1. Health Data in National Center for Education Statistics Data Collections
Chris Chapman
Presentation at the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) and Educational Testing Service (ETS) Collaboration Conference
May 5, 2016

2. Overview Overview of data collections
Disability information
Sample surveys
Administrative records
Collaboration experience and options

3. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Much of the health data NCES collects relates to IDEA
Law ensures services to children with disabilities from birth through age 21
Most NCES studies collect data about whether individuals have disabilities as defined by IDEA
IDEA defines disabilities in clinical terms
Many researchers use more functionally defined definitions and some NCES studies also include functionally-defined items

4. Sample Surveys
NCES sample surveys have included more health information including:
Physical and emotional health,
Access to medical care and health insurance,
Faculty perceptions of health as a problem for students,
Nutrition, and
Safety of a student’s or school’s environment
Determination of when to collect is bounded by:
Research goals of the study,
Who study respondents will be,
Mode of data collection, and
Time available with various respondents to the study

5. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
NAEP samples nearly 1 million students during years of state-representative collections
Data are collected from and about 4th-, 8th, and 12th grader students
Direct academic assessments cover a wide range of academic subjects
Health related data include disability status and:
Student, teacher, and administrator perceptions of whether student health is a problem at the school
Extent to which other health related issues are a problem at the school

6. Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS)
Most extensive health data are collected in ECLS, which follow children through early development, either from birth or from kindergarten
Most recent is the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of
Data are collected with direct assessments of the children, and surveys of them and their parents, teachers, and schools
Health measures include:
Direct height and weight measures, BMI, and hearing,
Survey data about children’s physical activity and emotional, health (and emotional health of parents), and
Recency of doctor and dental visits, and health insurance

7. Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC)
NCES collects data about education across the lifespan
PIAAC is our most recent direct assessment of skills of the general adult population
Assessed cognitive and workplace skills
Health information included:
General questions about overall physical and mental health,
Whether adults had had a range of basic evaluations such as checkups in the past year,
If respondents had insurance, and
How they accessed information about health problems, overall health care, diet, and exersize
Health information is not available for other countries in PIAAC

8. Sample Surveys Previous slides were exemplars of NCES sample surveys
The full set of surveys include:
New middle grade longitudinal study
High school longitudinal studies
Postsecondary longitudinal studies
International elementary and secondary assessments
Household surveys about newborn children through adults
Elementary and secondary teacher and principal surveys
Student- and school-crime and safety surveys
For information about all NCES studies including questionnaires, please visit

9. Administrative Record Collections
NCES conducts an extensive set of administrative collections about schools and school systems
Common Core of Data (CCD) – annually collects data from all public K-12 schools and systems about enrollment, faculty, and finances
EDFacts – basis of CCD, but collects much more extensive data including student assessment results
Private School Survey (PSS) – similar to CCD but collected every other year from private K-12 schools

10. Administrative Record Collections - continued
Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) – annually collects data from all postsecondary institutions providing Title IV funding
Includes enrollment information, degree programs offered, completion information, and cost of attendance data
Collections can be linked to other surveys including those conducted by health researchers and agencies
Allow health researchers to integrate a wealth of school and school system information
Collections include geospatial identifiers

11. Collaborations with Health Agencies
NCES works with other agencies to study health issues
Often partner with the Administration for Children and Families to expand data collected about young children
Worked with NIH’s National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders to integrate hearing evaluations into ECLS-K:2011
Coordinated with the U.S. Department of Agriculture to develop questions about nutrition and nutrition programs in NCES studies
NCES shares education focused items and assessments developed for NCES studies with other agencies

12. Thank you
Thank you

13. Typical Disability Series
Has a doctor, health care provider, teacher, or school official ever told you that [child] has any of the following conditions?
Specific learning disability
Any developmental delay that affects [his/her] ability to learn
Autism
Deafness or another hearing problem
Blindness or another vision impairment that cannot be corrected with glasses
An orthopedic impairment / bone, joint, or muscle problems
Traumatic brain injury
Intellectual disability or mental retardation
Attention Deficit Disorder or Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder
Another health impairment lasting 6 months or more