Dashboard: COVID-19 Metrics for Houston-Area School Districts

Data disclaimer

The interpretations of this data should be considered in light of several limitations. Briefly, 

1. These heatmaps and graphs display COVID-19 case data, from Harris County Public Health and the Houston Health Department, aggregated to school district boundaries.
2. Testing and case data are underestimated because not all clinics report data in a comprehensive, systematic manner.
3. Positive COVID-19 cases after May 19, 2020 do NOT include antibody tests.
4. While we receive new data each week from Harris County Public Health and the Houston Health Department, we generally display data from a few weeks ago to accommodate for delays in reporting. This data is more accurate than newly received data.

Frequently asked questions

What is the process to gain access to the COVID-19 School District Analysis Dashboard?

This dashboard is currently restricted to school district superintendents and their designees, who must request a username and password to access the analytics. To request a password, or if you’d like any more information, please contact Ryan Ramphul, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology, human genetics, and environmental sciences at UTHealth School of Public Health. Only one username and password will be issued per school district.

Where does the data come from?

Data displayed on this dashboard comes from The Harris County Public Health Department and the City of Houston Health Department. It will eventually include data from Fort Bend County too. When someone is tested using a PCR (nasal swab) test, which is the gold standard for COVID-19 testing, the specimen is sent to a lab for processing. The lab then reports the data to area health departments, depending on jurisdiction. Data is then sent to UTHealth School of Public Health for visualization and analysis.

Does the dashboard only use data on cases within schools (students, teachers, staff, etc.)?

No. This dashboard displays data on all cases within the community, by school district. Similar to the way that the Harris County/Houston COVID-19 Dashboard displays cases by zip code, this dashboard uses similar data to display cases by school district. This includes cases submitted by school districts to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).

What is incidence?

Incidence, in this case, refers to the number of newly confirmed COVID-19 cases over specified period of time.

Why is incidence shown per 100,000 people?

Since the amount of people living within the boundaries of each school district differs from district to district, we population-adjust COVID-19 incidence for comparison purposes. Displaying incidence per 100,000 people is like saying “if each school district had 100,000 people living within its boundaries, this is what incidence would look like.”

What are cumulative cases?

Cumulative cases refer to all confirmed positive PCR tests from 12/31/2019 to the present.

What is test positivity rate (TPR)?

Test positivity rate (TPR) is the percentage of all COVID-19 tests performed that are positive. TPR is high if the number of positive tests is high, or if the number of total tests is too low. A higher TPR suggests higher transmission and that there are likely more people with coronavirus in the community who haven’t been tested yet. TPR is a critical measure because it gives us an indication how widespread infection is in the area where the testing is occurring—and whether levels of testing are keeping up with levels of disease transmission.

Does the test positivity rate (TPR) calculation account for a single person tested multiple times?

We filter the data to only count one test per person per day. We consider the person positive if any of their tests are positive that day, and negative if all of their tests are negative that day.

What is the rate of transmission (Rt)?

The Rate of transmission, written as R(t), is a measure of contagiousness, or how many people one person with COVID-19 infects. An R(t) greater than or equal to 1 means the epidemic is increasing, while an R(t) less than 1 means the epidemic is declining. R(t) is a difficult metric to calculate, and requires a large amount of data, so we are unable to calculate it for some of the smaller school districts.

How current is the data?

While we receive new data each week from Harris County, The City of Houston, and Fort Bend County, but we purposely display data from a few weeks ago because it is more accurate. If we displayed data as we got it, it would always paint a rosier picture of the situation than reality, because many cases take a while to be reported. Therefore, the current week’s data would always be inaccurate and would undercount the real case counts. We try to update the dashboard each week. Plus, it is more important to understand the overall trends than the situation at a single point in time.

Does the dashboard show data from previous weeks, or just the most current week?

Yes. We are adding a feature whereby users can click on a district or census tract on the map, and the informational popup will show data from previous weeks.

What should I do with this information?

This dashboard is a tool to help understand COVID-19 metrics by school district. It is meant to be used in conjunction with other available information to make informed decisions on school district policies, as they relate to COVID-19.  These data could help inform community education efforts such as the importance of masking, increased testing, and social distancing.

Who can I contact with questions about this dashboard?

Please contact Ryan Ramphul, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology, human genetics, and environmental science at UTHealth School of Public Health.

UTHealth School of Public Health team

Faculty

Ryan Ramphul, PhD, Assistant Professor of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Science
[email protected]

Staff

Rachel Atterstrom

Michael Brown

Students

Alison Rector

Dania Mofleh