IES Blog

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has introduced a new resource page for the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Outcome Measures (OM) survey component. This blog post provides an overview of the webpage and is the first in a series of blog posts that will showcase OM data.

Measuring Student Success in IPEDS: Graduation Rates (GR), Graduation Rates 200% (GR200), and Outcome Measures (OM) is a new resource page designed to help data reporters and users better understand the value of OM data and how the OM survey component works, particularly when compared with the Graduation Rates (GR) and Graduation Rates 200% (GR200) survey components.

The OM survey component was added to IPEDS in 2015–16 in an effort to capture postsecondary outcomes for more than so-called “traditional” college students. From 1997–98 to 2015–16, IPEDS graduation rate data were collected only for first-time, full-time (FTFT) degree/certificate-seeking (DGCS) undergraduates through the GR and GR200 survey components. Unlike these survey components, OM collects student outcomes for all entering DGCS undergraduates, including non-first-time students (i.e., transfer-in students) and part-time students.

Outcome measures are useful as characteristics of students vary by the level of institution. In 2009, some 4.7 million students began at 2-year postsecondary institutions, and 25 percent were full-time students who were attending college for the first time. During the same period, some 4.5 million students began at 4-year institutions, and 44 percent were first-time, full-time students.¹

The new resource page answers several important questions about OM, GR, and GR200, including the following:

• Which institutions complete each survey component?
• Does the survey form vary by institutional type?
• What student success measures are included?
• Which students are included in the cohort?
• What is the timeframe for establishing student cohorts?
• Which subgroups (disaggregates) are included?
• What is the timing of data collection and release?

In answering these questions, the resource page highlights that OM provides a more comprehensive view of student success than do GR and GR200. Furthermore, it suggests that OM, GR, and GR200 are not directly comparable, as the survey components differ in terms of which institutions complete them, which students are captured, and how each measures cohorts. Here are some of the key differences:

• Institutions with FTFT cohorts complete the GR and GR200 components, whereas degree-granting institutions complete the OM component.
• GR and GR200 include only FTFT DGCS undergraduates, whereas OM includes all DGCS undergraduates.
• GR and GR200 cohorts are based on a fall term for academic reports and a full year (September 1–August 31) for program reporters, whereas OM cohorts are based on a full year (July 1–June 30) for all degree-granting institutions.

Finally, the resource page outlines how OM works, including how cohorts and subcohorts are established, which outcomes are collected at various status points, and when the public have access to submitted data. Exhibit 1 presents the current 2021–22 data collection timeline, including the cohort year, outcome status points, data collection period, and public release of OM data.

Exhibit 1. 2021­–22 Outcome Measures (OM) data collection timeline (2013–14 entering degree/certificate-seeking cohort)

The emergence of the coronavirus pandemic 2 years ago shifted not only how students received educational services around the world but also how the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) carried out its mission, which is to collect, analyze, and report statistics on the condition of education in the United States.

NCES has conducted several surveys to measure educational enrollment, experiences, and outcomes as part of existing data collections and created new, innovative, and timely data initiatives. NCES is currently fielding more than 15 projects with information related to the pandemic. Since early 2020, NCES has collected information about educational experiences of students from elementary through postsecondary institutions. A few of the data collections will extend beyond 2022, providing rich data resources that will document changes in the educational landscape throughout the lifecycle of the pandemic.

NCES Coronavirus Pandemic Data Collection Coverage

In order to respond to the call for information about how students learned during widespread school disruptions, NCES modified existing and created new data collection avenues to receive and report vital information in unprecedented ways. Below are summaries of some of the data products available.

• The NAEP Monthly School Survey provided data during the beginning of 2021 on instructional modes offered from schools that served fourth- and eighth-graders. With participants from schools that were part of the NAEP 2022 assessments, this survey was the program’s first-ever monthly data collection and dissemination activity. It answered questions about what learning opportunities schools offered to students across states and how student enrollment changed each month overall and by race/ethnicity.
   
• NCES created the School Pulse Panel in 2021 to provide reliable data on school reopening efforts in public elementary, middle, and high schools nationally. NCES released 2021 summer and early fall results in December and has provided monthly updates since February 2022. The latest results show that the pandemic increased the teacher and staff vacancies in nearly a quarter of participating public schools.
   
• Through our existing administrative data collections, NCES has released enrollment estimates for fall 2020 at the public elementary and secondary levels as well as at the postsecondary level. These data reveal a drop in enrollment compared with 2019—prior to the pandemic.
   
• In February 2022, NCES released a report titled Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on Public and Private Elementary and Secondary Education in the United States (Preliminary Data): Results from the 2020–21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS). This report provides data on changes to instruction, support, and resources in public and private elementary and secondary schools during the pandemic.
   
• In June 2021, NCES released a report titled 2019–20 National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS:20): First Look at the Impact of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) Pandemic on Undergraduate Student Enrollment, Housing, and Finances (Preliminary Data). This report focuses on how the pandemic affected postsecondary student experiences.
   
• To support parents, educators, and researchers, NCES created a Coronavirus Pandemic Information and Resource page. This page contains common questions related to the pandemic and its impact on education.

Looking ahead, NCES will provide NAEP data on how student performance has changed in various subjects since the coronavirus pandemic began. NCES will also collect and report information about learning contexts, which are critical for understanding educational outcomes. NCES will also develop a new system to share pandemic-related data collected across the center.

