A Chat With the NCES Webmaster
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Hi, and welcome to today's
StatChat. I'm sure that you have many questions about the
NCES website or other web-related issues, so let's get right to
them... |
Cheryl from Lafayette, IN asked: |
Could you give us a
general overview of the kinds of data available through
NCES? |
Jerry Malitz: |
Cheryl, what a perfect question to
start off the chat. NCES collects data from many sources covering
all areas of education. We have data for elementary/secondary
education (both public and private), postsecondary education, and
much in the way of international and assessments. For an excellent
overview you might want to look at both
http://nces.ed.gov/help/about.asp and also,
http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ where you can find descriptions of all
of our surveys. Thanks for a good start to the
chat. |
Shlomo from Israel asked: |
When will data be
available on 1997/98 graduates of post-secondary
institutions? |
Jerry Malitz: |
Shlomo, From Israel? Pretty cool. I
didn't know that NCES was so popular. The entire completed file for
1997-98 completions in postsecondary education will be available
towards the end of February or into March. However, if you would like
more recent info (1999-2000) for many colleges and universities try
out our College Navigator. Here you can
search for schools and get info on a case by case basis. This tool
can be found at:
http://nces.ed.gov/collegenavigator |
Heather from Keene, NH asked: |
There's an IPEDS
Completions survey we're missing from a few years ago. Is there any
way to see a copy of it on your site? |
Jerry Malitz: |
Heather, this question works well with
the previous question. Copies of the IPEDS survey forms
(Postsecondary collections) are available as pdf files at:
http://nces.ed.gov/Ipeds/ipedssurveys.asp |
Susan from Springfield, IL asked: |
What is the status of
the CIP 2000 work and the update of the
taxonomy? |
Jerry Malitz: |
Susan, The CIP (Classification of
Instructional Programs) codes are those which NCES uses to collect
completion information from postsecondary institutions taht were discussed previously. The most recent version of CIP 2000 is available at:
http://nces.ed.gov//pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2002165. |
Bertram from Yonkers, NY l07l0 asked: |
I need an Email address
listing of Military K-l2 Schools, where do get that info? From who
and what is their Email address?Thank you, I need it
ASAP |
Jerry Malitz: |
Bertram, From your question I am
assuming you mean private military schools. If that is so we have a
wonderful tool that you can use to get that information, and
information on all private k-12 schools in the country. We have a
Private School Locator that is full of data on all of these schools.
The homepage for this can be found at:
http://surveys/pss/privateschoolsearch/ Hope this helps.
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Ann from Topeka, KS asked: |
Do you have a glossary
of educational terms? What is the definition used for educational
administrative unit. Thanks. |
Jerry Malitz: |
Ann, NCES has historically published a
series of handbooks that have helped to provide just what you are
looking for. For example, we have a publication called, "Student
Data Handbook for Elementary, Secondary, and Early Childhood
Education: 2000 Edition" this can be found at:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000343 In addition,
other handbooks can be found by going to our Electronic Catalog at:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/ and searching on Handbooks
under type of product. I think you will be surprised by how much is
there. |
Deborah Reilly from Mount Airy, North Carolina
asked: |
Where can I find the
rankings of the national public school systems? I have been told
that the NC schools rank 48 out of 50. Is this
true? |
Jerry Malitz: |
Deborah, NCES does not perform any
ranking of schools, districts, or states. Although we do have much
in the way of information, we do not attempt to provide numerical
rankings. Since we get this question often we have a page that seeks to provide a further expalnation at:
http://nces.ed.gov/webmail/response.asp?can=20
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john from Md asked: |
Is there an interest in
contructing and combined index of the Digest, Condition and
Projections subject headings into a consolidated cross reference
index for researchers. |
Jerry Malitz: |
John, We already have such a tool. On
our homepage at: http://nces.ed.gov/ you will see a menu
item called "Encyclopedia of ED Stats". This does just what you are
asking. It combines several of our major publications - Digest,
Condition, Projections - into one index. Within this you can search
on tables, keywords or text. Try it out and see if it's what you are
looking for. It can be found directly at:
http://nces.ed.gov/edstats/ |
Karen from Washington, D. C. asked: |
A website on American
Indian and Alaska Native education research and development has been
in existence since this past November. I serve as coordinator of the
site. There is a vast amount of information on your website that
would be of interest to our customers (esp. educators and parents);
are there key words that we should suggest that they search on? The
ED server has a 'dictionary of terms' - the terms in this listing
(which are extensive) are the only terms that people can search on.
Do you have any other suggestions on how we can help people who
visit our website to find information on the NCES
site? |
Jerry Malitz: |
Karen, NCES does have information that
could be useful for this type of research. I would recommend the
following. In the Electronic Catalog search using the subject index at:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/Subindx.asp search on American Indian.
