Data Collection Programs

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as "the Nation's Report Card," is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what America's students know and can do in various subject areas. Since 1969, assessments have been conducted periodically in reading, mathematics, science, writing, U.S. history, civics, geography, and the arts.

The National Assessments of Adult Literacy (NAAL) provides nationally representative and a continuing assessment of English language literacy skills of American adults. NAAL seeks to: describe the status of adult literacy in the U.S.; report on national trends; and identify relationships between literacy and selected characteristics of adults. NCES has conducted adult literacy assessments since 1985. A nationally representative sample of adults will be assessed again in 2003, providing an indication of the nation's progress in adult literacy since 1992.

The U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) awarded grants to 41 states and the District of Columbia to aid them in the design and implementation of statewide longitudinal data systems. These systems are intended to enhance the ability of states to efficiently and accurately manage, analyze, and use education data, including individual student records. The data systems developed with funds from these grants should help states, districts, schools, and teachers make data-driven decisions to improve student learning, as well as facilitate research to increase student achievement and close achievement gaps.

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) program includes four longitudinal studies that examine child development, school readiness, and early school experiences from birth through elementary school. The program provides data to analyze the relationships among a wide range of family, school, community, and individual factors with children's development, early learning, and performance in school. The birth cohort of the ECLS-B is a sample of children born in 2001 followed from birth through kindergarten entry. The kindergarten class of 1998-99 cohort is a sample of children followed from kindergarten through the eighth grade. The kindergarten class of 2010-11 cohort is a sample of children followed from kindergarten through the fifth grade. The newest ECLS program study, the ECLS-K:2024, will follow the kindergarten class of 2023-24 through the fifth grade.

The National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) is a household-based data collection system designed to address a wide range of education related issues. The NHES collects timely data about the educational activities of the U.S. population. NHES surveys have been conducted every two to four years since 1991. Recent NHES data collections consist of two surveys: The Early Childhood Program Participation survey and the Parent and Family Involvement in Education survey. Most NHES surveys have been conducted on a repeating basis to measure the same phenomena at different points in time. The NHES has included surveys on adult education, parent and family involvement in education, before- and after-school programs and activities, civic involvement, early childhood program participation, household library use, school readiness, and school safety and discipline.

The Beginning Teacher Longitudinal Study (BTLS) is a new study of a cohort of beginning public school teachers initially interviewed as part of the 2007-08 Schools and Staffing Survey. The study will create an unfolding “story” by following this cohort of first-year teachers for a decade.

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act mandates that "as a regular part of its assessments, the National Center for Education Statistics shall collect and report information on career and technical education for a nationally representative sample of students." To meet this requirement, NCES uses the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Statistics system. CTE Statistics relies on existing NCES surveys to provide data on CTE from students, faculty, and schools at the secondary and (subbaccalaureate) postsecondary levels, as well as on adults’ work-related education, training, and skills.

CCD is a comprehensive, annual, national statistical database of information concerning all approximately 100,000 public elementary and secondary schools and approximately 18,000 public school districts (including supervisory unions and regional education service agencies), which contains data that are designed to be comparable across all states. The CCD consists of five surveys completed annually by state education departments from their administrative records. Information included are: a general description of schools and school districts, including name, address, and phone number; data on students and staff, including demographics; and fiscal data, including revenues and current expenditures.

NCES carries out a variety of activities to collect data on crime, violence and safety in U.S. elementary and secondary schools. This is achieved through the Crime and Safety Surveys program which oversees student surveys, school principal surveys and other surveys; such as the School Survey on Crime and Safety, the School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey and a facilities supplement to the Education Longitudinal Study of 2002. Topics in these surveys include: gangs, bullying, student victimization, drug availability, fear and avoidance behaviors, disciplinary actions, prevention activities, school safety programs and policies, use of school security, and school facilities measures.

The School Pulse Panel (SPP), conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES), surveys public K-12 schools on high-priority, education-related topics once a month during the school year.

The CPS is a monthly survey designed to collect data on labor force participation of the civilian noninstitutional population. (It excludes military personnel and inmates of institutions.) In October of each year, questions on school enrollment by grade and other school characteristics are asked about each member of the household.

