Appendix A.2. Common Core of Data

NCES uses the Common Core of Data (CCD) to acquire and maintain statistical data from each of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Department of Defense dependents schools (overseas and domestic), and the other jurisdictions. Information about staff and students is reported annually at the school, local education agency (LEA) or school district, and state levels. Information about revenues and expenditures is also collected at the state and LEA levels.

Data are collected for a particular school year via an on-line reporting system open to state education agencies during the school year. Since the CCD is a universe collection, CCD data are not subject to sampling errors. However, nonsampling errors could come from two sources: nonresponse and inaccurate reporting. Almost all of the states submit the five CCD survey instruments each year, but submissions are sometimes incomplete.

Misreporting can occur when 58 education agencies compile and submit data for approximately 97,000 public schools and over 17,000 local education agencies. Typically, this results from varying interpretations of NCES definitions and differing record-keeping systems. NCES attempts to minimize these errors by working closely with the state education agencies through the National Forum on Education Statistics.

The state education agencies report data to NCES from data collected and edited in their regular reporting cycles. NCES encourages the agencies to incorporate into their own survey systems the NCES items they do not already collect so that these items will also be available for the subsequent CCD survey. Over time, this has meant fewer missing data cells in each state's response, reducing the need to impute data.

NCES subjects data from the state education agencies to a comprehensive edit. Where data are determined to be inconsistent, missing, or out of range, NCES contacts the agencies for verification. NCES-prepared state summary forms are returned to the agencies for verification. Each year, states are also given an opportunity to revise their state-level aggregates from the previous survey cycle.

Further information on the nonfiscal CCD data may be obtained from

John Sietsema
Elementary/Secondary and Library Studies Division
Elementary/Secondary Cooperative System and Institutional Studies Program
National Center for Education Statistics
1990 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/

Further information on the fiscal CCD data may be obtained from

Frank H. Johnson
Elementary/Secondary and Library Studies Division
Elementary/Secondary Cooperative System and Institutional Studies Program (ESLSD)
National Center for Education Statistics
1990 K Street NW
Washington, DC 20006
frank.johnson@ed.gov
http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/