Useful evidence needs a denominator
What happens after training?
Graduate data can improve a decision when you know who is counted, what was measured and when. A single percentage or salary rarely answers that on its own.
| Evidence | What it can tell you | What it does not establish |
|---|---|---|
| Scorecard field earnings | Historical earnings of the defined federally aided graduate population, grouped by institution group, broad subject and credential. | Your starting salary, a precise campus-course result or the effect of attending the school. |
| Scorecard borrowing | Federal student borrowing for a separately defined borrower cohort. | Every graduate’s debt, private borrowing or the current course price. |
| Census PSEO | Earnings after graduation for covered cohorts at participating institutions, with employment-coverage and publication conditions. | National coverage of every school or a figure directly interchangeable with Scorecard. |
| IPEDS completions | How many awards an institution reported in a subject and year. | A graduation rate, current enrollment or a count of unique graduates. |
| Provider or regulator performance sheet | A defined completion, placement or examination measure if its cohort and method are clear. | An independent audit merely because a document was submitted to a regulator. |
Ask five questions about a placement claim
- Which campus, program and graduating cohort does it cover?
- Who is included in and excluded from the denominator?
- Does “placed” mean employment in the trained occupation, any job, or further study?
- When was employment checked, and were hours or pay measured?
- Can you see the underlying performance sheet and the method?
For example, 36 placements among 40 graduates available for work is 90% of that defined group. If 60 students originally enrolled, it is not a 90% placement rate for all entrants. The groups answer different questions.
How we handle missing and conflicting evidence
Suppressed values remain suppressed. Missing figures are not zero or a negative judgment about the school. We preserve distinct cohorts and reporting units rather than averaging incompatible measures. Historical workforce-provider figures whose cohort could not be resolved are withheld from comparisons.
On school pages, Scorecard’s OPEID6 grouping can span multiple campuses. PSEO’s named OPEID8 reporting unit is shown separately. Neither is silently attached to a more specific current course.
Check original reporting
- College Scorecard downloads and documentation ↗
- Census PSEO methods and covered population ↗
- California BPPE 2024 institution-submitted reports ↗
- IPEDS data and definitions ↗
Reviewed September 9, 2026. BPPE’s public index is an original verification route; a complete national regulator-performance dataset is not available in this guide.
Explore evidence on school profiles →