All of these resources are currently available or will be available on the NCES website.

By Ebony Walton and Josh DeLaRosa, NCES

To support schools and districts as they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has launched the School Pulse Panel (SPP). The SPP will increase our ability to report timely information on the operating status of public schools. This effort is part of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) response to the Executive Order on Supporting the Reopening and Continuing Operation of Schools and Early Childhood Education Providers. 

The SPP is a monthly survey completed by a small group of schools to help education leaders understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education across the country. NCES, within the U.S. Department of Education, is conducting this study in coordination with the U.S. Census Bureau and other federal agencies.

Accessing Survey Findings

NCES releases reports about 4 weeks after each monthly collection via an online dashboard. Results from the summer 2021, September 2021, and January 2022 data collections are available now. Check back to see the latest findings. 

Survey Topics

The survey asks questions on the following topics, which focus on how COVID-19 has affected schools (note that survey content will change slightly on a monthly basis):

• Instructional mode offered by schools
• Strategies to address pandemic-related learning needs
• Safe and healthy school mitigation strategies
• Principal and staff experiences
• Mental health and well-being of students and staff
• Special education services
• Use of technology
• Information on staffing and food and nutrition programs
• Parental/staff/student concerns

The graphic below shows the content areas for January 2022 through May 2022. The red boxes represent content areas that will repeat monthly; the yellow boxes represent content areas that will not repeat monthly.
 

More Information

To learn more, visit the School Pulse Panel website and explore the FAQs. For general questions, contact the U.S. Census Bureau at 1-844-868-3661 or via e-mail at addp.school.pulse.panel@census.gov.

By Josue DeLaRosa and Rachel Hansen, NCES

The National Household Education Surveys (NHES) program collects nationally representative, descriptive data on the educational activities of children and families in the United States. Specifically, NHES’s Parent and Family Involvement in Education (PFI) survey collects data about how families of K–12 students connect to their child’s school. Parents are asked questions about their involvement in and satisfaction with their child’s school as well as school choice.

This blog expands on the PFI First Look report, and more analysis of race and ethnicity in education and early childhood is available in new web tables.

The results from 2019 PFI survey—which was administered before the coronavirus pandemic—show differences across racial/ethnic groups¹ in parents’ satisfaction with their child’s school. Overall, White students tended to have parents who were “very satisfied” with their child’s schools, teachers, and academic standards at the highest rates. 

Satisfaction with schools

In 2019, about two-thirds (67 percent) of White students had parents who were “very satisfied” with their child’s school (figure 1). This percentage was higher than the percentages for Hispanic students (64 percent), Asian or Pacific Islander students (61 percent), Black students (59 percent), and “Other race” students² (57 percent).

A higher percentage of Hispanic students had parents who were “very satisfied” with their child’s school (64 percent) than did Black students (59 percent) and “Other race” students (57 percent).

Figure 1. Percentage of students enrolled in kindergarten through 12th grade whose parent/guardian reported being "very satisfied" with the student’s school, by student’s race/ethnicity: 2019

Across the country, students are preparing to head back to school—whether in person, online, or through some combination of the two—for the 2021–22 academic year. Each year, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) compiles a Back-to-School Fast Fact that provides a snapshot of schools and colleges in the United States. Here are a few “by-the-numbers” highlights from this year’s edition.

Note: Due to the coronavirus pandemic, projected data were not available for this year’s Fast Fact. Therefore, some of the data presented below were collected in 2020 or 2021, but most of the data were collected before the pandemic began. Data collected in 2020 or 2021 are preliminary and subject to change.

48.1 million

The number of students who attended public elementary and secondary schools in fall 2020. 

The racial and ethnic profile of public school students includes 22.0 million White students, 13.4 million Hispanic students, 7.2 million Black students, 2.6 million Asian students, 2.2 million students of Two or more races, 0.4 million American Indian/Alaska Native students, and 0.2 million Pacific Islander students.

Additionally, in fall 2017, about 5.7 million students attended private schools.

3.7 million

The number of students projected to have graduated from high school in the 2018–19 school year, including 3.3 million students from public schools and 0.4 million students from private schools.

43 percent

The percentage of fourth- and eighth-grade students who were enrolled in remote instruction in February 2021.

In comparison, in May 2021, 26 percent of fourth- and eighth-grade students were enrolled in remote instruction.

2.3 million

The number of teachers in public schools in fall 2019.

Additionally, in fall 2017, there were 0.5 million teachers in private schools.

$13,187

The current expenditure per student in public elementary and secondary schools in the 2018–19 school year.

Total current expenditures in public elementary and secondary schools were $667 billion for the 2018–19 school year.

19.6 million

The number of students that attended colleges and universities in fall 2019—lower than the peak of 21.0 million in 2010.

About 5.6 million attended 2-year institutions and 14.0 million students attended 4-year institutions in fall 2019.

11.3 million

The number of female postsecondary students in fall 2019.

In comparison, there were 8.4 million male postsecondary students in fall 2019.

7.3 million

The number of postsecondary students who were enrolled in any distance education course in fall 2019.

In comparison, there were 12.3 million students who were not enrolled in distance education in fall 2019.

Be sure to check out the full Fast Fact to learn more about these and other back-to-school data.

The staff of NCES and of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) hopes our nation’s students, teachers, administrators, school staffs, and families have an outstanding school year!

By Megan Barnett and Sarah Hein, AIR