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) program includes four longitudinal studies that examine child development, school readiness, and early school experiences from birth through elementary school. The program provides data to analyze the relationships among a wide range of family, school, community, and individual factors with children's development, early learning, and performance in school. The birth cohort of the ECLS-B is a sample of children born in 2001 followed from birth through kindergarten entry. The kindergarten class of 1998-99 cohort is a sample of children followed from kindergarten through the eighth grade. The kindergarten class of 2010-11 cohort is a sample of children followed from kindergarten through the fifth grade. The newest ECLS program study, the ECLS-K:2024, will follow the kindergarten class of 2023-24 through the fifth grade.

The ED School Climate Surveys (EDSCLS) are a suite of survey instruments for schools, districts, and states by the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED) National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Through the EDSCLS, schools nationwide will have access to survey instruments and a survey platform that will allow for the collection and reporting of school climate data across stakeholders at the local level. The surveys can be used to produce school-, district-, and state-level scores on various indicators of school climate from the perspectives of students, teachers, noninstructional school staff and principals, and parents and guardians. The EDSCLS is conducting a National Benchmark Study collecting data from a nationally representative sample of schools across the United States. The National Benchmark Study will create a national comparison point for users of the ED School Climate Surveys.

The EDFIN is designed to conduct research to improve the collection and reporting of education finance information. EDFIN projects explore definitional, measurement, collection, reporting, and analysis issues related to education finance for elementary/secondary or postsecondary public or private education.

The Education Longitudinal Study of 2002 (ELS:2002) is a longitudinal survey that will monitor the transitions of a national sample of young people as they progress from tenth grade to, eventually, the world of work. ELS:2002 will obtain information not just from students and their school records, but also from students' parents, their teachers, their librarians and the administrators of their schools.

The FRSS was established in 1975 to collect issue-oriented data quickly and with minimum response burden. FRSS was designed to meet the data needs of Department of Education analysts, planners, and decision makers when information could not be collected quickly through traditional NCES surveys. The data collected through FRSS are representative at the national level, drawing from a universe that is appropriate for each study.

The HS&B describes the activities of seniors and sophomores as they progressed through high school, postsecondary education, and into the workplace. The data span 1980 through 1992 and include parent, teacher, high school transcripts, student financial aid records, and postsecondary transcripts in addition to student questionnaires and interviews.

In the fall of 2009, NCES launched the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, which follows a cohort of more than 25,000 9th graders in the base year through their high school, postsecondary, and early career experiences, focusing on college decision-making and on math learning based on a new algebra assessment. Data are collected from students, administrators, math and science teachers, school counselors (new!), parents, and administrative records.

High school transcript studies have been conducted by NCES as part of the Longitudinal Studies Program and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) High School Transcript (HSTS) Studies program since 1982. Each transcript study is associated with a major NCES data collection.

MGLS:2017 is the first study to follow a nationally-representative sample of students as they enter and move through the middle grades. Repeated measures of key constructs will provide a rich descriptive picture of the academic progress, experiences and lives of students during these critical years and will allow researchers to examine associations between contextual factors and student outcomes. There is a special focus on socioemotional and executive function measures, as well as successful transition to high school and later education and career outcomes.

The NELS:88, which began with an 8th grade cohort in 1988, provides trend data about critical transitions experienced by young people as they develop, attend school, and embark on their careers. Data were collected from students and their parents, teachers, and high school principals and from existing school records such as high school transcripts. Cognitive tests (math, science, reading, and history) were administered during the base year (1988), first follow up (1990), and second follow up (1992). Third follow up data were collected in 1994. All dropouts, who could be located, were retained in the study. A fourth follow-up was completed in 2000, including a postsecondary student transcript data collection.

The National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) is a household-based data collection system designed to address a wide range of education related issues. The NHES collects timely data about the educational activities of the U.S. population. NHES surveys have been conducted every two to four years since 1991. Recent NHES data collections consist of two surveys: The Early Childhood Program Participation survey and the Parent and Family Involvement in Education survey. Most NHES surveys have been conducted on a repeating basis to measure the same phenomena at different points in time. The NHES has included surveys on adult education, parent and family involvement in education, before- and after-school programs and activities, civic involvement, early childhood program participation, household library use, school readiness, and school safety and discipline.

The NLS-72 describes the transition of young adults from high school through postsecondary education and the workplace. The data span 1972 through 1986 and include postsecondary transcripts.

