A Vision and Roadmap for Education Statistics (2022) / Chapter Skim
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Pages 61-78
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From page 61... ...
In anticipation of data linkage, NCES should reconsider the consent language and planned usage for all primary collections, to support ongoing uses for statistical activities. An extreme example is the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, in which participants were expressly promised
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From page 62... ...
The panel urges NCES to anticipate demand for data linkage by directing its contractors, who collect and hold PII from NCES's primary collections, to deposit PII linkage keys with partner federal statistical agencies such as the U.S. Census Bureau.
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From page 63... ...
This chapter also elaborates on the important high-value topics in education, discussing the data-content needs and areas in which NCES can advance those topics. While survey research has been NCES's standard approach to data collection, some of these needs might best be met through administrative data and linkages to other data sources.
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From page 64... ...
ALIGN ACQUIRED DATA CONTENT WITH HIGH-PRIORITY TOPICS AND QUESTIONS NCES performs, and has performed, a wide variety of data collections, ranging from relatively small surveys on highly specific topics (e.g., through the now discontinued Fast Response Survey System [FRSS] and the current School Pulse Panel)
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From page 65... ...
This exercise also illustrates how reorganization within NCES could be beneficial; as we note elsewhere, NCES's current structure is compartmen talized based on the primary data source or focus of individual surveys. We discuss organizational structure later in this report, and different structures have distinct strengths and weaknesses.
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From page 66... ...
and Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) measure demo graphic distributions within schools, districts, and higher education institutions.
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From page 67... ...
Process data are difficult to col lect because the process of interest may vary from one study to another and may consist of intangibles that are difficult to measure or are not routinely measured. There may also be questions about the accuracy of reporting, particularly for data viewed as either damaging or self-serving.
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From page 68... ...
Relating equity data to specific topics of interest, such as student achievement or literacy, is another application. NCES has several surveys of this type, including NAEP, Education Longitudinal Study, PIAAC, and SSOCS, though other surveys could be appropriate depending on the analytic goal.
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From page 69... ...
The Common Education Data Standards program is critical in setting standards for state data systems and could be a vehicle through which NCES could lead on equity-related efforts, by helping states collect more disaggregated data on race/ethnicity, gender identity, and other data on populations of interest. Additional types of data could be used to address equity issues.
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From page 70... ...
NCES measures CTE that occurs within high schools and traditional postsecondary education but lacks robust data on the growing number of noncredit and certificate programs for adult learners that are operated by community colleges and private providers. With CTE, NCES may also need to broaden the types of data it collects; for example, retention and attainment of a degree or certificate may be less important than measuring participants' success in obtaining jobs or upgrading occupational skills.
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From page 71... ...
Sometimes others might pay NCES to add modules on special topics, either incorporating a module within a survey (as the National Science Foundation did when adding a teacher transcript request form to the National Education Longitudinal Study of 1988, or by conducting a follow-up survey (as performed by the University of Texas at Austin when conducting a midlife follow-up of High School & Beyond respondents) .9 8 Daphne Greenberg, "A Vision and Roadmap for Education Statistics," presentation to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, August 23, 2021.
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From page 72... ...
.11 Additional sources of administrative data on children and families for linkages can be found in an Administration for Children and Families report (Holman et al., 2020)
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From page 73... ...
Document the Broader Educational Environment Much of what happens in education is affected by the educational environment, which might be broadly defined as including administrative infrastructure (e.g., workforce development, curricula, finance and management, and school context) , educational tools (e.g., use of technology and online teaching)
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From page 74... ...
. These data allow researchers to examine students' progress through secondary and postsecondary education, and support policy analysis (e.g., examining the impact of high school graduation requirements on students' course taking and achievement [Chaney et al., 1997]
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From page 75... ...
From 1994 to 2000, NCES conducted annual surveys of public schools to measure their access to the internet, at which point access had become almost universal (98%) ; similarly, the ratio of students to instructional computers decreased to 5:1, though schools with the highest poverty levels had fewer computers per student with access to the internet (Cattagni and Farris, 2001)
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From page 76... ...
Another aspect of technology worthy of special attention is the rapid transition to online education. Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, online education was growing rapidly in postsecondary and adult education, and this growth has further increased with the pandemic, making inroads into elementary and secondary education (Lederman, 2021; NCES, 2021g; U.S.
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From page 77... ...
Although that diversity may sometimes complicate education research, it also represents an opportunity for experimentation. By tracking the diversity of educational environments, NCES can both provide preliminary data that might be used to examine the impacts of various policies and practices, and also help researchers to design specialized samples for investigating education issues.
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From page 78... ...
There may be situations in which data collections on mandated topics could be reduced in scope, still meet the mandates, but leave more resources for other topics. CONCLUSION 3-1: Congressional mandates constrain NCES's data collection priorities yet may no longer reflect what is important for understanding contemporary education.
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