4.1. Data Sources

The American Institutes for Research compiled a database of SIG-eligible and SIG-awarded schools. Information on SIG-eligible schools was obtained from state SIG applications for all 50 states and the District of Columbia on ED's Web site (http://www2.ed.gov/programs/sif/summary/index.html). Data on SIG-awarded schools, including school names, intervention models, and award allocations, were derived from information available on the SEA Web sites. As of March 21, 2011, 49 states and the District of Columbia had provided information on SIG awards to LEAs and schools.¹⁵ The availability of specific data elements differed across states: for instance, data on intervention models were available for 48 states and the District of Columbia and total award allocations for 43 states and the District of Columbia.

Demographic data, including school enrollment, grade levels served, minority population, and poverty levels, were obtained from ED's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Common Core of Data (CCD) for 2008–09. Of the 15,277 schools eligible for SIG awards in 49 states and the District of Columbia, 40 schools were not included in the 2008–09 CCD. Of these 40 schools, 34 were identified as new public schools for the 2009–10 CCD collection. The remaining six had no record in CCD. Not all schools reported all of the data measures in CCD. To facilitate analysis, missing data on selected measures were replaced by 2007–08 CCD data, where possible. The number and percentage of remaining missing values for variables used in the report are as follow: 237 schools (1.6 percent) for the percent of free and reduced-price lunch eligible students, 19 schools (0.1 percent) for the percent of Native American students, 14 schools (<0.1 percent) for the percent of Asian, African-American, Hispanic, and White students and school enrollment.