National Indian Education Study Part I Available May 14 on the NAEP Website
The National Indian Education Study (NIES), first conducted in 2005, is a two-part study designed to describe the condition of education for American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students in the United States. Part I of the NIES will be released on May 14, providing in-depth information on the academic performance of fourth- and eighth-grade AI/AN students on the 2007 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in mathematics and reading. NIES provides data on a nationally representative sample of American Indian and Alaska Native students in public, private, Department of Defense, and Bureau of Indian Education funded schools. It is a reliable source of data for educators, administrators, and policymakers who address the educational needs of our students. Part II of the study was conducted through a survey to explore the educational experiences of the fourth- and eighth-grade AI/AN students who participated in the NAEP assessments. The survey focused on the integration of native language and culture into school and classroom activities. Results of the 2007 survey will be available in the summer of 2008. The study is sponsored by the Office of Indian Education (OIE) and conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics for the U.S. Department of Education. NAEP, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics within the Institute of Education Sciences.

May 6, 2008

Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Human Resources Data Quality Study
The purpose of this study was to assess the reliability and quality of human resources (HR) data collected through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) from postsecondary institutions in the academic year 2004-2005. The 2004-05 IPEDS HR data collected in the Salaries (SA) and Employees by Assigned Position (EAP) components were compared to HR data from several external sources. An assessment of the 2004-05 IPEDS Fall Staff component was also made; however, the assessment involving the Fall Staff component differed from the assessment involving the IPEDS SA and EAP components because the reporting of Fall Staff data was optional in 2004-05 while the reporting of SA and EAP data was required in 2004-05 for Title IV institutions that met the minimum criteria for applicability. After taking definitional differences, data elements, and comparable institutions into consideration, HR data from the IPEDS SA component and HR data from the external sources were fairly consistent with one another. Where data for 9/10- and 11/12-month full-time faculty members could be separated, data for 9/10-month faculty members were more consistent between the data sources while data for 11/12-month faculty were somewhat less consistent. Detailed data (by gender and academic rank) were less likely to be consistent from one report to another than were overall totals or averages. The HR data from the IPEDS EAP component that were compared to the HR data from the external sources revealed very small to large differences depending on the data element evaluated. The analysis of the executive/administrative/managerial staff reported to IPEDS and to external sources revealed large differences, which were most likely related to the lack of common definitions between the sources. Overall, the 2004-05 optional year Fall Staff component data were at least as accurate as the original 2003-04 required year data submissions for both degree- and non-degree-granting institutions.

May 5, 2008

New Publication Released: Reading First Impact Study: Interim Report
Created under the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, the Reading First program provides assistance to states and districts in using research-based reading programs and instructional materials for students in kindergarten through third grade and in introducing related professional development and assessments. The program's purpose is to ensure that increased proportions of students read at or above grade level, have mastery of the essential components of early reading, and that all students can read at or above grade level by the end of grade 3. The law requires that an independent, rigorous evaluation of the program be conducted to determine if the program influences teaching practices, mastery of early reading components, and student reading comprehension. This interim report presents the impacts of Reading First on classroom reading instruction and student reading comprehension during the 2004-05 and 2005-06 school years. The evaluation found that Reading First did have positive, statistically significant impacts on the total class time spent on the five essential components of reading instruction promoted by the program. The study also found that, on average across the 18 study sites, Reading First did not have statistically significant impacts on student reading comprehension test scores in grades 1-3. A final report on the impacts from 2004-2007 (three school years with Reading First funding) and on the relationships between changes in instructional practice and student reading comprehension is expected in late 2008.

May 1, 2008