Where the facts come from
Most listings start from an official public list, such as a state program's list of participating schools. Others we find through a business-listings data service. We then check the provider's own website. We do not copy reviews, ratings or photos from other websites, and we do not publish state quality ratings; each listing links to the official record instead.
What "verified" means
A fact appears on a listing only with its source and the date we last checked it. If we cannot name a source and a date for a fact, the fact is left off the page. "Checked" on a listing means we matched it against the provider's own website, and against an official list where one exists. The listing says which.
Program acceptance
When a listing says a provider accepts a program, that comes from the program's own published list or from the provider, and it shows the date it was verified. A status without a verified date is not shown.
Cost if a family is awarded
Where a state program publishes award amounts, we show what a school would cost if a family is awarded: the school's published tuition minus the award amount. Award amounts can depend on the family's tier, county or grade, and the page shows each amount with its source and the date we checked it. The figure never goes below $0; when the award covers the published tuition, we say so, and fees may still apply. When we have no published tuition for a school, we say "We have no published tuition for this school: ask the school" and do not estimate a number.
Openings
We show that a provider is enrolling only when the provider told us, or when the provider's own website says so and we checked it. Openings information older than 30 days is removed until it is checked again.
How often we re-check
We aim to re-check program status, tuition and openings monthly.
Order and paid placement
Listings are ordered by whether we have checked them, then by how complete they are. Paid placement appears only in a block labelled "Featured" and never changes the order of the main list.
Corrections
If something is wrong, write to hello@privateschoolshortlist.com. We read every message and correct verified errors.