You will receive a list of all our publications that address that
keyword. Also within the Encyclopedia of Ed Stats that I previously
mentioned http://nces.ed.gov/edstats/ use that index and search for
appropriate tables or keywords. Hope this helps.
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Helen D'Avanzo from Fairfield, CT asked: |
Is there information
on; student achievement, course offerings, athletics etc.?
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Jerry Malitz: |
Helen, much of the information that you
are looking for is available through NAEP (The Nation's Report Card)
at: http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard There you
will be able to find information on all of the past assessments as
well as some interesting data on other topics. NAEP has a wealth of
information and some intersting tools such as the questions used in
these assessments at:
http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/ITMRLS/ Have fun
exploring that site. |
Nat Blake from Upper Marlboro, Md.
asked: |
Is there a one page
list of the top 20 statistical related questions being asked by Ed
Customers? |
Jerry Malitz: |
Nat, No there isn't, but you've
given me a thought. We do, however, have a site called
http://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts that provides answers to many commonly asked
questions. I think you will find that many of those questions that
might appear on such a list appear on Fast
Facts. |
Lue Ann from Topeka, Kansas asked: |
Are there Teacher's
Salaries for 2000-2001 (many states have used increased salaries as
an incentive during the teacher shortage). My latest figures are for
1998-99. Thanks |
Jerry Malitz: |
Lue Ann, No we don't. However, in our
Digest of Education Statistics we annually update a table using data
from the AFT. This table can be found in the 1999 edition at:
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d99/d99t080.asp
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Phil from Topeka, Kansas asked: |
Where can I get a copy
of "A Nation At Risk" for my library? |
Jerry Malitz: |
Phil, Although not an NCES publication
you can find info on this through the Department of Education's web
site at: http://www.ed.gov/ if you search on it there you will be pointed to among other pages several at ERIC which might be able to
help you. |
Larry from Sandy, UT asked: |
I want to obtain
statistical information about the number of children with
disabilities in public education nationwide. I would like to know
the breakdown per state and per K-6, 7-9 and 10-12 grades and also a
breakdown per disability (autism, etc.). Do you have this
information and how do I access it? Thanks. |
Jerry Malitz: |
Larry, This type of information is also
available in our "Digest of Education Statistics". You can get info
from our 1999 edition (updated in our 2000 edition) a table called
"Number of children served under Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act and Chapter 1 of the Education Consolidation and
Improvement Act, State Operated Programs, by age group and state:
1990-91 to 1997-98" at:
http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d99/d99t056.asp Our 2000 edition
which was just released is only available as pdf file for now. It
can be found at:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2001034
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Martin from Braintee asked: |
What is the most fun
part of your job? Can you tell a little about your functions at
NCES? |
Jerry Malitz: |
Martin, Thanks for this question. There
are many fun parts of my job including doing things like this chat.
The chance to be a bit creative every day and to know that what I am
doing is hopefully helping millions of people around the world to
get information that might help them in some small or big way. In
December NCES had about 700,000 visitors to our site and those
people looked at close to 3 million pages. I don't know about you
but that impresses me that we can provide a service that so many
people use. I also have a blast developing things for our kids site,
which if you've never seen it can be found at:
http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/ It's a site that I know through
feedback is used in classrooms across the country. That's a huge
reward. And lastly, working with so many gifted and talented people
in the "world of the web" is always interesting. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to
say all this. |
Jill from Washington DC asked: |
I am trying to locate
information concerning the amount of debt that college graduates as
well as professional students have accrued during their studies. Are
there any recent statistics available? |
Jerry Malitz: |
Jill, Do we have the publication for
you. "Debt Burden Four Years After College" is a publication that
examines the debt of 1992-93 bachelor's degree recipients in light
of their financial circumstances in 1997, approximately 4 year after
they earned their degree. This publication should help provide you
with much of what you are seeking. It can be found at:
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2000188 |
Katie from Farifax, VA asked: |
Hey Jerry! I understand
you are a Giant's fan, sorry about your loss. Couldn't you have used
statistics and known before the game even started that the Giants
were doomed? |
Jerry Malitz: |
Katie, I thought I said in the Newsflash "no Super Bowl
questions". Oh well. This is definitely today's last question since it
conjures up too many bad recent memories. I thought I did all the
correct analyses. I crunched the numbers every which way and they
all pointed to a Giants victory. Of course, I planned it that way.
Silly me. I hope I don't have to wait another 10 years for the
Giants to make it back to the Super Bowl. Thanks so much for the
question. |
So many questions, so
little time. This hour went fast. I'm sorry I couldn't get to more of your questions, so save them for our next chat. I hope you've learned some new tricks and
I've gotten many new ideas myself. 'Till next time!
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