Skip to main content
California Department of Education Logo

File Structure: Chronic Absenteeism Indicator

Field names, types, and descriptions for the Chronic Absenteeism Indicator data files.
Field Name Description
cds County-District-School Code
  • 14-character string
rtype Record Type
  • S = School Record
  • D = District/Local Education Agency (LEA) Record
  • X = State Record
schoolname School Name
  • Text
districtname District Name
  • Text
countyname County Name
  • Text
charter_flag Charter School Flag
  • Y or Blank
  • Y = The school is a charter school
coe_flag County Office of Education Flag
  • Y or Blank
  • Y = The district is a county office of education
dass_flag Dashboard Alternative School Status (DASS) Flag
  • Y or Blank
  • Y = The school is a DASS school
studentgroup Student Group
  • ALL = All Students
  • AA = Black or African American
  • AI = American Indian or Alaska Native
  • AS = Asian
  • FI = Filipino
  • HI = Hispanic or Latino
  • PI = Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander
  • WH = White
  • MR = Multiple Races/Two or More Races
  • EL = English Learner
  • LTEL = Long-Term English Learner (Available as of 2024 data files)
  • SED = Socioeconomically Disadvantaged
  • SWD = Students with Disabilities
  • FOS = Foster Youth
  • HOM = Homeless Youth
currnumer Current Numerator
  • Integer
Number of students who were chronically absent in the current year.
currdenom Current Denominator
  • Integer
Number of students enrolled in the current year who met the eligibility criteria.
currstatus Current Status
  • Decimal
Current year chronic absenteeism rate rounded to the nearest tenth.
priornumer Prior Numerator
  • Integer
Number of students who were chronically absent in the prior year.
priordenom Prior Denominator
  • Integer
Number of students enrolled in the prior year who met the eligibility criteria.
priorstatus Prior Status
  • Decimal
Prior year chronic absenteeism rate rounded to the nearest tenth.
change Change
  • Decimal
Difference between the unrounded current year chronic absenteeism and the unrounded prior year chronic absenteeism rate. Rounded to the nearest tenth.
statuslevel Status Level
  • 1 = Very High
  • 2 = High
  • 3 = Medium
  • 4 = Low
  • 5 = Very Low
  • 0 = No Status Level
Determined after calculations and rounding.
changelevel Change level
  • 1 = Increased Significantly
  • 2 = Increased
  • 3 = Maintained
  • 4 = Declined
  • 5 = Declined Significantly
  • 0 = No Change Level
Determined after calculations and rounding.
color Performance Level Color
  • 1 = Red
  • 2 = Orange
  • 3 = Yellow
  • 4 = Green
  • 5 = Blue
  • 0 = No Color
box If a color was assigned, this value represents the specific 5x5 grid location
  • 10 = Very Low, Increased Significantly
  • 20 = Very Low, Increased
  • 30 = Very Low, Maintained
  • 40 = Very Low, Declined
  • 50 = Very Low, Declined Significantly
  • 60 = Low, Increased Significantly
  • 70 = Low, Increased
  • 80 = Low, Maintained
  • 90 = Low, Declined
  • 100 = Low, Declined Significantly
  • 110 = Medium, Increased Significantly
  • 120 = Medium, Increased
  • 130 = Medium, Maintained
  • 140 = Medium, Declined
  • 150 = Medium, Declined Significantly
  • 160 = High, Increased Significantly
  • 170 = High, Increased
  • 180 = High, Maintained
  • 190 = High, Declined
  • 200 = High, Declined Significantly
  • 210 = Very High, Increased Significantly
  • 220 = Very High, Increased
  • 230 = Very High, Maintained
  • 240 = Very High, Declined
  • 250 = Very High, Declined Significantly
  • 0 = No Color
smalldenom Small Denominator
  • Y or Blank
  • Y = 3x5 color grid was applied
Student population less than 150: 3x5 color grid was applied

