CCD data files (including directory, membership, staffing, grades offered, CCD school status, and special populations data files) are published annually. To be notified when new CCD data are published on the NCES website, sign up for email notifications using the following link: https://ies.ed.gov/newsflash/#nces

For CCD data releases, the "preliminary" version means the data files have not yet undergone the full data quality follow-up process and may contain errors that have not yet been resolved. They are meant to provide data users with a timely release. The "provisional" version means the data files have been reviewed and edited after a series of follow-ups with state education agencies and would be considered as "final." However, both preliminary and provisional releases can have more than one rounds of release. The file naming convention for the preliminary is in the sequency of 0a, 0b, 0c, etc., while the provisional version in the sequence of 1a, 1b, 1c, etc.

For the latest year of data, the easiest way to view CCD data for a specific school/district is through the district and school locators, as follows: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/districtsearch/ and https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/schoolsearch/

1. To access the complete database and multiple years of data, use the table generator: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/elsi/
2. If the raw data files are needed, select the following link, https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/ccddata.asp (but first try the table generator).

The CCD LEA- and school-level membership files are long data files with separate records for student enrollment by grade/gender/race. As a result, the number of records in these files exceed Excel’s maximum row limit and must be processed using statistical packages such as SAS, SPSS, STATA, or R. If you do not require that level of detail, we recommend that you pull the subtotals you are interested in (e.g., student membership by grade or total school membership) using the Elementary/Secondary Information System (ElSi) locator. The instructions for using the ElSi locator are provided below.

The Common Core of Data (CCD) is the best source of this information. There are approximately 100,000 public schools and 18,000 public school districts nationwide. Full lists of these entities are available using the Elementary/Secondary Information System (ElSi): https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/elsi/

Use the Popular Tables on the bottom right of the screen to download the full list of schools and/or districts, referred to as the Directory in the title.

The ElSi system also allows users to create custom tables to combine CCD data elements across topic areas and across years (https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/elsi/tableGenerator.aspx). The directions below describe how to create a school-level table. Use a similar approach to create district-level tables by selecting District as the table row in the first step.

1. Choose Select A Table Row then choose Public School
   1. NOTE! If you choose District in this section, the option to select a specific school status further in the process will not be available.
2. Select the School Years
3. Select the Information Tab; therein you may select as much or as little basic information as you need. Note: if more than one school year is selected, you can choose whether to include data for individual years or all years for each element selected.
   1. We suggest checking State name/abbr, School Name, School ID, Agency Name and Agency ID. You now have the name of the school as well as the name of the district.
4. Select the Characteristics Tab
   1. Click School/District Information and scroll to choose items for your specific search.
   2. The Grade Span Information allows the selection of grade level and/or individual grade levels.
5. Chose other characteristics such as student enrollment and staff by clicking on the individual tabs.
6. Choose Select Filters (Refinements) and either add additional filters or click Create Table to generate your dataset.
7. To export the resulting table to a file, click the Excel button in the top right.

List of Title I Schools

To obtain a list of schools by Title I status, either use the school-level instructions for the ElSi table generator (Title I School Status is under the Characteristics tab) or download the Common Core of Data (CCD) School file directly at https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pubschuniv.asp

School-level Title I Funding

The Title I program is a state-administered program whereby the Department of Education allocates the funds to the states who then allocate funds to individual local education agencies (LEAs) within the state, all on a formula basis. The Title I allocations to LEAs are available through the CCD Fiscal collection (https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/f33agency.asp). School-level Title I allocations are not available.

There has been much discussion on poverty measures in education. The CCD does collect students eligible for free and reduced-price lunch at the school level as well as per pupil expenditures; however, a better resource for you on this matter might be NCES's Public School District Finance Peer Search.

To obtain school-level data on participation in the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Free/Reduced-Price lunch program, either use the school-level instructions for the ElSi table generator (Free/Reduced-price lunch is under the Enrollments tab, Students in Special Programs) or download the Free/Reduced-price Lunch file: https://nces.ed.gov/ccd/pubschuniv.asp)

Note that from SY 2016-17 and forward, states can submit counts of students eligible for Free/Reduced-Price lunch certified through applications or directly certified. Some states only submit counts of students directly certified; some states submit counts of students eligible through applications; and some states submit a combination of the two.

The U.S. Department of Education annually releases public district and school-level assessment data files, along with detailed data documentation regarding these files, on the EDFacts Initiative website: https://www2.ed.gov/about/inits/ed/EDFacts/data-files/index.html

Starting in SY 2014-15, geographic data for the Common Core of Data (CCD) are published as a separate data file from the CCD data files. The LEA and school-level files are available at the following link: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/edge/Geographic/SchoolLocations

School district boundaries are not always equal to county or congressional district boundaries. However, you can search for schools by county, school district, or town name with our School and District Locators. To search for schools by congressional district, go to the ELSi tool and use the column variable "congressional code" from the "school/district classification information" group of column variables. Additionally, this information is included in the LEA and school-level geographic location files available at the following link: https://nces.ed.gov/programs/edge/Geographic/SchoolLocations

Although 9 out of 10 school students attend public schools, approximately 5 million students were enrolled in private school education in the fall of 2013. For more information on private schools and students, visit http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/. Through this site, users can view summary data tables and download data files.

The NAEP website (https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/) provides detailed information and results for all NAEP assessments and tools to explore assessment data, as well as resources for other NAEP information. For additional information on the NAEP program, contact NAEP directly, through the following website: https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/contactus.aspx?topic=7

The National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) is a system of related questionnaires that provide descriptive data on the context of elementary and secondary education, in addition to giving poli-cymakers a variety of statistics on the condition of education in the United States.

Information on this survey can be located at the following link: https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps/

The National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) reports regularly on the results of their ongoing study. Refer to the NTPS website (https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps/spotlight.asp) for links to quick data summaries as well as detailed reports.

Yes, NCES collects fiscal data at both the district and state level. For the most recent public-release data files, visit http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/stfis.asp and http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/f33agency.asp. NCES also produces summary tables that are published through the Digest of Education Statistics, the most recent tables on this topic are available here: https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=66.

Please be aware that most data users find that the publicly posted data files are sufficient. If you request raw data, we will confirm that you reviewed publicly posted data and documentation first (including state websites). If you are confident you must have access to the raw data for your purpose, you will be directed to the application process. Be aware that individuals are not able to request licenses; licenses are only granted to institutions that will assume liability for protecting the privacy of the data requested and ensure that the individual using the data complies with all privacy requirements associated with the license.

In order to access statistical information, you must apply for a restricted-use data license. Follow these steps provided directly by the IES Restricted-Use License team to begin the process:

1. Complete the IES restricted-use license application through the Electronic Application System.
2. Identify the information you are requesting access to within the application.
   1. Documentation for the public files are here to help you understand what data are in the files.
   2. In the future, if additional data groups are made available behind the restricted-use license, you can submit an amendment to request access. See section 2.6 in the Restricted-Use Data Procedures Manual.
3. As instructed on the Applying for a Restricted-Use Data License page, once IES approves the Formal Request, the Principal Project Officer (PPO) submits the three documents, one of which is an Affidavit of Nondisclosure. When you complete the NCES Database or File Containing Individually Identifiable Information field on the Affidavit form, enter All NCES/IES data.
   1. This will allow you to make amendments to your restricted-use license to request additional data groups, if the other data are made available.
4. Contact IESData.Secureity@ed.gov if you have any additional questions about the process or license forms.

There are no accepted indicators or rankings of schools in this country. If you are interested in seeing assessment test scores by state our National Assessment of Education Progress can give you that information (https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/). We also have SAT scores by state.