VT Census Case Studies : Department of Education - National Assessment of Educational Progress

Created by ziemer on 12 Aug 2015

Brief Overall Description of the Dataset:

Assessment data

Link: https://catalog.data.gov/dataset/2011-national-assessment-of-educational-progress#sec-dates 

Date Inventory Completed: 6/16/2015

Screening

  • Is the data collected opinion-based?
  • Is the data collection recurring (must be collected at least annually)?
  • Is there data available for 2013?
  • For Education: Is the data collected at least the school level? 
  • Can we access the data by August 15th?
  • Can the data be linked to other education/workforce datasets (e.g., K-12, higher education, workforce)?

If applicable, what types of schools does it cover (e.g., public, private, charter)? All schools

 

Purpose

  • What is the purpose of the organization collecting the data?

National Center for Education Statistics-To inform education policy

  • Why is it collected and how does the organization use it?

To get a better idea of student performance on assessments across the country

  • Who else uses the data?

Researchers and policy makers

  • Who do they sell the data to?

    N/A


Method

  • What is the data collection method? 

Assessments

  • What is the type of data collected? 

Designed collection

  • If designed, who created the questions?

Government

  • What is the raw source of the collected data (prior to any aggregation)? 

Student assessments



Description

  • What is the general topic of the data (1-2 words)?

Student assessments

  • What are the earliest and latest dates for which data is available?

1990-2013

  • Is data collected and available periodically?

Yes

  • How soon after a reference period ends can a data source be prepared and provided? 

Six months


Selectivity

  • What is the universe (e.g., population) that the data represents?

A representative sample of students in states and urban areas


Accessibility

  • How is the data accessed? 

Online download

  • Is it open data?

Yes

  • Any legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source?

No student-level data

  • Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?

NA

Does this dataset appear to meet our needs for the Census study? NO

Explanation: Federal inventory


Full Inventory

Description

  • What is the general contents of the data source?

Student assessment data

  • Features
    • What is the temporal nature of the data: longitudinal, time-series, or one time point?

One time point

    • Geospatial? If Yes, at what level?

Urban areas and state

Metadata

  • Is there information available to assess the transparency and soundness of the methods to gather the data for our purposes?

Yes

  • Is there a description of each variable in the source along with their valid values?

Yes

  • Are there unique IDs for unique elements that can be used for linking data?

No

  • Is there a data dictionary or codebook?

https://catalog.data.gov/harvest/object/19dad99f-d466-4f17-9ad0-be3057692fd9

Selectivity

  • What unit is represented at the record level of the data source?

Student-level

  • Does this universe match the stated intentions for the data collection? If not, what has been included or excluded and why?

Yes

  • What is the sampling technique used (if applicable)? 

Students selected within selected schools

  • What was the coverage?

6000 students in each jurisdiction (state or urban area)


Stability/Coherence

  • Were there any changes to the universe of data being captured (including geographical areas covered) and if so what were they?

Unknown

  • Were there any changes in the data capture method and if so what were they? 

Tests change from year to year

  • Were there any changes in the sources of data and if so what were they? 

No

Accuracy

  • Any known sources of error?

Unknown

  • Describe any quality control checks performed by the data’s owner.

Unknown

 

Accessibility

  • Any records or fields collected, but not included in data source, such as for confidentiality reasons)? 

Yes demographic information

  • Is there a subset of variables and/or data that is must be obtained through a separate process? If yes, is there a separate legal, regulatory, or administrative restrictions on accessing the data source? Cost? - One time or annual or project based payment?

Yes, secondary use data files. Need a license from NCES

Privacy and security

  • Was consent given by participant? If so, how was consent given?

Consent is optional, but schools must participate to receive funding

  • Are there legal limitations or restrictions on the use of the data? 

Must apply for license from NCES

  • What confidentiality policies does the source have? 

No identifiable information can get out in general data set

 

Research

  • What research has been done with this dataset? (e.g., impact of policies, predictors of student success)

Many different educational studies

  • Include any links to research if provided:

https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/researchcenter/library.aspx 

  • List any other data use notes provided by the supplier.

NA