The National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) collects extensive data on American public elementary and secondary schools. Teachers, principals and schools are components of the NTPS survey system. NTPS provides data on characteristics and qualifications of teachers and principals, teacher hiring practices, professional development, class size and other conditions in schools. NTPS is designed to allow the analysis of trend data. NTPS replaces the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) which was last conducted in the 2011-12 school year.

The purposes of Private School Survey (PSS) data collection activities are: to build an accurate and complete list of private schools to serve as a sampling frame for NCES sample surveys of private schools; and to report data on the total number of private schools, teachers, and students in the survey universe. The PSS has been conducted every 2 years with the first collection taking place during the 1989-90 school year.

This site provides links to data and information on current and changing conditions in education in rural America. The site provides access to recent data collected by NCES including: enrollments; National Assessment of Educational Progress scores; coursetaking, dropouts and transition to college; availability of advanced course offerings and technology, teacher characteristics, class size, technology, discipline and facilities; and support for learning, including parents’ satisfaction and involvement, community support, and financial support. The site also has links to other information resources, including relevant U.S. Department of Education programs and research and promising practices related to rural education.

The School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) collects information on crime and safety from U.S. public school principals. SSOCS was administered in the spring of 2000 and again in the spring of 2004. SSOCS is a nationally representative, cross-sectional survey of 3,000 public elementary and secondary schools. Data are collected on such topics as frequency and types of crimes at school, frequency and types of disciplinary actions at school, perceptions of other disciplinary problems, and descriptions of school policies and programs concerning crime and safety.

The Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) collects extensive data on American public and private elementary and secondary schools. Teachers, principals, schools, school districts and library media centers are components of the SASS survey system. SASS provides data on characteristics and qualifications of teachers and principals, teacher hiring practices, professional development, class size and other conditions in schools. SASS data are designed to allow comparisons of public and private schools and staff and permit the analysis of trend data. In addition, SASS data are state-representative for the public sector and affiliation-representative for the private sector. Public schools are also linked to their respective districts. Public charter schools, their teachers and principals were included in the 1999-2000 administration of the SASS. SASS was administered in the 2003-04 school year and again in the 2007-08 school year.

The State Education Practices website draws primarily on data collected by organizations other than NCES. It serves as a general resource on major developments in state-level education policies. Initially based on the publication 'Overview and Inventory of State Education Practices: 1990 to 2000,' this site is updated periodically to incorporate new data. Currently, this site generally reflects information collected through 2020.

The U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) awarded grants to 41 states and the District of Columbia to aid them in the design and implementation of statewide longitudinal data systems. These systems are intended to enhance the ability of states to efficiently and accurately manage, analyze, and use education data, including individual student records. The data systems developed with funds from these grants should help states, districts, schools, and teachers make data-driven decisions to improve student learning, as well as facilitate research to increase student achievement and close achievement gaps.

This site provides links to data and information on current and changing conditions in education in urban America. The site provides access to recent data collected by NCES including: enrollments; National Assessment of Educational Progress scores; dropout and transition to college rates; teacher characteristics and student/teacher ratios; school discipline and school crime; school facilities and access to technology; and support for learning, including community support, and financial support. The site also has links to other information resources, including relevant U.S. Department of Education programs and research and promising practices related to urban education.

Through the International Activities Program, NCES supports a variety of activities to provide statistical data for cross-national comparisons of education. On behalf of the United States, NCES participates in the International Indicators of Education Systems (INES), a program of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), an intergovernmental organization of 35 member countries. NCES conducts various international assessments and surveys in the United States. These include the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS), and the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) – which are organized by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) – and the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA), the Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC), the Teaching and Learning International Survey (TALIS), and the International Early Learning Study (IELS) – which are organized by the OECD.

Libraries are an educational resource available to individuals regardless of age, social status, or educational background. The Library Statistics Program sponsors surveys on academic libraries, public libraries, school library media centers, and state library agencies.

