E DITORIAL NOTE National Center for Education Statistics The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) fulfills a congressional mandate to collect and report “statistics and information showing the con- dition and progress of education in the United States and other nations in order to promote and accelerate the improvement of American education.” EDUCATION STATISTICS QUARTERLY Purpose and goals At NCES, we are convinced that good data lead to good decisions about education. The Education Statistics Quarterly is part of an overall effort to make reliable data more accessible. Goals include providing a quick way to ■ identify information of interest; ■ review key facts, figures, and summary information; and ■ obtain references to detailed data and analyses. Content The Quarterly gives a comprehensive overview of work done across all parts of NCES. Each issue includes short publications, summaries, and descriptions that cover all NCES publications and data products released during a 3-month period. To further stimulate ideas and discussion, each issue also incorporates ■ a message from NCES on an important and timely subject in education statistics; and ■ a featured topic of enduring importance with invited commentary. A complete annual index of NCES publications appears in the Winter issue (published each January). Publications in the Quarterly have been technically reviewed for content and statistical accuracy. General note about the data and interpretations Many NCES publications present data that are based nonsampling errors. In the design, conduct, and on representative samples and thus are subject to data processing of NCES surveys, efforts are made to sampling variability. In these cases, tests for statistical minimize the effects of nonsampling errors, such as significance take both the study design and the number item nonresponse, measurement error, data processing of comparisons into account. NCES publications only error, and other systematic error. discuss differences that are significant at the 95 percent confidence level or higher. Because of variations in For complete technical details about data and meth- study design, differences of roughly the same magnitude odology, including sample sizes, response rates, and can be statistically significant in some cases but not in other indicators of survey quality, we encourage readers others. In addition, results from surveys are subject to to examine the detailed reports referenced in each article. EDUCATION STATISTICS QUARTERLY — VOLUME 4, ISSUE 3, FALL 2002 1 T ABLE OF CONTENTS Note From NCES Public High School Dropouts and Completers From Kathryn A. Chandler, Program Director, Elementary/Secondary Sample the Common Core of Data: School Years 1998–99 and Survey Studies Program ....................................................................... 4 1999–2000 Beth Aronstamm Young ...................................................................... 63 Introduces the 1999–2000 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). Presents the number and percentage of students who dropped out of and completed public school among states that Featured Topic: Schools and Staffing Survey reported dropouts. Schools and Staffing Survey, 1999–2000: Overview of the Data for Public, Private, Public Charter, and Bureau of Characteristics of the 100 Largest Public Elementary and Indian Affairs Elementary and Secondary Schools Secondary School Districts in the United States: 2000–01 Kerry J. Gruber, Susan D. Wiley, Stephen P. Broughman, Beth Aronstamm Young ...................................................................... 70 Gregory A. Strizek, and Marisa Burian-Fitzgerald ............................. 7 Describes characteristics of the 100 largest school districts, Provides an overview of 1999–2000 SASS data and describes such as number and average size of schools, pupil/teacher selected findings on school safety, class size, school programs, ratios, number of high school completers, number of special teacher salaries, prior teaching experience of principals, education students, and minority enrollment. professional development, and school library media specialists. Postsecondary Education Qualifications of the Public School Teacher Workforce: Prevalence of Out-of-Field Teaching 1987–88 to 1999–2000 Profile of Undergraduates in U.S. Postsecondary Education Marilyn McMillen Seastrom, Kerry J. Gruber, Robin Henke, Institutions: 1999–2000 Daniel J. McGrath, and Benjamin A. Cohen ...................................... 12 Laura Horn, Katharin Peter, and Kathryn Rooney ............................. 79 Provides subject-specific estimates, presented separately for Provides an overview of U.S. undergraduates, including the middle and high school grades, of students’ exposure to student characteristics, institutions attended, programs teachers who are underqualified in the subject taught. studied, and the risk of leaving postsecondary education. Invited Commentary: First Publications From the Schools Student Financing of Undergraduate Education: 1999–2000 and Staffing Survey, 1999–2000 Lutz Berkner, Ali Berker, Kathryn Rooney, and Katharin Peter ......... 87 Daniel P. Mayer, Senior Researcher, Mathematica Policy Examines student financing of undergraduate education in Research, Inc. ..................................................................................... 20 U.S. postsecondary institutions, including types and sources of financial aid by type of institution, price of attendance, and Elementary and Secondary Education student characteristics. The Nation’s Report Card: Geography 2001 Student Financing of Graduate and First-Professional Andrew R. Weiss, Anthony D. Lutkus, Barbara S. Hildebrant, Education: 1999–2000 and Matthew S. Johnson ..................................................................... 25 Susan P. Choy and Sonya Geis ........................................................... 93 Presents major findings from the National Assessment of Examines student financing of graduate and first-professional Educational Progress (NAEP) 2001 Geography Assessment education in U.S. colleges and universities, with particular and compares the findings to 1994 results. attention to student use of teaching and research assistantships. Vocational Education Offerings in Rural High Schools Teaching With Technology: Use of Telecommunications Lisa Hudson and Linda Shafer ........................................................... 38 Technology by Postsecondary Instructional Faculty and Examines systems for delivering vocational education and the Staff in Fall 1998 offerings provided by public high schools in urban, suburban, Edward C. Warburton, Xianglei Chen, and Ellen M. Bradburn ......... 98 and rural areas. Explores instructional faculty and staff’s use of e-mail and the Internet, the quality of computing resources at their institu- Public Alternative Schools and Programs for Students at tions, and the effects of technology use on workload. Risk of Education Failure: 2000–01 Brian Kleiner, Rebecca Porch, and Elizabeth Farris ........................... 42 Teaching Undergraduates in U.S. Postsecondary Provides data on the availability of and enrollment in public Institutions: Fall 1998 alternative schools and programs for at-risk students, Xianglei Chen .................................................................................. 103 entrance and exit criteria, staffing, curriculum and services, Presents findings on who teaches undergraduates in and collaboration. postsecondary institutions, how much they teach, and what teaching practices they use. Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 2000–01 The Gender and Racial/Ethnic Composition of Lee M. Hoffman ................................................................................. 48 Postsecondary Instructional Faculty and Staff: 1992–98 Provides national and state-level data on the number, type, Denise Glover and Basmat Parsad ................................................... 113 size, and location of schools and districts. Also includes data Describes how the gender and racial/ethnic composition of on the numbers of students in programs for migrant educa- full- and part-time instructional faculty and staff changed tion, limited English proficiency, and special education. between the fall of 1992 and the fall of 1998. 2 NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS Tenure Status of Postsecondary Instructional Faculty and Data Products, Other Publications, and Funding Staff: 1992–98 Opportunities Basmat Parsad and Denise Glover ................................................... 127 Analyzes changes in the tenure status of full-time instruc- Data Products tional faculty and staff between 1992 and 1998, by their Data File: CCD Public Elementary/Secondary School academic rank, gender, and race/ethnicity; by level and Universe Survey: School Year 2000–01.............................154 control of institution; and by program area. Data File: CCD Local Education Agency Universe Survey: Libraries School Year 2000–01 ........................................................ 154 Public Libraries in the United States: Fiscal Year 2000 Data File: CCD Local Education Agency (School District) Adrienne Chute, P. Elaine Kroe, Patricia Garner, Maria Polcari, Universe Dropout Data: 1999–2000 ................................ 154 and Cynthia Jo Ramsey .................................................................... 131 Summarizes information on public libraries, including Data File: CCD National Public Education