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Methodology Library

Measure what the scoreboard cannot explain alone.

The methodology library defines what each CDA index measures, why it matters, what it does not claim, which inputs matter, and where source limitations remain.

Athletic ROISourcesStatus

Index definitions

Each methodology starts simple, then earns complexity through data.

Pilot published

CDA Efficiency Score

Measures: Performance relative to enrollment, division, competition, history, and postseason output.

Why it matters: Which programs produce the strongest achievement relative to opportunity?

Does not measure: It does not replace official rankings, live schedules, or roster-level performance.

Example: A smaller school with repeated deep playoff runs can rate highly even without the largest enrollment or media footprint.

  • Wins and losses
  • Postseason advancement
  • State performance
  • Enrollment context
  • Division
  • Historical consistency
Methodology pilot

CDA Athletic ROI Index

Measures: Athletic success relative to spending, enrollment, facilities, booster signals, public/private context, and community capacity.

Why it matters: Which schools and departments generate the strongest athletic results relative to resources?

Does not measure: It does not assign blame for funding differences or assume every dollar is directly tied to athletic outcomes.

Example: A district with modest resource signals and repeated postseason output becomes a high-priority Athletic ROI review case.

  • District spending
  • Per-pupil spending
  • Athletic spending where available
  • Booster support
  • Facility investment
  • Enrollment
  • Postseason output
  • Multi-sport performance
Source identified

CDA Athletic Department Index

Measures: Multi-sport performance, consistency, state appearances, championship output, boys/girls program balance, and postseason breadth.

Why it matters: Which athletic departments show the strongest total program depth?

Does not measure: It does not treat one elite team as proof of full department strength.

Example: A department with several sports reaching late postseason rounds can rate strongly even without one dominant flagship team.

  • Sport offerings
  • Tournament outcomes
  • State appearances
  • Championships
  • Competitive consistency
  • Program depth
Source identified

CDA Community Sports Index

Measures: Participation signals, multi-sport output, sustainability, local identity, community engagement, and school sports gravity.

Why it matters: Which communities consistently convert sports culture into measurable strength?

Does not measure: It does not rank fan passion by social media noise or anecdote alone.

Example: A smaller county with several strong programs across sports can become a community-sports strength signal.

  • County context
  • School mix
  • Participation proxies
  • Multi-sport success
  • Community evidence
  • Sponsor ecosystem signals
Source identified

CDA Overachievement Index

Measures: Performance relative to expectations set by enrollment, history, competitive environment, and community context.

Why it matters: Which programs exceed what size, history, and resources would predict?

Does not measure: It does not reward one-season spikes without a source-backed signal.

Example: A program with repeated strong seasons after a long quiet baseline becomes an overachievement review case.

  • Historical baseline
  • Enrollment
  • Division
  • County context
  • Program trajectory
  • Postseason conversion
Pilot method

CDA Dynasty Index

Measures: Durable output across five-, ten-, and twenty-year windows with postseason and title context.

Why it matters: Which programs sustain excellence across multiple windows?

Does not measure: It does not overvalue old reputation if recent output has faded.

Example: A program with repeated deep runs across eras separates from a single-cycle contender.

  • 5-year results
  • 10-year results
  • 20-year results
  • Playoff frequency
  • Deep runs
  • Championship signal
Future enrichment

CDA Infrastructure Index

Measures: Stadium, indoor, weight-room, turf, training, and facility-investment signals.

Why it matters: Where do facilities and investment appear to change athletic opportunity?

Does not measure: It does not assume newer facilities automatically create better programs.

Example: A facility investment followed by participation growth or postseason improvement becomes a future research question.

  • Board minutes
  • Facility pages
  • Capital projects
  • Bond/levy records
  • Booster donations
  • Public facility notes

Source architecture

Public records make the platform credible.

The source plan prioritizes official school, sport, finance, and county datasets before enrichment sources.

Tier 1

OHSAA

Member-school context, sport divisions, tournament structure, enrollment figures, and postseason references.

Tier 1

NCES Common Core of Data

School identity, district identity, public/private normalization, enrollment, demographics, and finance datasets.

Tier 2

District annual financial reports, board minutes, and CAFR/ACFR materials

Athletic fund detail, facility approvals, capital projects, booster donations, and resource context.

Tier 2

School, athletic department, booster, and sponsorship pages

Sports offered, staff, facilities, sponsorship inventory, booster activity, and sponsor ecosystem evidence.

Tier 3

County economic, chamber, business-pattern, levy, bond, and local media sources

Sponsor ecosystems, business density, public investment context, facilities, and historical community sports moments.

Reusable data models

The platform is structured around entities, not one-off pages.

School

School

school_id, school_name, city, county, district, public_private, enrollment, ohsaa_division_by_sport, conference, latitude, longitude, source_notes, data_confidence

Sport Program

Sport Program

school_id, sport, season, wins, losses, playoff_appearance, playoff_round, state_titles, regional_titles, historical_success_score, efficiency_score, confidence_level, source_notes

Athletic Department

Athletic Department

school_id, multi_sport_score, athletic_department_index, boys_sports_score, girls_sports_score, total_program_depth, postseason_breadth, source_notes

Resources and Investment

Resources and Investment

school_id, district_id, fiscal_year, per_pupil_spending, athletic_spending_if_available, activity_fund_data_if_available, booster_revenue_if_available, facility_investment_notes, infrastructure_score, resource_confidence_level, source_notes

County

County

county_id, county_name, population, median_household_income, number_of_high_schools, public_private_mix, football_strength_score, basketball_strength_score, girls_basketball_strength_score, athletic_roi_signal, community_sports_index, source_notes

Sponsorship and Commercial Intelligence

Sponsorship and Commercial Intelligence

school_id, sponsor_name, sponsor_category, sponsorship_tier, estimated_or_published_price, inventory_type, renewal_status_if_known, source_url, confidence_level