SchoolScope USA

Definitions & limitations

What each measure means, and what it does not tell you. All definitions follow NCES Common Core of Data documentation for 2024–25.

Enrollment
Students on a school's rolls on or near October 1, as reported by the state (NCES “membership”). Includes pre-kindergarten; excludes adult education.
Operating school
A school listed by NCES as open, new, added, changed boundary or reopened in the school year.
District and state totals
On SchoolScope these are sums of the school records in the district or state. Districts and states also report their own totals, which can include students or staff not tied to a school, so the two can differ.
Teachers (FTE)
Classroom teachers as full-time equivalents: two half-time teachers count as one. Includes specialist and special education teachers.
Students per teacher FTE
Enrollment divided by teacher FTE. It is not class size: many counted teachers do not lead a regular class all day. Affected by school size, grades and programs.
Grades offered
The lowest and highest grades the school offers. A school may not enroll students in every grade in between.
Charter school
A publicly funded school operating under a charter from a state-designated authority, as reported by the state.
Locale
NCES classification of a school's location into City, Suburb, Town or Rural, each with three subtypes, based on Census geography. It describes the area, not the school.
Race/ethnicity
The seven federal categories states report. Shares are of students with a reported category. Groups under 10 students are hidden.
Free or reduced-price lunch eligible
Students eligible for free or reduced-price meals under the National School Lunch Program. States collect this differently, and schools using Community Eligibility may report direct certification instead, so it is not comparable across states and is not a poverty rate.
Title I status
Whether the school receives federal Title I funds for students from low-income families, and whether as a schoolwide or targeted program.
Suppressed / not reported
“Suppressed” means hidden to protect privacy. “Not reported” means the state did not supply a value. Neither means zero.

Limitations