The Small Denominator rule applies at the School, District, and Student Group levels.
currnsizemet Current Year Denominator N-size Met
  • Y or Blank
  • Y = The school, district, or student group had 30 or more students in the current status denominator OR the district had 15 or more students in the current status denominator for the Foster, Homeless, or Long-Term English Learner student group
Schools and LEAs that had at least 30 students in the current status denominator have met the ‘N-size’ requirement and will receive a ‘Y’ (i.e., Yes) in this field. The ‘N-size’ of 30 is used to ensure that accountability results are statistically significant, valid, and reliable. Schools and LEAs with fewer than 30 students in the current status denominator will receive an ‘N’ (i.e., No) in this field. At the LEA level for the Foster, Homeless and Long-Term English Learner student groups, a 'N-size' of at least 15 is required to receive a 'Y'.
priornsizemet Prior Year Denominator N-size Met
  • Y or Blank
  • Y = The school, district, or student group had 30 or more students in the prior status denominator OR the district had 15 or more students in the prior status denominator for the Foster, Homeless, or Long-Term English Learner student group
Schools and LEAs that had at least 30 students in the prior status denominator have met the ‘N-size’ requirement and will receive a ‘Y’ (i.e., Yes) in this field. The ‘N-size’ of 30 is used to ensure that accountability results are statistically significant, valid, and reliable. Schools and LEAs with fewer than 30 students in the current status denominator will receive an ‘N’ (i.e., No) in this field. At the LEA level for the Foster, Homeless and Long-Term English Learner student groups, a 'N-size' of at least 15 is required to receive a 'Y'.
accountabilitymet Indicates whether the school, district, or student group met the minimum n-size in both the current and prior year denominators to earn a Performance Level Color
  • Y or Blank
  • Y = The school, district, or student group met the minimum n-size in both the current and prior denominators to earn a Performance Level Color
certifyflag Non-certified data flag
  • Y or Blank
  • Y = Did not certify attendance data in the current year
Districts and schools that did not certify their attendance data in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) in the current year are automatically assigned an Orange Performance Level.
priorcertifyflag Prior year non-certified data flag
  • Y or Blank
  • Y = Did not certify attendance data in the prior year
Districts and schools that did not certify their attendance data in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) in the prior year are automatically assigned an Orange Performance Level.
dataerrorflag Data error flag
  • Y or Blank
  • Y = Submitted incorrect data and/or data with errors
Districts and schools that certified zero chronically absent students but had more full days of out-of-school suspension than the number of days reported as absences in the California Longitudinal Pupil Achievement Data System (CALPADS) are automatically assigned an Orange Performance Level.
OR
Schools or Districts informed the California Department of Education (CDE) of bad data submissions.
OR
Submitted Student Absence Summary (STAS) data that is misaligned with their cumulative enrollment data submission.
indicator Dashboard Indicator
  • "CHRO"
reportingyear Reporting Year
  • Text

File Structure Notes

Please note the difference in file structure for the data files listed below. If a data file year is not listed, the file aligns with the structure described above.

Year of Data Notes

2021–22

The following fields in the above file structure are not available: priornumer, priordenom, priorstatus, change, changelevel, color, box, smalldenom, currnsizemet, priornsizemet, accountabilitymet, priorcertifyflag, indicator.

2018–19

The following fields in the above file structure are not available: currnsizemet, priornsizemet, accountabilitymet, priorcertifyflag, indicator.

Beginning with the 2022-23 data file, the field "safetynet" was renamed to "smalldenom".

2017–18

The following fields in the above file structure are not available: currnsizemet, priornsizemet, accountabilitymet, priorcertifyflag, dataerrorflag, indicator.

Beginning with the 2022-23 data file, the field "safetynet" was renamed to "smalldenom".

Questions:   Analysis Measurement & Accountability Reporting Division | Dashboard@cde.ca.gov
Last Reviewed: Wednesday, October 7, 2026
Recently Posted in Accountability