from

Public data. Documented methods. A clearer picture.

We bring together official education and community datasets. Profiles identify the sources and reporting years behind the information.

Official public records

Data from established public sources.

Documented calculations

We clean, organize, and combine data with published methods.

School profiles with context

Sources, reporting years, and limitations alongside the results.

Explore our sources
National datasets
SourceWhat it contributesLearn more
NCES Common Core of DataSchool directory and enrollmentView source
Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC)Advanced coursework and participationView source
Census American Community Survey (ACS)Community contextView source
California datasets
SourceWhat it contributesLearn more
CAASPP assessmentsReported academic resultsView source
California Department of EducationAttendance, discipline, and graduationView source
California School DashboardPerformance and change indicatorsView source

Availability and reporting periods differ by dataset.

View the full source directory
Nationwide Sources (U.S. Department of Education & Census Bureau)
NCES Common Core of Data (CCD)
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
School directory, enrollment counts, teacher counts, student demographics for every public school in the U.S.
National
NCES Private School Survey (PSS)
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
Private school profiles including enrollment, student-teacher ratio, religious affiliation, and grades offered. Published biennially.
National
NCES School Attendance Boundary Survey (SABS)
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
School attendance zone boundaries used to compute feeder school relationships (which elementary feeds into which middle and high school).
National
NCES F-33 Local Education Agency Finance Survey
U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics
District-level per-pupil expenditure, revenue sources, and financial data.
National
American Community Survey (ACS) 5-Year Estimates
U.S. Census Bureau
Community context data including median household income, home values, and educational attainment for the areas surrounding schools.
National
Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC)
U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights
Structural advanced-coursework depth: AP course counts, AP/IB/dual-enrollment participation with demographic breakdowns. 2020-21 collection (the newest published) — shown as dated context, never part of the Scope Score.
National
California-Specific Sources
SACS Current Expense of Education
California Department of Education, School Fiscal Services
District-level current expense of education per student, published annually from districts' SACS unaudited actuals filings. Shown as context — never part of the Scope Score.
CA
CAASPP Smarter Balanced Assessments (ELA + Math)
California Department of Education / Educational Testing Service
Core Scope Score input. Proficiency levels (Exceeded, Met, Nearly Met, Not Met) for grades 3–8 and 11.
CA
CAASPP CAST Science Test
California Department of Education / Educational Testing Service
Supplemental science performance data for grades 5, 8, and high school.
CA
Chronic Absenteeism Rates
California Department of Education
School climate signal and Scope Score component. Percentage of students missing 10%+ of school days.
CA
Suspension Rates
California Department of Education
School climate signal and Scope Score component. In-school and out-of-school suspension rates.
CA
CDE Student Growth Model
California Department of Education
Matched-student growth: how much each grade 4-8 student's score moved against a prediction from their own prior-year scores, averaged to the school level. Shown on profiles as a second opinion — never part of the Scope Score.
CA
CDE Public Schools Directory
California Department of Education
School contact information, principal names, website URLs, phone numbers, and physical addresses.
CA
CDE Form J-90 Salary/Benefits Schedule
California Department of Education
District-level teacher and principal salary ranges.
CA
ACGR Graduation Rates
California Department of Education
Four-year adjusted cohort graduation rates for high schools.
CA
CCI College/Career Indicator
California Department of Education
College and career readiness metrics used in high school Scope Scores.
CA
CGR College-Going Rates
California Department of Education
Percentage of graduates enrolling in post-secondary education within 12 months.
CA
Dashboard Change Indicators (ELA + Math)
California Department of Education
Year-over-year performance trend data from the California School Dashboard.
CA
ELPAC English Learner Proficiency
California Department of Education / Educational Testing Service
English Language Proficiency assessment results for English Learner students.
CA
Census Day Enrollment
California Department of Education
Annual enrollment counts and demographic breakdown by race/ethnicity and grade.
CA
CCLD Licensed Child Care Facilities
California Community Care Licensing Division (CHHS)
Preschool and child care center licensing data including capacity, type, and location.
CA
CDSS Child Care Licensing Enforcement Records
California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing
State inspection visits, citations, and complaint records for licensed preschools and child care centers — the state's own enforcement record, shown with a link to the full report.
CA
CDE ESSA School-Level Per-Pupil Expenditure
California Department of Education
Individual school spending data as reported under federal ESSA requirements.
CA
UC Admissions by Source School
University of California, Office of the President (UC Infocenter)
Freshman applicants, admits, and enrollees per UC campus per California high school, back to 1994. Shown as where-graduates-go context — never part of the Scope Score.
CA
AP Course Ledger
College Board (AP Course Audit)
Which AP subjects each school is currently authorized to teach, updated each November. Authorization, not enrollment — shown as course-catalog context.
CA
IB World Schools Directory
International Baccalaureate Organization
Which schools offer IB programmes (PYP, MYP, DP, CP), matched to our school records by name. Shown as program context.
CA
Bri Stanback, founder of SchoolScope

Who’s behind SchoolScope

Built by Bri Stanback.

Data scientist. Parent. Founder of SchoolScope.

I built SchoolScope because I needed it. As a parent looking at schools, I wanted to understand what drove a score—and what it missed. The goal is to help families look closer, understand the limits, and ask better questions.

Get in touch →

Coverage & expansion

Starting in California. Building carefully.

Current coverage

Schools across California

Explore California →

Expanding means accounting for different state tests, reporting systems, and available measures. As we add states, we’ll document the data and methods behind each one.

California · Available now

CAASPP test-year data: 2024–25. Other sources follow their own reporting schedules.

See the data for yourself.

A clearer picture starts with better questions.

Explore schools →