Honest Report · about
Two layers. Kept separate.
A star rating flattens a school to one number. Honest Report keeps the two things parents actually weigh in their own labeled lanes — and lets you set what matters.
Layer 1 · Official data
Pulled live from the federal record when you search: enrollment, location, charter status and related directory fields. This is the column you can audit.
Layer 2 · Verified parent experience
What families actually live: special-ed responsiveness, the arts program, how the front office treats you. In this beta the parent layer is seed/illustrative and is clearly labeled as such. Why keep it separate?
The wall between them
The two layers are structurally separate in the code, not just visually. Official numbers and parent notes are stored, rendered, and labeled independently — there is no path where one silently becomes the other.
What you control
The weighting sliders are yours. Small classes, strong arts, special-ed support, short commute — set what matters for your kid, and the fit re-scores live. There is no single “best school,” only best-fit-for-you.
Zero student PII
Honest Report collects and stores no student information. There are no accounts, no child profiles, and nothing about your kid leaves your device. Your weighting choices stay in your browser. Searches hit only the public federal school-directory API and carry no personal data.
Sources
- NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) — the U.S. Department of Education’s official directory of public schools.
- Delivered via the Urban Institute Education Data API (keyless, public), CCD school directory, 2021 vintage.
- Parent-experience layer — seed/illustrative in this beta; not a live data source, and labeled as seed everywhere it appears.
Honest Report is free and grant-funded by America’s Future. Honest labeling throughout: every value shows its provenance, the official and parent layers are kept structurally separate, and we never tell you a school is “safe” or assign a single score. Beta.