This site (http://nces.ed.gov) is the place to go for education statistics dealing with the USA. The owner of the site, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), “is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data that are related to education in the USA and other nations”.
The Web site is easily navigated with buttons that actually reflect the contents of the link! I discovered no broken links in my time on site. The primary links are: Help, What’s new?, Electronic catalog, Student’s classroom, Survey and Program areas, Encyclopedia of ED “Stats”, Global ED locator, NCES Fast Facts, and a search of the site. Also on the initial page are notices of “New!” (additions to the page), “Inside the ‘Stats’!” (One‐line educational statistic, linked to the primary reference), and “Did you know?” (another one‐line statistic linked to the reference). These are changed on a regular basis. Even with the site’s emphasis on statistics, the page is remarkably uncluttered and clean looking.
When navigating the site, the help page provides:
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information about NCES, including the organizational structure;
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help on technical issues;
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FAQs;
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commonly‐used acronyms;
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tips on effective searching;
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product ordering information;
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a comprehensive privacy policy statement;
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an e‐mail link to the Webmaster and “snail mail” address for contacting the NCES.
Despite this last option, no response was received from my e‐mail query for information from the Webmaster.
What’s new? provides the latest in events, developments, and updates to the Web site. It contains entries from the previous month, announcing new reports that are now available online, new areas available for searching on the site, and a new tutorial. The archives for What’s new? are searchable from here.
The electronic catalog is the primary search engine for locating NCES publications and data products. Once located, content of the publication can be browsed and downloaded, and data files can be downloaded. A new feature has been added linking to Popular NCES Reports. Approximately five years’ worth of four popular titles is included, along with 11 other frequently‐asked‐for reports. Each is downloadable, most in HTML or PDF, but some only as text or compressed (zip) files.
The kid’s site, or the NCES Classroom, has a variety of games, facts, and information aimed at the K‐12 student. The various pages are accessed by clicking on an area in the classroom graphic. Along with a variety of games (What are your chances?, Mascot game, etc.), students can perform a school, college, or library search. Kids can contribute art or literary efforts to the online magazine, Crunch.
The Survey and Program page describes the various NCES programs and surveys that are conducted/performed. Each description has a follow‐on link which includes the NCES staff person responsible, with contact information.
The Encyclopedia of ED “stats” allows searches of a compendium of NCES sources. Information can be found through a search of the tables of contents, subject area, and full text and table title word search.
The global education locator is home for the destination links from the NCES Classroom for college, school, and library location. A quick national search can locate information within post‐secondary institutions, public schools, private schools, or public libraries within the USA. Each of those databases can be visited for a more comprehensive search.
NCES Fast Facts presents a highlighted fast fact ‐ an in‐depth research issue. It allows users to search information from four fast fact categories. A “Daily, did you know?” contains an “interesting education titbit …” (statistic). “Featured, inside the ‘stats’!” shows a graphical representation of a statistic, with a link to the primary reference. All fast facts can be searched, and surfers/researchers are afforded the opportunity to suggest a future fast fact.
This site is “one‐stop shopping” for educational statistics. It is particularly valuable for providing authoritative responses to research queries from academic administrators or elected officials who are constantly looking at demographics. These statistics often end up useful in budgetary discussions. Highly recommended for the librarian/staffer who needs a statistic in a hurry. This is the place to go.
