DataQuest Update, Issue #20

May 16, 2024

DataQuest is the California Department of Education’s (CDE) public data reporting web site that provides meaningful data and statistics about California’s K-12 public education system that supports a wide variety of informational, research, and policy needs. The purpose of the DataQuest Update is to provide: (1) announcements regarding public data releases and availability; (2) general information and analysis on various data reporting topics; and (3) practical tips on how to effectively use DataQuest to obtain information. For questions regarding DataQuest, please submit an email to dataquest@cde.ca.gov.

Release of the Annual Enrollment Data Reports on DataQuest

The CDE has released the 2023–24 Annual Enrollment, English Learner, Free and Reduced-Price Meal (FRPM) data, and other related reports on the CDE DataQuest website. The reports included in this release are based on data submitted and certified in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) by districts and charter schools. The Annual Enrollment, English Learner, and FRPM reports reflect data on Census Day 2023 (the first Wednesday in October).

Pursuant to Education Code Section 60900(a)(4)(A), beginning in 2023–24, the CDE began collecting transitional kindergarten (TK) as a separate grade level in CALPADS rather than as a program participation record, which was retired at the end of the 2022–23 academic year. The definition of the new TK grade level is as follows:

Transitional Kindergarten: A separate grade level in CALPADS, pursuant to Education Code Section 60900(a)(4)(A), for age-eligible students, as defined in Education Code Section 48000(c)(1), who are enrolled in Kindergarten and who are participating in the Transitional Kindergarten program, which is authorized and defined in Education Code Section 48000, pursuant to Education Code Section 48000(d).

As a result, the 2023–24 Annual Enrollment data reports and downloadable files included in this release that provide grade level data have been updated to include data for the new TK grade level. Additionally, the data reports and downloadable data files that have provided information about students participating in the TK program are being retired. The last year of available data for TK program participation is 2022–23. Moving forward, information about TK students will be available in the DataQuest Annual Enrollment Data Reports and in the downloadable Census Day Enrollment Data file as a TK grade level.

For more information regarding the Annual Enrollment data release, please refer to the following California Department of Education News Release, California’s 2024 Enrollment Data Reflect Doubled Growth for Earliest Learners as Overall Decline Slows.

The DataQuest reports provided in this release include the following:

2023–24 Annual Enrollment Reports

• Statewide Enrollment by Ethnicity and Grade (updated with the new TK grade level)
• Statewide Enrollment Multi-Year Summary by Ethnicity
• Statewide Enrollment by Ethnicity (with county data)
• Statewide Enrollment Multi-Year Summary by Grade (updated with the new TK grade level)
• Statewide Enrollment by Grade (with county Data) (updated with the new TK grade level)
• Statewide Enrollment by Ethnicity for Charter and Non-Charter Schools
• Statewide Enrollment by Subgroup for Charter and Non-Charter Schools
• Statewide Enrollment for Charter and Non-Charter Schools (with county data)
• Statewide Enrollment Multi-Year Summary for Charter and Non-Charter Schools
• Statewide TK/K-12 Enrollment by Age Group and Grade (updated with the new TK grade level)
• Statewide TK/K-12 Enrollment by Age Range (with county data)
• Enrollment by English Language Acquisition Status (ELAS) and Grade (updated with the new TK grade level)
• Enrollment by English Language Acquisition Status (ELAS) (with county data)

2023–24 English Learner (EL) Reports

• Enrollment by English Language Acquisition Status (ELAS) and Grade (updated with the new TK grade level)
• Enrollment by English Language Acquisition Status (ELAS) (with county data)
• English Learners by Language and Grade (updated with the new TK grade level)
• Language Group Data - Statewide

2023–24 Long-Term English Learner (LTEL) and "Ever-EL" Reports

• "At-Risk" and Long-Term English Learners (LTEL) by Grade (updated with the new TK grade level)
• "At-Risk" and Long-Term English Learners (LTEL) (with County Data)
• "Ever-ELs" by Years as EL and Grade (updated with the new TK grade level)
• "Ever-ELs" by Years as EL (with County Data)

2023–24 Free and Reduced-Price Meal Reports

• Free and Reduced-Price Meal - State summary (summary data only)
• Free and Reduced-Price Meal - State summary (with county data)

2023–24 Classified Staff Reports

• Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) of Classified Staff with Detail Info
• Full-Time Equivalent (FTE) of Classified Staff by County

2024–25 Estimated Teacher Hire Reports

• Estimated Number of Teacher Hires by Subject

2022–23 Transitional Kindergarten Program Participation Reports

• Transitional Kindergarten Participation by Ethnicity
• Transitional Kindergarten Participation (with county/district/school data)

Please Note: Due to TK being collected as a separate grade level beginning 2023–24, the TK program participation reports and related downloadable files have now been retired; however, they will continue to be available on DataQuest and the CDE website for the years 2013–14 through 2022–23. Moving forward, information about TK students will be available in the DataQuest Annual Enrollment Data Reports and in the downloadable Census Day Enrollment Data file as a TK grade level.

