PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Annual Mandatory Collection of Elementary and Secondary

Education Data through EDFacts

September 2012

Attachment B-2

EDFacts Data Set

Information to Assist 

Reviewers
Attachment B2

EDFacts Data Set for School Years 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13

Page	B2-2

INTRODUCTION

This attachment contains an explanation of the data set and a list of acronyms. This information 

is intended to assist reviewers.

EXPLANATION OF TERMS

What is the EDFacts Data Set?

The EDFacts data set is all the data approved by OMB to be collected for a specific school year. 

What is a data group?

An EDFacts data group is a specific aggregation (i.e., group) of related data that are stored in 

EDFacts to satisfy the specific information need of one or more ED program offices. Thus, an 

EDFacts data group does not represent a single data entry but rather a set of related data entries. 

Each EDFacts data group is intended to be discrete, concise, universally understood, and nonredundant. For example,

Address location is data group DG9. Address location contains several data elements

including street address, city name, and state code. This data group is described in 

Attachment B-1 under the section “Directory Records.”

Membership table is data group DG39. Membership table is a series of numbers. It 

includes the number of students at each grade level, by racial ethnic and by sex. This 

data group is described in Attachment B-3 under the section “Non-Fiscal Common Core 

of Data.”

What is a data category?

A data category (category) characterizes a count, dollar value, or percentage rate in an EDFacts

data group. A data category is a grouping that an SEA uses to aggregate data before the SEA 

sends the data to ED. For example,

Grade Level is a data category. When this category is used data are reported by grade:

the number of students in grade 1, the number of students in grade 2, etc. 

Academic Subject (Assessment) is a data category. When this category is used data are 

reported by academic subject: the number of students who participated in the 

mathematics assessment, the number of students who participated in the reading/language 

arts assessment, and the number of students who participated in the science assessment.

The data categories are listed and explained in Attachment B-4.
Attachment B2

EDFacts Data Set for School Years 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13

Page	B2-3

What are data category sets?

A data category set (category set) is a combination of data categories (e.g., racial ethnic by grade 

level). For example,

Membership table (DG39) has a single category set of grade level (membership), racial 

ethnic, and sex. For this category set, data are reported as follows:

 Grade 1, American Indian or Alaska Native, Female

 Grade 1, American Indian or Alaska Native, Male

 Grade 2, American Indian or Alaska Native, Female

 Grade 2, American Indian or Alaska Native, Male

 Etc.

 Grade 1, Asian, Female

 Grade 1, Asian, Male

 Grade 2, Asian, Female

 Grade 2, Asian, Male

 Etc.

The data would look completely different if instead of having these categories as a single 

category set, each category was its own category set. A data group with three category

sets of grade level (membership), racial ethnic, and sex would be reported as follows:

 First data by grade

o Grade 1

o Grade 2

o Etc.

 Then data by racial ethnic

o American Indian or Alaska Native

o Asian

o Etc.

 Then data by sex

o Female

o Male

As the data are reported for DG39, data on membership can be compared between Asian males 

in grade 1 and Hispanic females in grade 1. If the data were reported where each category was a 

separate category set, the data could be compared by students who are male and students who are 

female but not by females in grade 1 and males in grade 1.
Attachment B2

EDFacts Data Set for School Years 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13

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HOW TO READ THE TABLES ON DATA GROUPS

How do I read the tables on the data groups in the attachments?

Each data group in the EDFacts data set is described in a table. 

The first row of the table provides the data group name and identification number. For example, 

below is the first row for the Membership table which is data group number 39 (DG39).

Group Name: Membership table DG: 39

The next row in the table indicates the basic content of the data group. The data groups are 

assigned to one of the following sections: education unit, finance, program, staff, or student. For 

example, the data group Membership table is assigned to the section “student” because the table 

collects counts of students.

Section Student

The next row contains the definition of the data group. Below is the definition of the data group 

membership table.

Definition The official unduplicated student enrollment, including students both 

present and absent, excluding duplicate counts of students within a 

specific school or local education agency or students whose 

membership is reported by another school or LEA.

The row labeled “Permitted Values” contains the acceptable values for data group (e.g., yes, no, 

and NA) or a format (e.g., integer, percentage, dollars, or short text). For example, the data 

group Shared time status (DG573) collects whether or not a school offers vocational/technical 

education or other educational services in which some or all students are enrolled at a separate 

school of record and attend the shared-time school on a part-time basis. This data group has 

acceptable permitted values of either yes it offers such services or no it does not offer such 

services.

Permitted Values  Yes

 No

As another example, the data group Membership table collects the count of students which is 

always an integer.

Permitted Values  Integer

The reporting period row contains the collection period. Data for some data groups are collected 

at a point in time (e.g., October 1 or the IDEA child count date) while others are cumulative (e.g.

school year or program year.)
Attachment B2

EDFacts Data Set for School Years 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13

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.

The reporting period for DG39 Membership table is October 1.

Reporting Period October 1

Data can be submitted at the state level, for each LEA, and/or for each school. The row labeled 

“Reporting Levels” indicates at which levels the data are required to be submitted. In the 

example below, data are required to be submitted at all three levels.

Reporting Levels School		 LEA		 State		

The box on the row “Grand Total (Education Unit Total)” is checked when the grand total for 

each education unit (state, LEA, and/or school) must be submitted.

Grand Total (Education Unit 

Total)



Additional information about the data group is found in the comments row.

Comment

For data groups in Attachment B-3 (data groups submitted by SEAs), the row “File Specification 

#” contains the identification number of the file specification-- the instructions for submitting the 

data-- that pertains to that data group. The EDFacts data groups are organized into files that 

states submit to ED. Each file may include one or more data groups. The file specification 

number uniquely identifies the document that outlines how a data file is constructed for 

submission to the EDEN Submission System. For example, DG39 Membership table is 

collected through file specification 052. 

