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NAEP Analysis and Scaling → Summary Statistics for Scale Scores of Groups → Reporting Groups → Major Reporting Groups → Type of Location

NAEP Technical DocumentationStudent Group "Type of Location" Used in NAEP Data Analysis

The type of location variable is used to provide information about school location types. The type of location variable was changed for the 2007 NAEP administration to align with the urban-centric type of locale.

2007 and Subsequent Administrations (UTOL4)

NAEP results are reported for four mutually exclusive categories of school location: city, suburb, town, and rural. The categories are based on standard definitions established by the Federal Office of Management and Budget using population and geographic information from the U.S. Census Bureau. Schools are assigned to these categories in the NCES Common Core of Data based on their physical address. The locale codes are based on an address's proximity to an urbanized area (a densely settled core with densely settled surrounding areas). This is a change from the original system based on metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs). To distinguish the two systems, the new system is referred to as "urban-centric locale codes." The urban-centric locale code system classifies territory into four major types: city, suburban, town, and rural. Each type has three subcategories. For city and suburb, these are gradations of size?large, midsize, and small. Towns and rural areas are further distinguished by their distance from an urbanized area. They can be characterized as fringe, distant, or remote.

2006 and Prior Administrations (TOL3)

Prior to the 2007 administration the following definitions of location were used.

• Central city (Large central city and midsize central city) This category includes central cities of all MSAs. Central city is a geographic term and is not synonymous with "inner city."

• Urban fringe/large town An urban fringe includes all densely settled places and areas within MSAs that are classified as urban by the Bureau of Census. A large town is defined as a place outside MSAs with a population greater than or equal to 25,000.

• Rural/small town Rural includes all places and areas with a population of less than 2,500 that are classified as rural by the Bureau of Census. A small town is defined as a place outside MSAs with a population of less than 25,000 but greater than or equal to 2,500.

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