DataQuest Update, Issue #30
DataQuest is an online data reporting resource that provides access to a wide variety of data reports and downloadable data files.
October 15, 2026
DataQuest is the California Department of Education's (CDE) public data reporting website that provides meaningful data and statistics about California's K–12 public education system that supports a wide variety of informational, research, and policy needs. The purpose of the DataQuest Update is to provide: (1) announcements regarding public data releases and availability; (2) general information and analysis on various data reporting topics; and (3) practical tips on how to effectively use DataQuest to obtain information. For questions regarding DataQuest, please submit an email to dataquest@cde.ca.gov.
Release of 2026 California School Dashboard
The 2026 California School Dashboard
is now online with data showing modest statewide improvements on all Dashboard indicators. The Dashboard is a key component of the state’s school accountability system, which includes the latest data on graduation rates, suspension rates, test scores, English Learner progress, the college/career indicator, chronic absenteeism, and local indicators. Informational materials that help explain the data reported on the 2026 Dashboard are accessible on the Dashboard Communications Toolkit web page. Additional supporting reports will be available on the School Dashboard Additional Reports and Data web page on December 15, 2026. While the CDE encourages local educational agencies (LEAs) to utilize the information made available on the CDE website, it is also critical that LEAs review their locally collected data to inform support provided for at-risk students on a regular basis. More information about this data release can be found in the CDE Press Release #26-44.
Release of the Annual End-of-Year Data Reports on DataQuest
The release of the 2026 Dashboard is supported by the concurrent release of the related 2025–26 End-of-Year (EOY) reports on DataQuest, which are available at the state, county, district, and school levels, and can be viewed and filtered by student groups. The reports included in this release are based on data for the academic year submitted and certified in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) by districts and charter schools as part of the annual EOY-1 data submission.
2025–26 Four-Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate (ACGR) and Outcome Reports
- Four-Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate
- Four-Year Adjusted Cohort Outcomes
2025–26 Five-Year Cohort Graduation Rates and Outcome Reports
- Five-Year Cohort Graduation Rate
- Five-Year Cohort Outcomes
- Five-Year and Four-Year Cohort Graduation Rate Comparison
2025–26 Suspension Data Reports
- Suspension Rate
- Suspension Count by Most Serious Offense Category
2025–26 Chronic Absenteeism Reports
- Chronic Absenteeism Rate
Additionally, the following data, which are not utilized in the Dashboard, are now publicly available on the CDE DataQuest website.
2025–26 Stability Reports
- Stability Rates
- Stability Rates (with County/District/School Data)
2025–26 Absenteeism by Reason Reports
- Absenteeism by Reason
2025–26 Expulsion Data Reports
- Expulsion Rate
- Expulsion Count by Most Serious Offense Category
2025–26 Homeless Student Enrollment by Dwelling Type
- Homeless Student Enrollment by Dwelling Type
- Homeless Student Enrollment by Dwelling Type (with County/District/School Data)
Note: Consistent with programmatic requirements and practice, beginning in the 2025−26 academic year, local educational agencies were required to close CALPADS homeless program records for all students at the end of the school year. Additionally, any homeless program records from previous academic years, were required to be closed as of the end of the 2024–25 academic year. Moving forward, LEAs are now required to upload new CALPADS homeless program records based on the annual Housing Questionnaire administered for the current academic year. This process will help ensure that the homeless program data in CALPADS reflects the most current information obtained from the annual Housing Questionnaire administered by LEAs. Given this change in data collection practice, the decrease in the 2025–26 homeless student enrollment counts may be associated with improved data accuracy resulting from requiring LEAs to annually close out homeless program records for students who are no longer homeless and annually verifying the homeless status for students who are newly homeless or continue to remain homeless. For more information about this change, please see CALPADS Update Flash #325.
How to Access DataQuest Reports
Users may access these reports by performing the following steps:
- Navigate to the DataQuest Homepage
- Select the desired Level (State, County, District, or School)
- Select the Subject Level (e.g., Four-Year Adjusted Cohort Graduation Rate and Outcomes)
- Select "Submit"
- Select the desired Year (e.g., 2025–26)
- Select "Submit"
- Select the desired report from the menu
- Select "Submit"
The DataQuest reports included in this release are also accessible through the Data Reports by Topic web page.
The reports listed above include Report Description, Report Glossary, and, where applicable, Report Filters and Options sections. To change the way the data are displayed in the report, open the expandable (+) Report Options and Filters section. Within this area, users can apply a variety of data filters. Additionally, users can apply one or more filters simultaneously to view data in a variety of configurations. Applied filters are viewable in the "Filters Enabled" section above each report where the filters can also be reset.
Supporting Downloadable Data Files
As part of this DataQuest report release, the CDE is providing supporting downloadable data files for the above reports which can be found on the Downloadable Data Files by Topic web page. Additionally, the following stand-alone downloadable files are included in this data release:
2025–26 Cumulative Enrollment Data File
In compliance with the reporting requirements outlined in Education Code section 47607(d)(1)(A), the CDE has publicly posted the following downloadable data file regarding the number of students who were cumulatively enrolled during the 2025–26 academic year.
2025–26 Restraint and Seclusion Data File
In compliance with the reporting requirements outlined in Education Code Section 49006, the CDE has publicly posted the following downloadable data file regarding the number of students subjected to mechanical restraint, physical restraint, or seclusion during the 2025–26 academic year.
2025–26 One-Year Graduate Counts Data File
The One-Year Graduate Counts data file consists of all students who graduated during the 2025–26 academic year, regardless of when they started high school disaggregated by race/ethnicity, student program group, and gender.
2025–26 Annual Reclassified Fluent English Proficient (RFEP) Rate Data File
The RFEP Rate data in this file identify how many and what percent of English Learner (EL) students are reclassified at a school during the 2025–26 academic year. RFEP rate data in the file are provided at the school, district, county, and state-levels with additional charter school and alternative school filter options.
Please Note: Refer to the File Structure web pages for important details about the associated data files, including the data layout, which data are contained in the file, data element definitions, and the levels at which data are provided (e.g., state, county, district, and school levels).
DataQuest Highlights
Please see the DataQuest Highlights web page for a summary overview of each data release, including an exploration of select data and key takeaways from the latest DataQuest reports.
Upcoming Data Releases
Please see the DataQuest Schedule web page for information about the DataQuest reports and downloadable data files that are scheduled for an upcoming release.
DataQuest Listserv Information
To subscribe to the DataQuest listserv, submit a blank email to: subscribe-dataquest@mlist.cde.ca.gov.
To unsubscribe to the DataQuest listserv, submit a blank email to: unsubscribe-dataquest@mlist.cde.ca.gov.