About and data sources
US School Days publishes one page for every public school and school district in the states it covers, plus a calendar page for each district whose 2026–2027 calendar we have checked. This page explains where every number comes from, how derived figures are calculated, and what the site doesn't cover yet.
What the site covers
| State | Districts | Schools | Checked 2026–2027 calendars |
|---|---|---|---|
| Missouri | 556 | 2,291 | 1 |
| Texas | 1,210 | 8,851 | 3 |
A school gets a page when NCES lists its location and at least 10 enrolled students; a district gets a page when at least one of its schools does. Career centers, programs that report no students of their own and very small programs (often disciplinary placements, whose figures could identify individual students) are left out, so the counts above can be lower than a state's official totals.
What isn't here yet
- Test scores and ratings. State test results aren't published on the site yet, and we publish no rating, grade or score of our own.
- Most calendars. A district without a checked 2026–2027 calendar has no calendar page; its district page and school pages are still published.
- Private schools. NCES collects private school data separately, and the site covers public schools only, including public charter schools.
- This year's enrollment. NCES publishes a school year's figures only after that year ends, so school and district numbers are for 2024-25, not the current school year.
School calendars
Each calendar page is built from the district's own published calendar, which is linked on the page with the date we last checked it. School boards can change dates, so every calendar is re-checked each semester and weekly from February to August, when boards approve next year's calendar. If we can't read a calendar with confidence, we don't publish it.
School and district data
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25 (Missouri, files: ccd_sch_029_2425_w_1a_073025.zip, ccd_sch_052_2425_l_1a_073025.zip, ccd_sch_059_2425_l_1a_073025.zip, ccd_sch_033_2425_l_2a_073025.zip, ccd_sch_129_2425_w_1a_073025.zip, ccd_lea_029_2425_w_1a_073025.zip, ccd_lea_059_2425_l_1a_073025.zip)
- NCES EDGE public school locations, 2024-25 (Missouri, files: EDGE_GEOCODE_PUBLICSCH_2425.zip)
- NCES Common Core of Data, 2024-25 (Texas, files: ccd_sch_029_2425_w_1a_073025.zip, ccd_sch_052_2425_l_1a_073025.zip, ccd_sch_059_2425_l_1a_073025.zip, ccd_sch_033_2425_l_2a_073025.zip, ccd_sch_129_2425_w_1a_073025.zip, ccd_lea_029_2425_w_1a_073025.zip, ccd_lea_059_2425_l_1a_073025.zip)
- NCES EDGE public school locations, 2024-25 (Texas, files: EDGE_GEOCODE_PUBLICSCH_2425.zip)
How we calculate derived figures
- Students per teacher: enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent teachers.
- Students per counselor (and other staff): district enrollment ÷ full-time-equivalent staff in that role, from the NCES district staff file.
- District and state totals: the sum of the schools listed on this site. District demographics weight each school by its enrollment.
- Ranks and medians: a school is compared only with schools of the same level (elementary, middle or high) in the same state; a district with every district in the state. "Share with fewer students per teacher" is the percentage of those schools whose ratio is lower.
- Student days: weekdays from the first through the last day of school, minus holidays, breaks and staff-only days on the district's calendar (and the weekly day off of a four-day week). Early-release days count as school days.
- Distances: straight-line distance between NCES EDGE school locations; for districts, between the average location of their schools.
We publish no rating or score of our own.
Corrections
Found a wrong date or number? Email [email protected] with the page address, and we'll check it against the district's calendar or the NCES files.