The school proficiency index uses school-level data on the performance of 4th grade students on state exams to describe which neighborhoods have high-performing elementary schools nearby and which are near lower performing elementary schools. The school proficiency index is a function of the percent of 4th grade students proficient in reading (r) and math (m) on state test scores for up to three schools (i=1,2,3) within 1.5 miles of the block-group centroid. S denotes 4th grade school enrollment:Elementary schools are linked with block-groups based on a geographic mapping of attendance area zones from School Attendance Boundary Information System (SABINS), where available, or within-district proximity matches of up to the three-closest schools within 1.5 miles. In cases with multiple school matches, an enrollment-weighted score is calculated following the equation above.InterpretationValues are percentile ranked and range from 0 to 100. The higher the score, the higher the school system quality is in a neighborhood. Data Source: Great Schools (proficiency data, 2011-12 or more recent); Common Core of Data (school addresses and enrollment, 2011-12); SABINS (attendance boundaries, 2011-12). Data Current As Of: 6/15/15This layer is intended for researchers, students, policy makers, and the general public for reference and mapping purposes, and may be used for basic applications such as viewing, querying, and map output production. This layer will provide a basemap for layers related to socio-political analysis, statistical enumeration and analysis, or to support graphical overlays and analysis with other spatial data. More advanced user applications may focus on demographics, urban and rural land use planning, socio-economic analysis and related areas (including defining boundaries, managing assets and facilities, integrating attribute databases with geographic features, spatial analysis, and presentation output.)