Common Core of Data

The primary source of the nonfiscal data for this report is the 2001-02 Common Core of Data (CCD). Information was reported to NCES by state education agencies in the spring of 2002. There are three nonfiscal CCD surveys collecting basic descriptive data on public education in the nation: the school (Public School Universe Survey), local education agency (Local Education Agency Universe Survey), and state (State Nonfiscal Survey). Fiscal data are gathered at the state level by NCES in the National Public Education Financial Survey (NPEFS) and at the local level in the Annual Survey of Local Government Finances (F-33 series of the Census of Local Governments) conducted by the Governments Division of the Bureau of the Census. The most recent year for which data are available is 2000. National and Puerto Rico fiscal data were taken from the 1999-2000 NPEFS.

District-level data were provided by all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Department of Defense schools, and five outlying areas: American Samoa, Guam, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands by a state CCD Coordinator. CCD Coordinators ensure the quality of their data submission with NCES each year. If a data item is marked "Data not available" it indicates the state did not report the data item on their CCD submission.

Districts represented in this report are of various physical sizes and geographic locations. The District of Columbia, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico are each administered as one school district. Some districts comprise a substantial portion of a state's total student membership, while others make up only a small fraction of the state's total student membership. The Bureau of Indian Affairs and Department of Defense schools and the outlying areas are included in the United States and jurisdiction totals in this report.