Data Research & Resources

THE IMPORTANCE OF DATA

Data can be used to unlock insights, to evaluate programs, and to hold systems accountable for the use of resources.  Researchers need data, but so do storytellers.  Data storytellers can connect people to data and create meaningful understanding and context around the data.  

This webpage is meant to serve as a resource for our College of Education Data Storytellers. The following list, which is not exhaustive and will grow over time, includes open data sources that are related to Education.  Additionally, with time, other resources will be added, including short videos that will help you use the data sources; tutorials on how to use software to manage, analyze, and visualize your data; and announcements of campus-wide data science events. 

Do you need help finding or accessing data for your project? These websites offer statistics and data sets pertaining to Education:

  • THE EDUCATION OPPORTUNITY PROJECT - An initiative to reduce educational disparities across the United States. The Stanford Education Data Archive (SEDA) offers a way to explore and compare academic performance data across the United States. 
  • MAKING ACTION POSSIBLE for Southern Arizona Dashboard - This website collects data across thirty-six (36) indicators for Southern Arizona, including six (6) Education indicators: College Major, Educational Attainment, High School Graduation Rates, Pre-K Enrollment, Student Achievement, and Teacher Wages
  • NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS - The primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations. NCES is part of the U.S. Department of Education and the Institute of Education Science. Resources available through the NCES:
    • Common Core Of Data - This U.S. Department of  Education’s NCES program collects data about all public schools, school districts, and state education agencies in the United States
    • DATALAB - Access to data covering pre-elementary to postsecondary education and three online tools to help you analyze the data
      • Tables Library - Enables users to search for NCES tables using either a keyword, a publication title or a table ID
    • Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates - Edge 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 and the Census Bureau to create geographic locale indicators, school point locations, school district boundaries, and other types of data to support spatial analysis
    • Education Finance Statistics Center - This site provides finance information on public elementary/secondary education. Data tools available:
      • Peer Search Tool - This tool allows comparison of the finances of a school district with its peers based on the latest available fiscal data. Peers can be selected manually, or automatically based on Total Students, Student/Teacher Ratio, Percent Children in Poverty, District Type, and Locale Code
      • Elementary/Secondary Information System - View public and private school data and create custom tables using ELSi-a quick and easy tool for obtaining single- or multi-year basic statistical data using the most common variables and tables from CCD and PSS
      • Longitudinal Data Tool - This tool allows comparison of fiscal and non-fiscal school district data over time from Fiscal Years 1990–2002
      • Search for Private Schools - Use the Search For Private Schools locator to retrieve information on private schools
      • Search for School Districts - Use the Search For Public School Districts locator to retrieve information on public school districts from CCD's databases
      • Search for Public Schools - Use the Search For Public Schools locator to retrieve information on public schools from CCD's databases
    • Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System - The primary source for data on colleges, universities, and technical and vocational postsecondary institutions in the United States, IPEDS Data Center is your "one-stop-shop" for the retrieval and analysis of data on colleges and universities. The Data Center includes a wide-range of functional options, including the ability to compare institutions side-by-side, construct customized data sets, download full data files, and create different statistical summaries and trend reports
    • National Assessment Of Educational Progress - An assessment that measures what U.S. student’s know and can do in various subjects across the nations, states, and in some urban districts
      • The Nation’s Report Card - Presents data about the academic achievement of U.S. students drawn from NAEP. Here you can:
        • Find data for state/jurisdiction performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) assessments in mathematics, reading, writing, and science at grades 4, 8 and 12 (where applicable), 
        • View trends and demographics, 
        • Download snapshot reports, and 
        • Compare results for each state/jurisdiction to the nation and to the other states.

Online publications available through the NCES:

  • The Condition of Education - This annual report contains key indicators on all levels of education, labor force outcomes and international education comparisons
  • Digest of Education Statistics - Contains tables covering education from pre-K through graduate school and comparisons of U.S. outcomes to those in other countries
  • PARTNERSHIP FOR EXPANDING EDUCATION RESEARCH IN STEM (PEERS) DATA HUB -  A collaboration between AERA and the Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research (ICPSR), the PEERS Data Hub is an NSF supported platform to advance education research. In the data hub you can discover data related to: early childhood education, higher education, school climate, STEM careers, schools, life course development, population, learning analytics, international education, race, disparities, and inclusion in STEM education

Content coming soon!

Content coming soon!