/education-data-source-scorecard

name: education-data-source-scorecard
description: >-
  College Scorecard — post-enrollment outcomes linking aid records to IRS/Treasury earnings. Earnings, loan repayment, debt via six Portal sub-datasets. Use when tax-record-based earnings needed. Tracks only Title IV aid recipients, not all students.
metadata:
  audience: any-agent
  domain: data-source
  skill-authored: "2026-02-09"
  skill-last-updated: "2026-02-09"

Scorecard Data Source Reference

College Scorecard — the primary institutional-level source for post-enrollment labor market outcomes, linking NSLDS financial aid records to IRS/Treasury earnings data. Use when comparing institutions on post-graduation earnings, loan repayment, or student debt, or when actual tax-record-based earnings are required rather than survey estimates. Covers six sub-datasets accessed via Portal mirrors. Critical limitation: tracks only Title IV federal aid recipients, not all students.

Federal data on post-college outcomes including earnings, debt, and repayment for students who received Title IV financial aid. Links education records to IRS tax data for actual earnings, making it the primary source for post-college labor market outcomes.

> **CRITICAL: Value Encoding and Missing Data** > > The Education Data Portal uses **integer encodings** for all categorical variables > and **lowercase, restructured variable names** that differ from the original > Scorecard column names. Suppression encoding differs by dataset: > > - **Earnings/counts**: `-3` integer code is the primary suppression indicator > - **Yes/No flags** (institutional characteristics): `null` for missing, `0`/`1` for valid > - **Rates** (repayment, default): `null` for missing > - The original Scorecard string `"PrivacySuppressed"` does NOT appear in Portal data > > | Context | `pred_degree_awarded_ipeds` | HBCU / tribal flags | `religious_affiliation` | > |---------|----------------------------|---------------------|-------------------------| > | **Portal (integer)** | `0`-`4` | `0` / `1` | Integer codes 22-200 | > | Original Scorecard | String labels | String labels | String labels | > > See `./references/variable-definitions.md` for complete encoding tables.

What is College Scorecard?

• **Publisher**: U.S. Department of Education
• **Primary value**: Post-college labor market outcomes (earnings) and debt/repayment metrics
• **Data sources**: NSLDS (loans/aid), IRS/Treasury (earnings), IPEDS (institutional characteristics)
• **Coverage**: **Title IV federal aid recipients only** — not all students
• **Unique feature**: Links education to IRS tax records for actual earnings data
• **Access**: Education Data Portal mirrors (parquet/CSV); see `datasets-reference.md` for paths, `mirrors.yaml` for mirror config, `fetch-patterns.md` for fetch code
• **Primary identifier**: `unitid` (IPEDS institution ID)

Reference File Structure

| File | Purpose | When to Read | |------|---------|--------------| | `earnings-data.md` | Post-college earnings methodology, cohorts, time horizons | Analyzing earnings outcomes | | `debt-repayment.md` | Student debt, repayment rates, default rates | Analyzing debt or loan outcomes | | `completion-rates.md` | Completion metrics vs IPEDS | Comparing graduation rates | | `population-coverage.md` | Title IV limitation details, who is included/excluded | Understanding data representativeness | | `variable-definitions.md` | Key variables, naming conventions, special values | Building queries or interpreting results | | `data-quality.md` | Suppression rules, selection bias, known limitations | Assessing data reliability | | `field-of-study.md` | Program-level earnings and debt data | Analyzing outcomes by major/CIP code |

Decision Trees

What outcome am I researching?

Outcome type?
├─ Post-college earnings
│   ├─ Institution-level → ./references/earnings-data.md
│   └─ By field of study → ./references/field-of-study.md
├─ Student debt levels
│   ├─ Cumulative borrowing → ./references/debt-repayment.md
│   └─ Debt by field → ./references/field-of-study.md
├─ Loan repayment/default
│   └─ Repayment rates → ./references/debt-repayment.md
├─ Completion rates
│   └─ Scorecard completion → ./references/completion-rates.md
└─ Understanding limitations
    ├─ Who is included → ./references/population-coverage.md
    └─ Data quality issues → ./references/data-quality.md

How do I interpret this data?

Interpretation question?
├─ Why are earnings suppressed?
│   └─ Privacy thresholds → ./references/data-quality.md
├─ What does "6-year earnings" mean?
│   └─ Cohort timing → ./references/earnings-data.md
├─ Why don't Scorecard rates match IPEDS?
│   └─ Different cohorts → ./references/completion-rates.md
├─ What loans are included in debt?
│   └─ Federal only → ./references/debt-repayment.md
└─ How representative is this data?
    └─ Title IV coverage → ./references/population-coverage.md

Building a query?

Query construction?
├─ Variable names and codes → ./references/variable-definitions.md
├─ Suppression flags to handle → ./references/data-quality.md
├─ Understanding cohort years → ./references/earnings-data.md
└─ Field-level queries → ./references/field-of-study.md

Quick Reference: Scorecard Variables

Portal Data Structure (CRITICAL)

The Portal uses **LONG format** with time horizon as a column, NOT the WIDE format from original Scorecard bulk download files. **Portal column names are all lowercase** and differ significantly from original Scorecard names.

| Original Scorecard (WIDE) | Portal Column (LONG) | How to Get | |---------------------------|----------------------|------------| | `MD_EARN_WNE_P6` | `earnings_med` | Filter: `years_after_entry == 6` | | `MD_EARN_WNE_P10` | `earnings_med` | Filter: `years_after_entry == 10` | | `COUNT_WNE_P6` | `count_working` | Filter: `years_after_entry == 6` | | `MN_EARN_WNE_P6` | `earnings_mean` | Filter: `years_after_entry == 6` | | `CONTROL`, `INSTNM` | NOT