File Specification # 052

Some data groups include data aggregated by category sets. The category sets are described in 

the next rows. See the question “what are data category sets” in the previous section of this 

attachment for an explanation of category sets.

CATEGORY SET DESCRIPTION

Category Set A 

Category Set B 

Category Set C 

Etc. 

Some data groups require subtotals in addition to category sets. The subtotals are described after 

the category sets. A subtotal always contains fewer categories than the category sets.
Attachment B2

EDFacts Data Set for School Years 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13

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SUBTOTALS DESCRIPTION

Subtotals 1 

Subtotals 2 

Etc. 

The final row in the data group tables is the acronym of the ED office that is the steward for the 

data group. 

STEWARD: 
Attachment B2

EDFacts Data Set for School Years 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13

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HOW TO READ THE TABLES ON CATEGORIES

How do I read the tables on the categories in attachments?

Like data groups, categories are described in tables. The first row of the table contains the 

category name and steward. For example, NCES is the steward for the category

Diploma/Credential.

Category Name: Diploma/Credential Steward: NCES

The next row contains comments, if any. 

Comments

The definition row is next. For example, below is the definition of Diploma/Credential.

Definition The type of high school credential received by high school 

completers.

The next row contains the permitted values. For example, below are the permitted values for the 

data category Diploma/Credential.

Permitted Values

 Other High School Credential 

 Regular High School Diploma 

The final row of the category tables contains the EDEN data groups that use the category. For 

example, below are the data groups that use the category Diploma/Credential.

EDEN Data Groups

 306 Graduates/completers table 

 320 CTE concentrators graduates table 

The tables for the age and grade level categories in Attachment B-4 (data categories) are slightly

different. Data groups indicate different ranges of ages and grade levels. For example, the data 

group Membership table (DG39) includes grade levels K through 12 while the data group 

Dropout table (DG326) includes grades 7 through 12. Instead of having a table for each range of 

ages and grade levels, there are two tables: one table for age categories and one table for grade 

level categories.
Attachment B2

EDFacts Data Set for School Years 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13

Page	B2-8

OTHER INFORMATION

What else should I know to review the attachments?

Data group and data category definitions and comments may include acronyms. To save space 

and improve technical readability, these acronyms are not defined within each data group or data 

category description. The acronyms can be found at the end of this attachment.

Definitions and comments may also include citations of federal statute. Because this is a 

technical instruction rather than a formal written document, these citations may be abbreviated.

Where should I begin in reviewing the attachments?

Attachment B-1 is a good place to begin. Attachment B-1 contains an overview of the entire 

EDFacts data set.

How are the data groups and categories organized in the attachments?

In Attachment B-3 (data groups submitted by SEAs) and Attachment B-4 (data categories), the 

data groups and categories are organized alphabetically by name under each topic. The 

introduction to the attachments contains a list of the topics in the attachment.
Attachment B2

EDFacts Data Set for School Years 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13

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ACRONYMS

Data group and data category definitions and comments may include acronyms. To save space 

and improve technical readability, these acronyms are defined here. They are not defined within 

each data group or data category description. 

 AITQ – Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality Programs

 AMAO – Annual Measurable Achievement Objectives

 AP – Advanced Placement

 AYP – Adequate Yearly Progress

 CAR – Consolidated Annual Report for the Carl D Perkins Career and Technical Education 

Act of 2006

 CCD – Common Core of Data

 CFDA – Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance

 CFR – Code of Federal Regulations

 CRDC – Civil Rights Data Collection

 CSPR – Consolidated State Performance Report

 CTE – Career and Technical Education 

 DG – Data group

 DUNS – Data Universal Numbering System

 EC – Early Childhood

 ED – U.S. Department of Education

 EDEN – Education Data Exchange Network (synonymous with EDFacts or EDFacts

Submission System)

 EMAPS - EDFacts Metadata and Process System

 ESEA – Elementary and Secondary Education Act

 ESS – EDFacts Submission System

 FAY – Full Academic Year

 FS – File Specification

 FTE – Full Time Equivalent

 GED – General Educational Development

 GEPA - General Education Provisions Act

 GFSA – Gun-Free Schools Act

 HS – High School

 IDEA – Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

 IEP – Individualized Education Program

 IFSP – Individualized Family Service Plan

 IHE – Institute of Higher Education

 ISU – Integrated Support Unit

 K-12 – Kindergarten through grade 12

 LEA – Local Educational Agency

 LEP – Limited English Proficient

 MEP – Migrant Education Program

 NCES – National Center for Education Statistics
Attachment B2

EDFacts Data Set for School Years 2010-11, 2011-12, and 2012-13

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 NCLB – No Child Left Behind Act

 N or D – Neglected or Delinquent

 OCFO – Office of the Chief Financial Officer

 OCR – Office for Civil Rights

 OELA – Office of English Language Acquisition

 OESE – Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

 OII – Office of Innovation and Improvement

 OME – Office of Migrant Education

 OSHS – Office of Safe and Healthy Schools

 OSEP – Office of Special Education Programs

 OSERS – Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

 OVAE – Office of Vocational and Adult Education

 PK-12 – Pre-kindergarten through grade 12

 REAP – Rural Education Achievement Program

 RLIS – Rural and Low-Income Schools

 RTT – Race to the Top Fund

 SA – School Age

 SEA – State Educational Agency

 SES – Supplemental Educational Services

 SST – School Support and Technology Programs

 SWP – Schoolwide Program

 SY – School Year

 TAS – Targeted Assistance School

 URL – Uniform Resource Locator