NCES Blog

National Center for Education Statistics

NCES Presentation at National HBCU Week Conference

In NCES’s recently released Strategic Plan, Goal 3 identifies our commitment to foster and leverage beneficial partnerships. To fulfill that goal, NCES participates in multiple conferences and meetings throughout the year. Recently, NCES participated in the National Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCU) Week Conference. NCES’s presentation at this conference helps us to establish a dialogue with HBCUs and develop partnerships to address critical issues in education.

NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr kicked off the presentation with an overview of HBCU data—such as student characteristics, enrollment, and financial aid. Then, NCES experts explored how data from various NCES surveys can help researchers, educators, and policymakers better understand the condition and progress of HBCUs. Read on to learn about these surveys.

 

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS)

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) is an annual administrative data collection that gathers information from more than 6,000 postsecondary institutions, including 99 degree-granting, Title IV–eligible HBCUs (in the 2021–22 academic year).

The data collected in IPEDS includes information on institutional characteristics and resources; admissions and completions; student enrollment; student financial aid; and human resources (i.e., staff characteristics). These data are disaggregated, offering insights into student and employee demographics by race/ethnicity and gender, students’ age categories, first-time/non-first-time enrollment statuses, and full-time/part-time attendance intensity.

Data from IPEDS can be explored using various data tools—such as Data Explorer, Trend Generator, and College Navigator—that cater to users with varying levels of data knowledge and varying data needs.

 

National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS)

The National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) is a nationally representative study that examines the characteristics of students in postsecondary institutions—including HBCUs—with a special focus on how they finance their education. NPSAS collects data on the percentage of HBCU students receiving financial aid and the average amounts received from various sources (i.e., federal, state, and institution) by gender and race/ethnicity.

Conducted every 3 or 4 years, this study combines data from student surveys, student-level school records, and other administrative sources and is designed to describe the federal government’s investment in financing students’ postsecondary education.

Data from NPSAS can be explored using DataLab and PowerStats.

 

National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS)

The National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) is the U.S. Department of Education’s primary source of information on K–12 public and private schools from the perspectives of teachers and administrators. NTPS consists of coordinated surveys of schools, principals, and teachers and includes follow-up surveys to study principal and teacher attrition.

Among many other topics, NTPS collects data on the race/ethnicity of teachers and principals. These data—which show that Black teachers and principals make up a relatively small portion of the K–12 workforce—can be used to explore the demographics and experiences of teachers and principals. NTPS provides postsecondary institutions, like HBCUs, a snapshot of the preK–12 experiences of students and staff.

Data from NTPS can be explored using DataLab and PowerStats.

 

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—also known as the Nation’s Report Card—is the the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students in public and private schools in the United States know and are able to do in various subjects.

Main NAEP assesses students in grades 4, 8, and 12 in subjects like reading, mathematics, science, and civics, while NAEP Long-Term Trend assesses 9-, 13-, and 17-year-olds in reading and mathematics.

Among many other topics, NAEP collects data on students by race/ethnicity. These data can help to shed light on students’ experiences, academic performance, and level of preparedness before they enroll in HBCUs.

Data from NAEP can be explored using the NAEP Data Explorer.

 

To explore more HBCU data from these and other NCES surveys—including enrollment trends from 1976 to 2021—check out this annually updated Fast Fact. Be sure to follow NCES on X, Facebook, LinkedIn, and YouTube and subscribe to the NCES News Flash to stay up to date on the latest from NCES.

 

By Megan Barnett, AIR

Access NCES-Led Sessions From the 2022 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting

In April, several NCES experts presented at the AERA 2022 Annual Meeting, a 6-day event focused on the theme of “Cultivating Equitable Education Systems for the 21st Century.” Access their presentations below to learn more about their research.

Be sure to follow NCES on Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn to stay up-to-date on NCES presentations at upcoming conferences and events.

 

By Megan Barnett, AIR

Access NCES-Led Presentations from the Annual Conference Held by the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR)

Several NCES experts presented at the American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) Annual Conference, a 4-day virtual event held this past May that focused on “Data Collection, Measurement, and Public Opinion During a Pandemic.” Access their presentations below to learn more about their research.

Be sure to also check out this blog post to access other NCES-led presentations from the 2021 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting. 

 

By Megan Barnett, AIR

Access NCES-Led Sessions From the 2021 American Educational Research Association (AERA) Annual Meeting

This past April, several NCES experts presented at the AERA 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting, a 4-day event focused on the theme of “Accepting Educational Responsibility.” Check out their session summaries below and access their presentations from the event.