The B&B studies follow students who complete their baccalaureate degrees. The students are initially identified as being in their last year of undergraduate studies in the NPSAS surveys. These students are asked questions about their future employment and education expectations, as well as about their undergraduate education. In later follow-ups, students are asked questions about their job search activities and education and employment experiences after graduation. Individuals who had shown an interest in becoming teachers in NPSAS are asked additional questions about their pursuit of teaching, and if teaching, about their current teaching position. In the first B&B study, about 11,000 students were identified in NPSAS:93 as completing their degree in the 1992-93 academic year. B&B followed up with these students in 1994 (B&B:93/94), 1997 (B&B:93/97), and 2003 (B&B:93/2003). The second B&B cohort began with NPSAS:2000 and included only one follow-up, 1 year later in 2001 (B&B:2000/01). The third B&B cohort was identified in NPSAS:08 and was followed up in 2009, 2012, and 2018. The most recent B&B cohort was identified in NPSAS:16 and was followed up in 2017 and 2020.

The BPS studies follow students from when they first begin their postsecondary education. The students are initially identified as being first-time beginners of undergraduate studies in the NPSAS surveys. These students are asked questions about their experiences during, and transitions through, postsecondary education and into the labor force, as well as about family formation. Transfers, persisters, stopouts/dropouts, and vocational completers are among those included in the studies. In the first BPS study, about 10,600 students were identified in NPSAS:90 as being first-time beginning postsecondary students during the academic year 1989-90. BPS followed up with these students in 1992 (BPS:90/92) and in 1994 (BPS:90/94). A second cohort of first-time, beginning students was identified in NPSAS:96, with follow-ups conducted in 1998 (BPS:96/98) and in 2001 (BPS:96/2001). The third BPS cohort was identified in NPSAS:04 and was followed up with in 2006 and 2009. A new cohort was identified in NPSAS:12, and then followed up with in 2014 (BPS:12/14) and 2017 (BPS:12/17). Data are available for the earlier cohorts and for BPS:12/14. Data collection for BPS:12/17 ended and data are now available for analysis by researchers.

The Strengthening Career and Technical Education for the 21st Century Act mandates that "as a regular part of its assessments, the National Center for Education Statistics shall collect and report information on career and technical education for a nationally representative sample of students." To meet this requirement, NCES uses the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Statistics system. CTE Statistics relies on existing NCES surveys to provide data on CTE from students, faculty, and schools at the secondary and (subbaccalaureate) postsecondary levels, as well as on adults’ work-related education, training, and skills.

The HS&B describes the activities of seniors and sophomores as they progressed through high school, postsecondary education, and into the workplace. The data span 1980 through 1992 and include parent, teacher, high school transcripts, student financial aid records, and postsecondary transcripts in addition to student questionnaires and interviews.

The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), established as the core postsecondary education data collection program for NCES, is a system of surveys designed to collect data from all primary providers of postsecondary education. IPEDS is a single, comprehensive system designed to encompass all institutions and educational organizations whose primary purpose is to provide postsecondary education. The IPEDS system is built around a series of interrelated surveys to collect institution-level data in such areas as enrollments, program completions, faculty, staff, finances, and academic libraries.

The NPSAS is a comprehensive study that examines how students and their families pay for postsecondary education. It includes nationally representative samples of undergraduate and graduate students, as well as students attending public and private less-than-2-year institutions, community colleges, 4-year colleges, and major universities. Both students who receive financial aid and those who do not receive financial aid participate in NPSAS. NPSAS has been conducted every 3 to 4 years since 1987. Student surveys and administrative records are used to provide exceptional detail concerning student financial aid. Data are available from a unique collection conducted in 2017-18 (NPSAS:18-AC) based solely on administrative data sources (no student survey) to yield state representative data. The latest data available are for the 2019-20 academic year (NPSAS:20). Data collection for the 2023-24 academic year is now in progress (NPSAS:24).

The National Study of Postsecondary Faculty (NSOPF) was a nationally representative sample of full-and part-time faculty and instructional staff at public and private not-for-profit 2- and 4-year institutions in the United States, designed to provide data about faculty and instructional staff to postsecondary education researchers and policymakers. The study was initially conducted during the 1987-88 school year and was repeated in 1992-93, 1998-99, and 2003-04.

There are no plans to repeat the study. Rather, NCES plans to provide technical assistance to state postsecondary data systems and to encourage the development of robust connections between faculty and student data systems so that key questions concerning faculty, instruction, and student outcomes – such as persistence and completion – can be addressed.

The National Training, Education, and Workforce Survey (NTEWS) is a nationally representative survey of individuals ages 16 through 75. Data from this survey provide information on the prevalence of work-related credentials and the relationship between these credentials and employment outcomes.

