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Statistical Standards Program

Appendix B: Public-Use Data


National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) produces and disseminates a wide variety of publications. Their content ranges from survey documents that present little more than tabular data to sophisticated studies that present more complex analysis of raw data. The analysis documents tend to contain more textual information with occasional tabular data or graphic presentations.

The NCES website (http://nces.ed.gov) provides access to a wide range of publications and data sets about education in the United States and other nations. The NCES Electronic Catalog can be used to locate both individual publications and data products, and groups of publications and data products for specific data collections.

The NCES website also includes electronic access to data through a number of different means:

  • The National Public School and School District Locator provides a link to descriptive data on each public school and school district in the country.
  • The NAEP Summary Data Tables allow users to create descriptive tables of test scores and percentage distributions based on categorical data for a number of survey characteristics.
  • The Public School District Finance Peer Search provides comparisons of the finances of an individual school district with financial data for a set of peer districts.
  • College Navigator provides a direct link to over 9,000 colleges and universities in the United States. It is intended to help college students, future students, and their parents understand the differences between colleges and what it costs to attend.
  • The Interactive Database Search for IPEDS enables researchers to obtain enrollment, completions, salaries, benefits, and finance data for institutional peers.
  • Education Statistics at a Glance brings data from several of the NCES statistical compendia together with subject area, full text, and table title search tools to help users find tabular data on major education indicators.
  • The Data Analysis System (DAS) is a Windows software tool that gives users access to NCES data without allowing direct access to individual level data. The DAS generates user-specified tables that include estimates and corresponding standard errors adjusted for complex sample designs. A DAS is developed separately for each survey; most of the longitudinal and postsecondary sample surveys have a DAS that is available on the Web.
  • The International Archive of Educational Data is under development to serve as an archive for NCES public-use databases.

Single copies of education publications and data products are also available at no cost, while supplies last, at:

ED Pubs
U.S. Department of Education
P.O. Box 22207
Alexandria, VA 22304

Publications and data products are available for sale at the Government Printing Office (GPO). Call GPO at 202.512.1800.

NCES Public-Use Databases

NCES surveys Public-use database availability

Elementary/Secondary Surveys provide data on the condition of public and private education. Data are collected through both administrative record universe data collections and large-scale sample surveys
# Common Core of Data (CCD) Public School Universe Survey Data: 1987-Present
Public Agency (School District) Universe Survey Data: 1988-Present
State-Level Nonfiscal Survey Data: 1983-Present
State-Level Public Education Financial Survey Data: 1989-Present
Early Release Files
# Decennial Census School District 2000 Decennial School District Data
Special Abstract File—1990 Census data for 15,000 school districts
# National Household Education Survey (NHES) NHES 1991/1993/1995/1996
# Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) SASS 1987-88/1990-91/1993-94
# Teacher Followup Survey (TFS) TFS 1988-89/1991-92/1994-95

Postsecondary Surveys provide planners, policymakers, and educators with data on the nation’s 10,600 postsecondary institutions. Universe data are collected through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, and sample surveys are used to collect additional data.
# Baccalaureate and Beyond Survey (B&B) B&B:1993-94
# Beginning Postsecondary Student Longitudinal Survey (BPS) BPS:90/92 (First Follow-Up)
BPS:90/94 (Second Follow-Up)
# Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) IPEDS 1987—Present
Numerous data files from individual IPEDS components
# National Household Education Survey (NHES) Adult components NHES 1991/1993
NHES 1991/1993/1995/1996
# National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey (NPSAS) NPSAS 1987
NPSAS 1989-90
NPSAS 1992-93
NPSAS 1995-96
# National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF) NSOPF 88
NSOPF 93
# Recent College Graduates Study (RCG) RCG 1991

Longitudinal Surveys provide ongoing descriptive information about the major transition phases of student’s lives and about what is occurring at different levels of education.
# Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Birth Cohort (ECLS) Forthcoming
# Early Childhood Longitudinal Study – Kindergarten Cohort (ECLS) Forthcoming
# High School and Beyond (HS&B) HS&B 1992 (Sophomore Cohort: 1980-92; Senior Cohort: 1980-86)
# National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS:88) NELS:88/94
# National Longitudinal Study of the High School Class of 1972 (NLS-72) NLS-72 complete data set

Education Assessments provide information on the academic performance of the nation’s students as well as the literacy level of the adult population.
# National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Summary Data Tables from various years
# National Assessments of Adult Literacy (NAAL) 1992

Library Surveys include information on academic and public libraries, school libraries, and state library agencies.
# Library Statistics Program Academic Library: 1992, 1994
Federal Libraries and Information Center: FY 1994
Public Libraries Survey: FY 1988, 1989, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996
State Library Agencies Survey: FY 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997

Longitudinal Surveys provide statistical information comparing the educational experiences and trends in other countries to those of the United States.
# Third International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) Populations1, 2, and 3 (available through the IEA Secretariat)
Video Examples from the TIMSS Videotape Classroom Study: 8th Grade Mathematics in Germany, Japan, and the United States