This web page provides an overview of resources to provide guidance and important details in working with Washington’s P20W data sources and elements.
Note: ERDC's policies are governed by data-use agreements with data contributors.
Not all data in the ERDC P20W warehouse is available for sharing with data requesters.
Understand the Data
ERDC has developed a series of resources to help researchers and analysts work with Washington’s P20W data. These outline important details about each P20W data source and their elements.
Before you submit a request, review these resources to help you determine what data you need to complete your project.
Note: ERDC's policies are governed by data-use agreements with data contributors.
Not all data in the ERDC P20W warehouse is available for sharing with data requesters.
P20W Data Dictionary
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Our P20W Data Dictionary (.xlsx) outlines detailed information about the P20W data elements in ERDC’s longitudinal data system, including element names, definitions, example values, and years available.
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ERDC updates this file annually (at minimum).
P20W Data Handbook
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Our P20W Data Handbook (.pdf) introduces researchers and analysts to the Washington Preschool-to-Grade 20-to-Workforce (P20W) data warehouse and the use of its products for research and analysis purposes.
ERDC updates this file regularly to reflect the latest information about the system’s P20W Core Data, Restricted Data, and Data in Development.
The P20W Data Availability webpage summarizes each data source received by ERDC, along with the first and most recent years of data available. ERDC’s Acronym Guide also outlines the definitions of frequently used acronyms throughout ERDC’s website, data request processes, and resources.
Below you will find additional tools to help you understand ERDC’s data, including reports that assess our P20W data and other resources to help you clean your requested data.
Technical Reports
These reports by ERDC staff provide insights about data quality and using our P20W data.
| Resource | Description | Updated |
|---|---|---|
| A Data Quality Evaluation of Administrative Data | This report addresses three commonly-found errors in administrative data - reporting, nonresponse and measurement – based on a research project conducted by ERDC. | November 2018 |
| National Student Clearinghouse Data | In this study, we looked at how the NSC Student Tracker system performs in matching Washington (WA) public high school graduates to in-state public 2 year and 4 year postsecondary institution enrollments. | October 2018 |
| Q&A About the Use of OSPI Assessment Data | This Q&A addresses questions about the use of OSPI assessment data (WASL, MSP). | April 2013 |
Cleaning Data
These resources are meant to help requesters clean and standardize the data they request from ERDC.
| Resource | Description | Updated |
|---|---|---|
| SAS Macros | These downloadable ERDC-developed SAS macros help requesters clean and link education data. | April 2022 |
| Business Rules for Standardizing Name Fields | This report outlines the business rules that requesters can use to standardize the name fields in their requested data files. | March 2012 |
| Geographic Setting of Schools in Washington State: A Classification Based on Urban-Centric Locale | This brief classifies the geographic setting of schools in Washington state based on the urban-centric locale classification developed by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). | December 2010 |