LearningDifferences.Info® relies primarily on publicly available data published by the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to help families better understand and compare special education services offered by public schools across Texas.
Because these data are collected for administrative and accountability purposes, meaningful interpretation often requires integrating information from multiple sources, addressing data suppression, and analyzing trends over time.
Our goal is to make these data more accessible, understandable, and actionable for families navigating special education decisions.
Primary Data Sources
Texas Education Agency (TEA)
Most information presented on LearningDifferences.Info® originates from datasets published by the Texas Education Agency. These datasets include information related to:
- Student enrollment
- Special education participation
- Academic performance on STAAR and STAAR Alternate 2 assessments
- Graduation and College, Career, and Military Readiness (CCMR) outcomes
- Disciplinary actions involving students receiving special education services
- Staffing characteristics
- Instructional settings and inclusion practices
- Campus accountability ratings
Much of this information is collected through the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS), the statewide data collection system used by TEA.
Additional Public Sources
LearningDifferences.Info® also incorporates information obtained from other publicly available TEA publications, reports, and datasets, including:
- Texas Academic Performance Reports (TAPR)
- Assessment participation files
- Campus directories and contact information
- Accountability reports
- Publicly released datasets obtained through Texas Public Information Requests
- Neighborhood demographic indicators derived from publicly available census-based datasets
How the Data Are Used
Public education datasets can be extensive and difficult for families to interpret. LearningDifferences.Info® integrates information from multiple sources to create school profiles, customizable scorecards, and comparative tools designed to promote greater transparency regarding special education services. Examples include:
- Historical trends spanning multiple years
- Side-by-side school comparisons
- Inclusion and instructional setting indicators
- Discipline patterns
- Academic outcome measures
- SPED Support Scores
For a full explanation of how the SPED Support Score is calculated from these data, see our SPED Support Scoring Methodology page.
Interpreting the Data
Families should consider several factors when interpreting school-level data.
Data Availability
Some information is suppressed by TEA to protect student privacy, particularly when the number of students in a category is very small.
Reporting Lag
Publicly released datasets often become available months after the end of a school year. As a result, information presented on this website may not reflect staffing changes in the current school year, program additions, or other developments at a campus.
Quantitative Measures Do Not Tell the Entire Story
No dataset can fully capture a student’s day-to-day experience, the quality of relationships with teachers, or the effectiveness of an Individualized Education Program (IEP). Families are encouraged to use LearningDifferences.Info® as a starting point for conversations, school visits, and further research rather than as the sole basis for selecting a school.
Feedback Welcome
We welcome feedback from families, educators, researchers, and advocates regarding additional datasets, indicators, or ways to improve the platform. Please contact us if you have suggestions for future enhancements.