The purpose of the PEDAR program is to provide a series of analysis reports that focus on postsecondary education policy issues, and to develop an information system that organizes postsecondary data sets and analyses. The crosscutting work done in this program takes advantage of multiple education data sources, especially data from recently completed surveys.

NCES has established PEQIS to collect timely data on focused issues needed for program planning and policy development with a minimum burden on respondents. In addition to obtaining information on emerging issues quickly, PEQIS surveys are also used to assess the feasibility of developing large-scale data collection efforts on a given topic or to supplement other NCES postsecondary surveys. PEQIS employs a standing sample (panel) of approximately 1,600 postsecondary education institutions at the 2-year and 4-year level. The nationally representative panel includes public and private colleges and universities that award associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees.

Undergraduate postsecondary education transcript collections are conducted as components of several NCES studies that include elementary, secondary, and postsecondary students. These data provide a unique opportunity for analysts to examine student course-taking patterns, credit transfer, and postsecondary education outcomes. Each postsecondary transcript study is associated with a major NCES data collection.

The U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES) awarded grants to 41 states and the District of Columbia to aid them in the design and implementation of statewide longitudinal data systems. These systems are intended to enhance the ability of states to efficiently and accurately manage, analyze, and use education data, including individual student records. The data systems developed with funds from these grants should help states, districts, schools, and teachers make data-driven decisions to improve student learning, as well as facilitate research to increase student achievement and close achievement gaps.

The Common Education Data Standards (CEDS) are a national, collaborative effort to develop voluntary, common education data standards for a key subset of K-12 (e.g., demographics, program participation, course information) and K12-to-postsecondary education transition variables. Participants in the Initiative include representatives from states, districts, higher education organizations, and key non-profit organizations. The CEDS Initiative's goal is to identify a list of key K-12 and K12-to-postsecondary transition variables (expansion into PreK and the workforce will be considered in the future) and agree upon standard definitions, code sets, business rules, and technical specifications for those variables. This will increase data interoperability, portability, and comparability across states, districts, and higher education organizations.

The Condition of Education contains key indicators on all levels of education, labor force outcomes, and international comparisons. The indicators summarize important developments and trends using the latest statistics, which are updated throughout the year as new data become available. Spotlight indicators provide more in-depth analyses on selected topics. In addition, the more succinct Report on the Condition of Education, which highlights and synthesizes key findings from the Condition of Education, is also available in PDF format.

The Digest of Education Statistics contains a set of tables covering the broad field of American education from prekindergarten through graduate school.

The Interagency Working Group on Expanded Measures of Enrollment and Attainment (GEMEnA) is pursuing four strands of work designed to improve the federal government’s ability to measure how adults acquire the skills and credentials needed for work, including occupational certificates, the attainment and maintenance of certification and licensing, on-the-job training, and basic skills development.

This user-friendly local education practitioners-oriented web site is designed to meet the information needs of teachers, administrators, teachers, policymakers, parents and librarians. It contains special features and articles focusing on important education issues and packages and disseminates information on education specifically for these audiences.

NCES has established the National Forum on Education Statistics to improve the collection, reporting, and use of elementary and secondary education statistics. The Forum deals with issues in education data policy, sponsors innovations in data collection and reporting, and provides technical assistance to improve state and local data systems.

NPEC is a voluntary partnership among governmental and nongovernmental providers and users of education data. NPEC has a dual mission: (1) to identify and communicate on-going and emerging issues germane to postsecondary education; and (2) to promote the quality, comparability and utility of postsecondary data and information that support policy development, implementation, and evaluation.

The Statistical Standards and Data Confidentiality Staff program provides methodological and statistical support to NCES, as well as to federal and nonfederal organizations that engage in statistical work in support of NCES' mission. This Program develops standards for procedures to ensure the quality of statistical surveys, analyses and products; consults and advises on the implementation of standards for all Center projects; coordinates the review and adjudication process for NCES publications and products; and leads the NCES Task Force on Quality Systems.

The Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates (EDGE) program develops information resources to identify and understand the social and spatial context of education. It uses data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey to create custom indicators of social, economic, and housing conditions for school-age children and their parents. It also uses spatial data collected by NCES, the Census Bureau, and other sources to create geographic locale indicators, school point locations, school district boundaries, and other types of educational geography to support research and analysis.