The estimates presented in this report were produced using the NSOPF:99 Data Analysis System (DAS). The DAS software makes it possible for users to specify and generate their own tables from the NSOPF:99 data. With the DAS, users can replicate or expand upon the tables presented in this report. In addition to the table estimates, the DAS calculates proper standard errors⁴ and weighted sample sizes for these estimates. If the number of valid cases is too small to produce a reliable estimate (fewer than 30 cases), the DAS prints the message "low N" instead of the estimate.

In addition to tables, the DAS will also produce a correlation matrix of selected variables to be used for linear regression models. Included in the output with the correlation matrix are the design effects (DEFTs) for each variable in the matrix. Since statistical procedures generally compute standard errors based on an assumption of simple random sampling, the standard errors must be adjusted with the design effects to take into account the NSOPF:99 stratified sampling method.

For more information about the NSOPF:99 and other Data Analysis Systems, consult the NCES DAS website (http://nces.ed.gov/das) or contact: