The Checked standard
How we check a fact
One standard for every site we publish. It says what “checked” means, where our facts come from, how often we look again, and what happens when we are wrong.
Updated
What “checked” means
Checked means we compared the fact against the primary record, and we show you the date we did it.
The primary record is the official source a fact comes from: the state's license register for a child care program, the federal training-provider registry for a truck driving school, a program's own published list of the schools that take its award.
“Checked” is a promise about method, not a guarantee that nothing has changed since. Records change; that is why every fact carries its date.
How to read a fact
Every fact on our sites is built the same way. Tap a part to see what it tells you.
An illustration of the parts, not a real listing.
- 1
The factWritten the way the record states it, in plain words.
- 2
The sourceA link to the official record, so you can check it yourself.
- 3
The checked dateThe day we last compared the fact with that record.
Where facts come from
Every listing starts from an official public list. We then look at the provider's own website where it has one. Four kinds of record do most of the work:
- State license recordsFor example, Ohio's register of licensed child care programs.
- Federal registriesFor example, the FMCSA training-provider registry.
- Program listsFor example, a state school-choice program's list of participating schools.
- Providers' own websitesFor example, a school’s published tuition or enrollment page.
Publication by publication
- Preschool Roster
Starts from Ohio's register of licensed child care programs.
Also checked against the program's own website, where it has one.
- CDL School Shortlist
Starts from the federal Entry-Level Driver Training (ELDT) training-provider registry, kept by FMCSA.
Also checked against the school's own website, where it has one.
- Private School Shortlist
Starts from each state program's list of participating schools and providers (Texas Education Freedom Accounts, Florida's Step Up For Students scholarships, the NC Opportunity Scholarship).
Also checked against the provider's own website.
We do not copy reviews, ratings or photos from other websites, and we do not issue ratings of our own. Where a state publishes its own rating, a listing may show it exactly as the state publishes it, with the date we checked it.
The rules every page follows
- No source, no factIf we cannot name a source and a date for a fact, the fact is left off the page.
- Say which recordA listing says whether it was matched against the official record, the provider's own website, or both.
- Programs need a date“Accepts this program” comes from the program's own list or the provider, with the date it was verified. No date, no status.
- Their words, labeledText a provider writes about its own program is shown as theirs, labeled as theirs.
- Openings must be freshWe show a provider is enrolling only when it told us, or its own website says so and we checked it.
- Payment changes nothingPaid placement, when it opens, sits only in a block labeled “Featured” and never changes a listing's facts or the order of the main list.
How often we check again
A fact is not checked once and left. This is the life of every fact on our sites:
Gathered
A listing starts from the primary record for its subject.
Compared
Each fact is matched against that record, and against the provider's own website where it has one.
Shown, with its source and date
Only facts that matched make it onto the page.
Checked again
We aim to re-check program status, tuition and openings monthly. Openings information older than 30 days comes off the page until it is checked again.
Changed? We update the fact and its date.Cannot confirm it? It comes off the page until we can.
Software and people
Our pages are compiled with automated tools from official records. We say so plainly. It is how thousands of listings stay current, and it is why every fact carries its source: you never have to take our word for it.
What the software does
- Reads the official records and lists.
- Builds each listing from them.
- Matches facts to their sources and stamps the date.
- Leaves a fact off when it cannot match it.
Where a person steps in
- Changes to a listing's name, address or program status are checked by a person before they show.
- Every correction request is read by a person.
- Removal requests are handled by a person.
Privacy for home providers
Some providers work from their own homes. For licensed home child care, we do not show a person's name, street address or ZIP code until the provider claims the listing. We show the city, the state record number, and a link to the official state record.
Anyone named on a listing can ask us to take their personal details off, and we will.
When we get it wrong
Tell us. We would rather fix a mistake quickly than leave it up. We check what you send against the official record and the provider's own website, then fix it or take the fact off the page until we can confirm it. Every correction goes in the public log.