Appendix A.5. National Education Association

Estimates of School Statistics

The National Education Association (NEA) publishes Estimates of School Statistics annually as part of the report Rankings of the States & Estimates of School Statistics. Estimates of School Statistics presents projections of public school enrollment, employment and personnel compensation, and finances, as reported by individual state departments of education. The state-level data in these estimates allow broad assessments of trends in the above areas. These data should be looked at with the understanding that the state-level data do not necessarily reflect the varying conditions within a state on education issues.

Data in Estimates of School Statistics are provided by state and District of Columbia departments of education and by other, mostly governmental, sources. Surveys are sent to state departments of education requesting estimated data for the current year and revisions to 6 years of historical data, as necessary. NEA submits current-year estimates of education statistics to each state's department of education for verification or revision each year. The estimates are generated primarily using time series analyses, which are standard statistical techniques designed to make predictions for the current year using numerical data from prior years.

Further information on Estimates of School Statistics may be obtained from

NEA Rankings & EstimatesTeam—NEA Research
1201 16th Street NW
Washington, DC 20036
http://www.nea.org