About this Dashboard
This dashboard displays long-term education and workforce outcomes for students who experience foster care, homelessness, and institutional education. For detailed student group and outcome definitions see the Definitions section.
The measures used in this dashboard were developed in collaboration with the Project Education Impact (PEI) Workgroup to meet requirements under RCW 28A.300.544. The workgroup monitors educational outcomes of students who experience foster care, homelessness or institutional education and makes policy recommendations to improve outcomes and address racial and ethnic disparities.
For reports that cover these student populations, see the ERDC publications.
Longitudinal Cohorts
This dashboard groups students based on their first year of kindergarten and 8th grade and follows them over time. This allows for reporting on outcomes throughout the students’ PreK-12 career and beyond.
This dashboard refers to each group of students as “the 20xx cohort.” Data includes kindergarteners between 2012 and 2025 and 8th graders between 2012 and 2019.
Using this Dashboard
This dashboard presents a large amount of data and allows users to interact with the visualizations to dig into the data in ways that cannot be done easily in a report or spreadsheet.
Select the tabs at the top to navigate through the information on the dashboard and the data visualizations.
For each visualization, there is the opportunity to change the displayed data based on one or more user selections located in drop down menu or radial button filters. Additional information can be viewed by hovering over data in the visualization.
To reference this dataset in publications or reports, please use this citation:
Education Research and Data Center (ERDC). Special student populations dashboard [Data dashboard]. Washington State Office of Financial Management, Forecasting and Research Division. Retrieved [date], from https://erdc.wa.gov/data-dashboards.
Questions
Please contact Heather McCabe, research scientist for the Office of Financial Management, at Heather.McCabe@ofm.wa.gov.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Where does the data for this dashboard come from?
The data came from the ERDC P20W data warehouse. This data warehouse links administrative records from several contributing education state agencies. Data sources for this dashboard include:
- Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI): Comprehensive Education Data and Research System (CEDARS) — For data on enrollment, student characteristics and K-12 program participation. (EDS) Education Data System — For school directory information.
- Washington State Board for Community and Technical Colleges (SBCTC) — For data on high school completion and postsecondary credentials awarded at a Washington public CTC.
- Public Centralized Higher Education Enrollment System (PCHEES) housed at the Office of Financial Management (OFM) — For data on postsecondary enrollment and credentials awarded at Washington public 4-year institutions.
- National Student Clearinghouse (NSC) — For data on postsecondary enrollment and credentials awarded at Washington State private and tribal institutions as well as Out-of-State institutions.
- Employment Security Department Unemployment Insurance wage (ESD) — For workforce data.
- Department of Labor and Industries Registered Apprenticeship (L&I) — For apprenticeship data.
- Department of Children Youth & Families (DCYF) — For foster care data.
Who/What isn’t included in this dashboard?
For students who experience foster care, those in federal foster care or tribal foster care are not represented in this data. For students who experience homelessness, those who experience homelessness outside of the time they are enrolled in WA public K-12 are not included in this data (for example, during postsecondary or early childhood). For students experiencing institutional education, those enrolled in tribal institutional education programs are not represented in this data. Since education enrollment records are used to identify students who experience institutional education, we are not able to identify those who are in facilities that should be receiving education services that are not, so students in a facility who are eligible for basic education services who are not receiving educational services are not represented in this data.
For workforce outcomes, since Washington Unemployment Insurance (UI) records are the data source, employment out of state or federal, military, self- employment and all the exclusions associated with UI apply.
For postsecondary outcomes, private trade schools and non-registered apprenticeships are not included in this data.
How do we protect student privacy and ensure compliance with the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA)?
ERDC mitigates the risk of unintentionally releasing personally identifiable information using a variety of techniques recommended by the Privacy Technical Assistance Center (PTAC) at the US Department of Education. These techniques include data suppression, recoding, and blurring.
Some of these techniques do affect the utility of the data by reducing the users’ ability to view information about specific demographic groups or view exact counts. It is our goal to maximize the utility of the data to our stakeholders while minimizing the risk of accidental disclosure and protecting student privacy as dictated by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA).
This dashboard allows for statewide data and some data to be disaggregated by race/ethnicity. If the groupings selected result in a cohort that has less than ten (10) members, the data is suppressed the count will display as "N/A" or be blank. These techniques allow us to suppress less data.
Why is the data displayed on the dashboard different from other sources of data?
