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November 2011


From the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

Early Childhood Longitudinal Study Data Collection Underway

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Did you know . . .
ECLS data are the only nationally representative data that can be used to look at summer learning/summer learning loss, as well as academic growth during the school year, for students in elementary school.

In late December 2011 or early January 2012, the fall first-grade data collection for the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011) will end, and the spring data collection will begin in late March 2012 and end in mid-June 2012.

Data from the kindergarten rounds of data collection, which took place from August 2010 to January 2011 and from March to June 2011, are expected to be available to researchers in fall 2012.

ECLS-K:2011, the third survey within the ECLS program, provides national data on children's status at kindergarten entry and at various points thereafter. The survey will capture data at critical points in children's development, including their transition to formal schooling, as well as data on children's experiences and growth through the fifth grade. The ECLS program also provides data to analyze relationships among a wide range of family, school, community, and individual characteristics with children's development, early learning, and performance in school.

For more information about the ECLS program—including reports, data, sample research questions, and more—visit the ECLS website.

C-SPAN's Washington Journal Interviews NCES Commissioner Jack Buckley

Student achievement, dropout rates, statistics from a variety of NCES publications, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the role of the National Assessment Governing Board in setting policy for NAEP and developing the framework and test specifications for the assessments—these were among the many topics NCES Commissioner Jack Buckley talked about during a recent interview with Washington Journal host Peter Slen. Commissioner Buckley also responded to questions from the public on topics ranging from gaps in proficiency by race and ethnicity and urbanicity to the need for federal education statistics and the U.S Department of Education.

The interview was part of C-SPAN's program on "America by the Numbers: Student Achievement." You can watch the interview on C-SPAN's website (see the "Video Playlist" and click on Jack Buckley).