How to Access DataQuest Reports

Users may access these reports by performing the following steps:

• Navigate to the DataQuest Homepage
• Select the desired Level (State, County, District, or School)
  • Select desired report from drop down menu
• Select "Submit"
• Select the desired Year
  • 2023–24
• Select "Submit"
• Select the desired report from the menu

Alternatively, the DataQuest reports included in this release are also accessible through the Data Reports by Topic web page.

The reports listed above include Report Description, Report Glossary, and, where applicable, Report Filters and Options sections. To change the way the data are displayed in the report, open the expandable (+) Report Options and Filters section. Within this area, users can apply a variety of data filters. Additionally, users can apply one or more filters simultaneously to view data in a variety of configurations. Applied filters are viewable in the "Filters Enabled" section above each report where the filters can also be reset.

Census Day Enrollment Downloadable Data File (New)

Beginning 2023–24, the CDE is releasing a new and updated Census Day Enrollment file that provides information about students included in the official annual enrollment count. The official annual enrollment is a single-day snapshot of the total number of TK/K–12 students enrolled on Census Day, the first Wednesday in October, who have primary and short-term enrollments. Unlike the previous annual enrollment data files, which were only available at the school-level, this new Census Day Enrollment file includes data at each reporting level (i.e., state, county, district, and school) disaggregated by grade level (including the new TK grade level), race/ethnicity, gender, student group, English language acquisition status, and age range (including multiple age ranges to show the number of adults enrolled TK/K-12 grade levels and the schools and districts where they are enrolled). Additionally, like many other downloadable files, this file provides the capability to view the annual Census Day enrollment data for charter schools and non-charter schools.

Supporting Downloadable Data Files

As part of this DataQuest report release, the CDE is providing the following supporting downloadable data files for the above reports which can be found on the Downloadable Data Files by Topic web page. Please refer to the File Structure web pages for important details about the associated data files, which data are contained in the file, data element definitions, and the levels at which data are provided (e.g., state, county, district, and school levels).

2023–24 Annual Enrollment Data Files

• Census Day Enrollment Data (updated with the new TK grade level)
• Transitional Kindergarten Program Participation Enrollment Data (2013–2022) (now retired)

2023–24 English Learner Data Files

• English Learners by Grade and Language (updated with the new TK grade level)
• Fluent English Proficient (FEP) Students by Grade and Language (updated with the new TK grade level)
• English Language Acquisition Status (ELAS), Long-Term English Learner (LTEL), and Students At-Risk of Becoming LTEL by Grade (updated with the new TK grade level)

2023–24 CBEDS School/District Data Files

• CBEDS Data About Schools and Districts (including Estimated Teacher Hires and more)
• Classified Staff (FTE) by Race/Ethnicity and Gender

Additional Data Files

• 2023–24 Free or Reduced-Price Meal (FRPM) data
• 2023–24 CALPADS UPC (TK/K-12) data
• 2023–24 CALPADS UPC (9-12) data

Please Note: The official Free or Reduced-Price Meal (FRPM) count and percent for the academic year are provided in Free or Reduced-Price Meal (Student Poverty) Data file and DataQuest FRPM Data report. These counts represent the number TK/K-12 students who were enrolled on Census Day, the first Wednesday in October, and for whom eligibility data was effective "as of" Census Day. The FRPM data included in the CALPADS Unduplicated Pupil Count (UPC) Data files reflect a broader eligibility time range which goes through the end of October. The FRPM eligibility data included in the CALPADS UPC files are used solely to determine the Unduplicated Pupil Count for the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). These counts/percentages are ONLY applicable for LCFF purposes and should NOT be used in any other context or for any other purpose.

Upcoming Data Releases

Later in 2024, the CDE anticipates the public release of the following data:

• 2022–23 Teacher Assignment Monitoring reports and data files
• 2023–24 Special Education by Program Setting (Least Restrictive Environment)
• 2021–22 College Going Rate
• New Staff Demographic, Experience, and Education Data (multiple years)

Moving forward, the CDE also anticipates the public release of the following data:

• New Annual Reclassified Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) Counts and Rates (multiple years)
• New Course Enrollment Data (multiple years)

DataQuest Listserv Information

To subscribe to the DataQuest listserv, submit a blank email to: subscribe-dataquest@mlist.cde.ca.gov.
To unsubscribe to the DataQuest listserv, submit a blank email to: unsubscribe-dataquest@mlist.cde.ca.gov