South Carolina Department of Education Data
Demographic information, description of coursework, and special accommodations (including free lunch status) for all K-12 South Carolina students; standardized test scores from grade 3-8 South Carolina students.
All pre-K and K-12 students in South Carolina
Access
South Carolina Department of Education data are available for research purposes. Researchers must create an account with the South Carolina Department of Education Records Center. Researchers must provide a clear description of the data requested, public benefit of the research, aggregate level, data format and an explanation of how they will maintain data security. If the request is approved, researchers must enter into a Data Use Agreement (DUA) with SCDE and Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office (RFA) that will detail the terms of use of the data.
Timeline for Access
The length of time to review applications can vary by project and linking requests. All electronic records containing confidential information are required to be destroyed once the research is completed.
Cost
The SCDE charges a fee to fulfill data requests.
Linking
SCDE will link on any of the identifiers listed.
Identifiers Available for Linking
- Student first and last name
- Student date of birth
- Social Security Number
- Unique South Carolina student ID
Linking to Outside Data Sources
South Carolina Department of Education data are available for linking with outside data sources through RFA. RFA maintains an integrated data system, including information about clients’ use of programs and services of various state, private, and non-profit entities. The system enables researchers to analyze the use of services and client crossover among these entities. This includes data on legal and safety services, social services, behavioral health, child care, education, disease registries, Medicare, Medicaid, state employee health services, free clinics, community centers, and homelessness. Data set quality varies across agencies.
While RFA maintains these data and is able to link these data sets, each originating agency maintains control of its own data and dictates how they may be released. Researchers who are interested in linking SCDE data to other data sets must first request permission from the Department of Education. In order to link Department of Education data to the other RFA data sets, separate data use agreements with RFA and the other agencies, as well as approval from the South Carolina Data Oversight Council and IRB is often required.
If approved, the researcher must submit to RFA a key file containing study participants’ identifying information (which can include full name, date of birth, Social Security number and unique South Carolina student ID), and RFA will conduct a probabilistic match to link other data sets, after which researchers will receive de-identified, linked data. (Researchers may include a non-identifying “study ID” in the key file and request that RFA include the “study ID” in the data file.)
Data Contents
Partial List of Variables
Demographic information (age, country of origin, race, first language), school and district information, ELL accommodations, migrant status, alternative school arrangement, disability codes, free and reduced lunch status, SC state standardized test scores, attendance, discipline, graduation
Other Documentation
The Circle of Love: South Carolina’s Integrated Data System (note: Effective July 1, 2014, the Office of Research and Statistics became part of an independent agency operating as the Revenue and Fiscal Affairs Office.)