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The NAEP Database → NAEP Database Products → Secondary-Use Data Files and Data Companion → Machine-Readable Catalog Files

NAEP Technical DocumentationMachine-Readable Catalog Files

For those NAEP data users who have neither SAS, SPSS, nor STATA capabilities, yet require processing control information in a computer-readable format, the distribution files also contain machine-readable catalog files. Each machine-readable catalog record contains processing control information, item response (IRT) parameters, and response codes and labels. The machine-readable catalog files are described in and are available as part of the secondary-use data files package for use in analyzing the data with programming languages such as SAS, SPSS, and STATA. The following table illustrates the format of the machine-readable catalog file layout.

Master catalog file layout, reading assessment: 2000

Start and end columns	Field width	Field type1	Field description	Comments
1-4	4	N	Field sequence number
5-12	8	A	Field name	NAEP identification
13-16	4	N	Start column
17-20	4	N	End column
21-22	2	N	Field width
23-23	1	N	Decimal places
24-24	1	N	Field type
25-27	3	N	Minimum valid response
28-30	3	N	Maximum valid response
31-32	2	N	Minimum correct response
33-34	2	N	Maximum valid response
35-36	2	N	Illegible code
37-38	2	N	Off-task code
39-40	2	N	Nonrateable response code
41-42	2	N	I don't know (IDK) code
43-44	2	N	Omit code
45-46	2	N	Not reached code
47-48	2	N	Multiple response code
49-98	2	A	Name/description
99-106	2	A	Alternate NAEP identification
107-107	1	N	Reading classification: purpose
108-108	1	N	Reading classification: stance
109-109	1	N	Scaling category
110-191	82	N	IRT parameters
192-193	2	N	Number of data codes and labels
194-195	2	A	Code value	1st data code
196-215	20	A	Code value
216-217	2	N	Code value	2nd data code
218-237	20	A	Code label
-
1448-1449	2	N	Code value	58th data code
1450-1469	2	A	Code label
1A=alpha, N=numeric SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics, National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 2000 Reading Assessment.

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