1. WHERE TO FIND IT – Accessing the Inventory
Providing Access to the Federal Information Base for Evidence-Based Decision Making
Marilyn Seastrom
Jennifer Nielsen
ED Data Inventory
The ED Data Inventory describes administrative program data reported to the Department of Education along with statistical data collected to allow publication of valuable statistics about the state of education in this country.
The ED Data Inventory includes descriptive information about each data collection, along with information on the specific data elements in individual collections.
The ED Data Inventory was developed
To improve the coordination of data collections across program offices,
To minimize respondent burden,
To ensure responsible data management at ED,
To achieve data transparency with the public about the data that ED collects and maintains, and
To comply with OMB Directive M (May 9, 2013) and now the 2018 Foundations for Evidence- Based Decision Making Act.
The ED Data inventory is organized into Series and Studies.
A Series is a collection of Studies that are repeated over time (for example, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a series and the 2013 NAEP is a study).
Search for series or studies,
Search for data files or data elements (variables) at the series or study level,
Link to study home page and link to data file, and
Export information on variables to a csv file for use in programming.
What You Can Learn About a Series
Investigator, Description of the Series, List of Studies included in the Series, and List of Series Files
Dataset Title
File Name, Location, Format
Study Name
Inventory and the ICR
The Inventory components in regular type come from the ICR. The Inventory components in italics are typically not available until the data collection is completed and the data are processed.
From 2013 to 2018, the ED Data Inventory was developed using manual processes. The notion of using a structured format for ICRs that could result in an electronic transfer of information to the inventory was first explored in 2014.
The automation of ICRs and Inventory development is currently funded through the cross-agency priorities as part of the President’s Management Agenda.
The electronic template uses both fixed and open fields, Inventory elements are tagged in the template platform, after OMB approves tagged items are exported to the Inventory..
To capture the variables and remaining metadata, link approval for release to submission of information for the Inventory
Achieved response rates
Date of data release
URLs for initial report and data file
Information on variable
NCES sponsors additional Resources
NCES Handbook of Survey Methods at
NCES Distance Learning Dataset Training at
What You Can Learn About a Study
Scope of Study—Investigator, Study Summary, Series Name, URL, Geography, Date of Collection, Periodicity, Study Population, Purpose, Age Range, Education Level, Authorizing Law
Access Notes—Initial Reports and URL, Date of Public Use Data Availability and URL, Date of Restricted Use Data Availability and URL, Access Level, Contact name and address
Study Files—File Name, Dataset Title, File Location, Original Dataset Format
Methodology—Response Rates, Respondent Description, Data Type, Confidentiality Pledge, Universe/Sample Size, Mode of Data Collection
Study Variables
Establishes package, assigns roles, writes text, responds to comments, monitors progress, updates status—set-up, writing, review
Develops assigned components
Reviews and provides comments to package owner
Agency review, approval, submits to ED, after OMB approval releases tagged items to inventory
What You Can Learn About Variables
Study Variables—
Variable Name and Label,
Extended Definition and Question Wording, and
Value Labels and File Name
A user can select variables of interest or select all variables in a file
A user can also export information on selected variables to a csv file for use in a software package
ED submits to OMB ROCIS, OMB Final review and approval
How the Inventory Works
WHERE TO FIND IT – Accessing the Inventory
Enter this URL – or find it at the bottom of the NCES homepage
Learn More About NCES Data

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5. What is included for a study?
Each of these entries opens up an additional page of information
What is included for a study? 5

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7. Access notes (includes list of reports issued from study and information on data access and availability) 7

8. Methodology Section 8

9. Drawing information from the OMB Information Clearance Request (Phase 1)
The Cross-Agency Priorities Team provided funds for ED to develop an electronic template of fixed and open fields that:
Produces the OMB ICR
Internally tags the metadata entries
Extracts tagged fields after the ICR is approved
Extracted information electronically updates the ED Inventory 9

10. Drawing information from the OMB Information Clearance Request (Phases 1-4)
Next Steps: Test ICR Template in NCES, IES, and another office in ED
The Cross-Agency Priorities Team is providing funds for ED to
Adapt and test electronic ICR template in another Department
Provide documentation for government-wide implementation 10

11. ICR Template Add Collection and Respondents
New package setup screen continued. 11

12. Assign Writing and Review Responsibilities
ICR Template
Assign Writing and Review Responsibilities
New package setup screen continued. 12

13. ICR Template Components: Part A and Part B
This screen shows all applicable information for a given package. This is the destination after clicking “Save new package” button on the previous screen capture. Also where user is taken if clicking on an active package from the user’s home page. 13

14. ICR Template Supporting Statement Part A, Section 2, Information Purpose
This screen shows the Survey Info-level information collection for one of the survey activities specified in the setup for Part A, section 2. 14

15. ICR Template Supporting Statement Part A, Section 3, Collection Techniques
This screen is accessed from the package home screen by clicking on the “Package Files” link at the top right. The entire package can be downloaded for proofreading or informational purposes. Attachments can be added. 15

16. ICR Template Supporting Statement Part A, Section 3, Collection Techniques
This screen is accessed from the package home screen by clicking on the “Package Files” link at the top right. The entire package can be downloaded for proofreading or informational purposes. Attachments can be added. 16

17. ICR Template Add attachments, Download Entire ICR package
This screen is accessed from the package home screen by clicking on the “Package Files” link at the top right. The entire package can be downloaded for proofreading or informational purposes. Attachments can be added. 17

18. Capturing the variables and remaining metadata
Make the release of data file and documentation contingent upon providing Inventory data for
Achieved response rates
Information on variables
Date of data release 18

19. ED DATA INVENTORY http://datainventory. ed
ED DATA INVENTORY FOR MORE INFORMATION 19