Author
Evan Brooks
Data Editor
Data editor for the ByCounty Network, responsible for methodology documentation, source review, and editorial QA on county-level reports built from public datasets.
Evan Brooks is the editorial byline for ByCounty Network data review, methodology maintenance, and source attribution across the network.
The role is the data-editor role, not the subject-matter-expert role. ByCounty designs data pipelines that pull each dataset, documents the methodology behind every composite score and ranking, spot-checks generated narratives against the underlying statistics before publication, and records methodology changes. The sites are transparent data utilities, not professional advisory services.
When a feature genuinely requires domain expertise — a public-health analyst weighing in on CDC measure choice, a CPA reviewing a property-tax explainer — ByCounty uses a named co-byline reviewer rather than presenting the data editor as a domain-credentialed professional. The reviewer commitment for each site is documented on that site's editorial-standards page, including the recruit status when no domain reviewer is currently in place.
Every statistic on the site is traceable to a primary source, every methodology decision is documented, and every page lists a "Last reviewed" date where editorial review applies.
Coverage areas
- NCES Common Core of Data
- per-pupil spending analysis
- graduation-rate methodology
- NCES school-finance data
- individual-school profile data attribution
Articles by Evan on Schools By County
How to Evaluate Public School Metrics by County
A practical guide to reading county public school metrics using per-pupil spending, graduation rates, School Score, school counts, and district context.
Understanding Per-Pupil Spending Across America
Analysis of per-pupil education spending across all US counties. Examines geographic patterns, the relationship between spending and completion metrics, and how to read school-finance data.
How to Compare Counties for School Research
A neutral guide to comparing county-level school data with safety, affordability, and health context. Covers metrics, regional patterns, and data limitations.
What the Highest- and Lowest-Scoring Counties Have in Common
An analysis of both tails of the School Score distribution: how completion, funding, and state policy cluster at the extremes — and what a percentile ranking can and cannot tell you.
The Graduation-Rate Spread: Why County Rates Range So Widely
Why county graduation rates run from below 70% to near 100%: ACGR measurement rules, county-level aggregation, small-cohort volatility, and state policy clusters — with the highest and lowest counties.
Per-Pupil Spending Extremes: What the Top and Bottom Counties Reveal
The highest- and lowest-spending US counties, and why the gap is mostly sparsity, regional prices, and state formulas — with cost-of-living caveats and why high spending does not equal high scores.
County Per-Pupil Spending and Graduation Rates
A descriptive comparison of the highest-spending and lowest-spending US counties and their reported graduation rates.