/education-data-source-edfacts

name: education-data-source-edfacts
description: >-
  EDFacts — K-12 outcomes: assessment proficiency, ACGR graduation rates, ESSA accountability at school/district level (2009-2020). Within-state trends and subgroup gaps. Complements CCD with outcome data. Cannot compare across states — use NAEP.
metadata:
  audience: any-agent
  domain: data-source
  skill-authored: "2026-02-09"
  skill-last-updated: "2026-02-09"

EDFacts Data Source Reference

EDFacts — federal K-12 outcome data from State Education Agencies, covering state assessment proficiency rates, ACGR graduation rates, and ESSA accountability indicators at school and district level (assessments 2009-2020, graduation rates 2010-2019). Use when analyzing within-state achievement trends, subgroup proficiency gaps, or adjusted cohort graduation rates. Complements CCD (school characteristics) with outcome data. State assessment scores CANNOT be compared across states; use NAEP for cross-state comparisons.

EDFacts is the U.S. Department of Education's centralized data collection system for pre-K through grade 12 education data from State Education Agencies (SEAs). It provides state assessment proficiency rates, graduation rates, and accountability indicators — the authoritative federal source for state-level K-12 outcome data.

> **CRITICAL: Value Encoding** > > The Urban Institute Education Data Portal converts NCES string codes (e.g., `ALL`, `CWD`, `LEP`) to **integer codes**. Always verify actual data values before filtering — do not rely on documentation labels alone. > > | Context | Subgroup "All" | English Learner | Sex "Male" | > |---------|----------------|-----------------|------------| > | **Portal integer** | `99` | `1` | `1` | > | NCES string | `ALL` | `LEP` | `M` | > > See `./references/variable-definitions.md` for complete encoding tables.

What is EDFacts?

• **Collector**: U.S. Department of Education, via State Education Agencies (SEAs)
• **Coverage**: All public schools and districts in 50 states + DC
• **Content**: State assessment proficiency rates, ACGR graduation rates, participation rates, accountability indicators
• **Frequency**: Annual collection
• **Available years**: Assessments 2009-10 to present; Graduation rates 2010-11 to present
• **Primary identifiers**: `ncessch` (school ID, Int64), `leaid` (district ID, Int64), `fips` (state FIPS code, Int64)
• **Key limitation**: State assessment scores CANNOT be compared across states (different tests, different cut scores)
• **Available through**: Education Data Portal mirrors

Reference File Structure

| File | Purpose | When to Read | |------|---------|--------------| | `accountability-context.md` | ESSA, NCLB history, accountability systems | Understanding policy context | | `assessment-data.md` | Proficiency levels, test scores, limitations | Working with assessment data | | `graduation-rates.md` | ACGR methodology, cohort definitions | Analyzing graduation data | | `variable-definitions.md` | Key variables, suppression codes, special values | Interpreting specific variables | | `data-quality.md` | Known issues, state variations, COVID impacts | Data cleaning, limitations | | `subgroup-reporting.md` | Special populations, disaggregation | Analyzing by student groups |

Decision Trees

What type of analysis?

What EDFacts data do you need?
├─ Assessment/proficiency data
│   ├─ Within-state trends → Valid analysis
│   ├─ Cross-state comparison → INVALID - use NAEP instead
│   └─ Subgroup gaps → See ./references/subgroup-reporting.md
├─ Graduation rates (ACGR)
│   ├─ Understand methodology → See ./references/graduation-rates.md
│   ├─ Extended rates (5-year, 6-year) → See ./references/graduation-rates.md
│   └─ Subgroup rates → See ./references/subgroup-reporting.md
├─ Understanding variables
│   ├─ Missing/suppressed values → See ./references/variable-definitions.md
│   ├─ Range vs. exact values → See ./references/variable-definitions.md
│   └─ Subgroup codes → See ./references/subgroup-reporting.md
└─ Data quality concerns
    ├─ COVID-19 impacts (2019-20) → See ./references/data-quality.md
    ├─ State reporting changes → See ./references/data-quality.md
    └─ Suppression rates → See ./references/data-quality.md

Is my comparison valid?

What are you comparing?
├─ Same state, different years
│   ├─ Same assessment system? → Valid
│   └─ Different tests? → Break in time series
├─ Schools within same state → Valid
├─ Districts within same state → Valid
├─ Subgroups within same school → Valid (check suppression)
├─ Different states
│   ├─ Proficiency rates → INVALID
│   ├─ Graduation rates (ACGR) → More comparable
│   └─ Use NAEP instead → Valid
└─ National ranking by proficiency → INVALID

Quick Reference: EDFacts Data Elements

Assessment Data

| Data Element | Description | Available Years | |--------------|-------------|-----------------| | Proficiency rates | % meeting state standards in reading/math | 2009-10 to present | | Participation rates | % of students assessed | 2012-13 to present | | Achievement levels | Below Basic, Basic, Proficient, Advanced | Varies by state | | Grade levels | Grades 3-8, high school (varies) | 2009-10 to present |

Graduation Data

| Data Element | Description | Available Years | |--------------|-------------|-----------------| | 4-year ACGR | Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate | 2010-11 to present | | 5-year ACGR | Extended graduation rate | 2011-12 to present | | 6-year ACGR | Further extended rate | 2012-13 to present | | Diploma types | Regular diploma only in ACGR | All years |

Key Identifiers

> **Portal Data Types:** All identifiers are **Int64** in the Portal parquet files. The NCES source format (zero-padded strings) is shown for reference only. When joining with other Portal datasets, join on the integer columns directly.

| ID | Portal Type | NCES Source Format | Level | Example (Int64) | |----|-------------|-------------------|-------|-----------------| |