This data uses an analytical approach that follows each cohort over time. This is different from the approach taken in OSPI’s reporting on these student groups, which looks at a specific school year. This “annual snapshot” approach allows for monitoring school and student performance in a timely manner. However, it is not suited to following students over time (a longitudinal approach) to understand outcomes as students move from early learning to elementary and middle school or high school into postsecondary education and workforce. Due to differences in approach, cohorts and outcomes in the dashboard will differ from those reported in the OSPI Report Card.
How was this dashboard developed?
Data was compiled by ERDC staff, who shared it with a workgroup consisting of representatives from the following organizations and agencies for their review of definitions, calculations and processes:
Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction
Department of Children Youth & Families
Department of Commerce
Washington Student Achievement Council
Building Changes
Treehouse
University of Washington
Team Child
Office of the Education Ombuds
City of Seattle
The ERDC used Tableau to create the dashboard and shared with the workgroup for comment. Changes to the display were made based on user recommendations.
When is the dashboard updated with new data?
The dashboard is updated annually in the Spring.
How do I print or save what I’m looking at?
To print, click on the Download Button on the Tableau Toolbar. Save the report as an image or PDF and then print the image/PDF.
Terms & Definitions
Definitions
Student characteristics
Students experiencing foster care- All youth who were in Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS) placement and care authority age 3-21 between 1/1/2012 and 12/31/2025 starting with the cohort year. For 8th grade cohorts, anytime during or after 8th grade. For Kindergarten cohorts, anytime during or after kindergarten. A student's foster care status was identified through data provided by DCYF.
Students experiencing homelessness- Students are identified using K12 data, those who received assistance through McKinney-Vento. Until a 2015 ESSA policy change, students who were "awaiting foster care" were eligible for McKinney-Vento services which impacts the amount of overlap between these student groups depending on cohort year. Click for more detailed information from OSPI.
Students experiencing institutional education-Students are identified as having experienced institutional education if they have a record of K12 enrollment (primary or non-primary) during the period of 2012-2024 school years at residential habilitation and child study and treatment centers, long-term juvenile institutions, community facilities, or county juvenile detention centers and jails. A student with a basic education enrollment at a Washington community college through the Department of Corrections (DOC) as identified in State Board for Community Technical Colleges records during academic years 2009-10 through 2023-24 is also included as having experienced institutional education. For students in the kindergarten cohorts who ever experienced institutional education, outcomes are reported for the 2012 to 2018 cohorts only due to small student counts in other years, and 2012 to 2015 for race/ethnicity disaggregated measures.
Statewide- represents all students in a cohort statewide, including the named student groups.
Special education- if a student had an Individualized Education Program (IEP) at any time between their cohort year and the 2025 school year. WAC 392-172A-01035, “Child with a disability or student eligible for special education services” names and defines state disability categories.
Race/ethnicity- determined from a student’s most recent K12 enrollment record. Figures for American Indian/Alaska Native (AI/AN) students are expected to be lower due to federal foster care and Indian Child Welfare data not being included. Additionally, it's possible for the category of "two or more races" to contain students who might otherwise identify as AI/AN, further lowering counts.
Section 504- indicates if the student had a 504 plan for accommodation relating to a disability between their cohort year and the 2025 school year.
Multilingual - indicates if the student participated in the State Transitional Bilingual Instruction Program (TBIP) between their cohort year and the 2025 school year.
Gender -determined from a student’s most recent K12 enrollment record.
Cohort- the cohort year is based on their first year of kindergarten and 8th grade. Even if a student repeats a grade, they remain in the cohort where they first enrolled in kindergarten/8th grade. If a student first enrolled in 8th grade during the 2014-2015 academic year, then their cohort year is 2015 (2014-2015).