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

Peggy Carr—NCES Associate Commissioner for Assessments—led a session called “Update on NAEP 2021.” Carr explained the rationale for postponing data collection for the Nation’s Report Card during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, introduced the 2021 Monthly School Survey that provides insight into learning opportunities offered by schools during the pandemic (including an overview of results thus far), and discussed next steps for NAEP.

Common Education Data Standards (CEDS)

Nancy Sharkey—the CEDS Program Lead at NCES—along with her colleagues from AEM and several other research organizations, provided an introduction to the CEDS program and an overview of how states can use CEDS in their policy making and research. Explore their session “Common Education Data Standards: How States Use This Common Vocabulary for Policy and Research” to learn more.

Sharkey also copresented a session called “Developing Informed Data Requests: How to Use Common Education Data Standards and Tools.” Learn about the background of CEDS and explore two of the program’s resources: CEDS Elements and the Align tool.

Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems (SLDS) Grant Program

Kristen King—the SLDS Grant Program Officer at NCES—along with her colleagues from AEM, led a session called “SLDS Capacity Survey: Prerelease Findings” that provided an overview of the SLDS program’s history, goals, and evolution over time. The session also discussed the background and methods of the SLDS State Data Capacity Survey and explored the survey’s prerelease findings.

More information on these topics can be found on the NAEP, CEDS, and SLDS pages of the NCES website. For more information about AERA’s 2021 Virtual Annual Meeting, visit the AERA website.

 

By Megan Barnett, AIR

Connect with NCES Researchers at Upcoming Summer Conferences: STATS-DC, JSM and ASA

NCES staff will share their knowledge and expertise through research presentations, training sessions, and booth demonstrations at three notable conferences this summer (listed below). The NCES booth will be also be featured at exhibit halls where conference attendees can “ask an NCES expert,” learn how NCES data can support their research, or pick up publications and products.

NCES STATS-DC Data Conference

July 25 – 27
Washington, DC
The Mayflower Hotel

STAT-DC is NCES’ annual conference designed to provide the latest information, resources and training on accessing and using federal education data. Researchers, policymakers and data system managers from all levels are invited to discover innovations in the design and implementation of data collections and information systems. There is no registration fee to attend STATS-DCparticipants must complete registration paperwork onsite at the conference.

Key conference items:

  • Learn updates on federal and state activities affecting data collection and reporting, with a focus on the best new approaches in education statistics
  • Attend general information sessions on CCD, data management, data use, and data privacy, etc.
  • Partake in trainings for Common Core of Data (CCD) and EDFacts data coordinators
  • Attend data tools and resource demonstrations from NCES staff during designated times at the NCES exhibit booth.

NCES Staff Presentations:

Explore the full conference agenda. Some highlighted sessions are shown below.

WEDNESDAY, JULY 25

9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon
Common Core of Data (CCD) Fiscal Coordinators' Training
District Ballroom

1:15 p.m. – 2:15 p.m.
Opening Plenary Session by Dr. Lynn Woodworth
Grand Ballroom

4:30 p.m. – 5:20 p.m.
Introduction to the Common Core of Data: America's Public Schools by Mark Glander
Palm Court Ballroom

9:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m.
EDFacts and Common Core of Data (CCD) Nonfiscal Coordinators’ Training
Grand Ballroom

THURSDAY, JULY 26

9:00 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Title I Allocations by Bill Sonnenberg
Palm Court Ballroom

 

American Statistical Association – Joint Statistical Meetings

July 28 – August 2
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
Vancouver Convention Centre

JSM is the largest gathering of statisticians and data scientists in North America. Exchange ideas and explore opportunities for collaboration across industries with NCES staff and other statisticians in academia, business, and government.
 

Key conference items:

  • Review applications and methodology of statistics, such as analytics and data science
  • Attend technical sessions, poster presentations, roundtable discussions, professional development courses and workshops
  • Visit the NCES booth in the exhibit hall booth #227 and meet the NCES Chief Statistician, Marilyn Seastrom.

NCES Staff Presentation:

THURSDAY, AUGUST 2
8:35 a.m. – 10:30 a.m.
Educating the Government Workforce to Lead with Statistics by Andrew White
CC-East 10

 

American Sociological Association – Annual Meeting

August 11 – August 14
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Convention Center and the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown

Professionals involved in the scientific study of society will share knowledge and discuss new directions in research and practice during this annual meeting.

Key conference items:

  • Choose from 600 program sessions throughout the 4-day conference
  • Browse and discuss topics from 3,000+ research papers submitted
  • Swing by the NCES exhibit hall booth #211

 

Follow us on twitter (@EdNCES) throughout these upcoming conferences to stay up to date and learn the latest in education statistics. We hope you’ll join us whether in person or online!