Outcomes
| Outcome | Measure definition (numerator & denominator) | Time Period Notes |
| Kindergarten cohort | ||
| Early learning participation | Number of students who participate in any of the 5 listed public early learning programs (Part B, section 619 of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Transition to Kindergarten, Title I Part A , Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program, Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) subsidy program) / (number of students) | during the year prior to kindergarten |
| Early childhood special education participation | Number of students who enroll in preschool at a school district and receive services under Part B, section 619 of Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) | during the year prior to kindergarten |
| Transition to kindergarten participation | Number of students who enroll in Transition to Kindergarten program | during the year prior to kindergarten |
| ECEAP participation | Number of students who participate in the Early Childhood Education and Assistance Program | during the year prior to kindergarten |
| Working Connections childcare subsidy participation | Number of students who participate in the Working Connections Child Care (WCCC) subsidy program | during the year prior to kindergarten |
| Title 1 early learning participation | Number of students who enroll in preschool at a school district and receive services under Title I Part A | during the year prior to kindergarten |
| Percent of students who enroll in one school per school year | number of students who enroll (includes primary or non-primary enrollments) in one distinct school/number of students | by school year |
| Average number of days absent | number of days absent/number of students | by school year |
| Percent experiencing school disciplinary exclusion | number of exclusionary discipline actions/number of students | by school year |
| Social emotional readiness | number of students who were ready for kindergarten in the social emotional domain/number of students who were assessed | ever during first Kindergarten year |
| Physical readiness | number of students who were ready for kindergarten in the physical domain/number of students who were assessed | ever during first Kindergarten year |
| Cognitive readiness | number of students who were ready for kindergarten in the cognitive readiness domain/number of students who were assessed | ever during first Kindergarten year |
| Literacy readiness | number of students who were ready for kindergarten in the literacy readiness domain/number of students who were assessed | ever during first Kindergarten year |
| Math readiness | number of students who were ready for kindergarten in the math domain/number of students who were assessed | ever during first Kindergarten year |
| Percent of students proficient in English Language Arts as 3rd graders | number of students who tested proficient on an ELA 3rd grade standard or alternate assessment/number of students excluding certain exemptions | ever during 3rd grade |
| Percent of students proficient in Math as 3rd graders | number of students who tested proficient on a math 3rd grade standard or alternate assessment/number of students excluding certain exemptions | ever during 3rd grade |
| 8th grade cohort | ||
| Percent of students who enroll in one school per school year | number of students who enroll (includes primary or non-primary enrollments) in one distinct school/number of students | by school year |
| Average number of days absent | number of days absent/number of students | by school year |
| Percent experiencing school disciplinary exclusion | number of exclusionary discipline actions/number of students | by school year |
| Percent on track in 9th grade | number of students who passed all attempted credits in 9th grade year/number of students | during first 9th grade year |
| Percent who earned a high school diploma | number of students who earned a high school diploma in K12 or at a community college/number of students excluding those who transferred out of state or were reported deceased | ever by 8 years after 8th grade |
| Percent who did not earn a high school credential | number of students with no record of graduation or GED/number of students excluding those who transferred out of state or were reported deceased | ever by 8 years after 8th grade |
| Percent who earned a GED | number of students who did not graduate but completed a GED (data source: SBCTC)/number of students excluding those who transferred out of state or were reported deceased | ever by 8 years after 8th grade |
| Percent enrolled at a 2-year postsecondary institution | number of students whose highest level of postsecondary enrollment is at an in-state, out of state, public or private 2-year institution/number of students | ever by 8 years after 8th grade |
| Percent enrolled at a 4-year postsecondary institution | number of students whose highest level of postsecondary enrollment is at an in-state, out of state, public or private 4-year institution/number of students | ever by 8 years after 8th grade |
| Percent who did not enroll at a postsecondary institution | number of students who do not enroll at an in-state, out of state, public, or private institution/number of students | ever by 8 years after 8th grade |
| Percent who earned a certificate or unspecified award | number of students whose highest credential completed is identified as a certificate or unspecified award (public, private, in-state, out-of-state)/number of students who enrolled at a postsecondary institution | ever by 11 years after 8th grade |
| Associate | number of students whose highest credential completed is an associate degree (public, private, in-state, out-of-state) /number of students who enrolled at a postsecondary institution | ever by 11 years after 8th grade |
| Bachelor's or graduate | number of students whose highest credential completed is a bachelor's or graduate degree (public, private, in-state, out-of-state) /number of students who enrolled at a postsecondary institution | ever by 11 years after 8th grade |
| Percent employed | number of students who worked at any point during a calendar year and have a record of working at least 40 hours or earned more than $100 in a quarter/number of students | by calendar year |
| Median earnings | median annual wages adjusted for inflation for students who have a record of working at least 40 hours or earned more than $100 in a quarter (those who do not have a wage record in the calendar year are not included in the calculation) | by calendar year |
| Percent ever enrolled in apprenticeship | number of students who ever enrolled/number of students in the 8th grade cohort | ever by the 1st quarter of 2026 CY |
| Percent actively enrolled | number of students who were in active status who had not yet completed/number of students in the 8th grade cohort who ever enrolled in an apprenticeship | ever by the 1st quarter of 2026 CY |
| Percent ever completed an apprenticeship | number of students who ever completed apprenticeship/number of students in the 8th grade cohort who ever enrolled in an apprenticeship | ever by the 1st quarter of 2026 CY |