Statistics Research for Lawyers: Education

I.      Home
II.     Where to Start?
III.    Subject Specific Resources
        i.      Business & Economics
        ii.     Criminal Justice & Public Safety
        iii.    Education
        iv.    Health & Environment
        v.     History & Government Affairs
        vi.    Immigration & Int'l Affairs
        vii.   Labor & Employment
IV.    Visualizing Data

If you're looking for national resources on education, please see the following resources:

• National Center for Education Statistics: Provides access to an extensive collection of education related reports. The data is created by various Federal agencies and compiled by the National Center for Education Statistics. The data and statistics are inside various reports and periodicals, many of which are no longer produced and/or outdated. Here is an annotated list of the most useful sections and reports:

  • Condition of Education: These annual reports compile various statistics covering education from kindergarten to graduate school, in an attempt to describe the current status of education in the United States. Statistics include enrollment rates by population, annual earnings for different types of graduates, enrollment in free or reduced lunch programs, among others. The reports are released each May, and every annual report is available on this site starting with 1989

  • Digest of Education Statistics: Similar to the Condition of Education, except the Digest is much more in-depth with more detailed statistics and data. If you are unable to find your answer in the Condition of Education, look in The Digest. The Digest is released annually, covering the year prior (example: the 2012 Digest was released in December 2013), and every report since 1990 is available online

  • Projections of Education Statistics: These reports use historical data to provide projections about the future of education. Released annually or bi-annually, these reports project the next eight-to-nine years (example: the 2014 Projection projects out to 2022)

  • Indicators of School Crime and Safety: The Indicators reports compile data about crimes that occur at schools and colleges. Every report since 2002 is available online.

• Nation's Report Card: Provides data produced by the National Assessment of Education Progress test. The data is not broken-down by student, region, or state, but rather it is broken down by gender, ethnic group, socioeconomic status, and other demographic factors.

If you're looking for information on specific states, please see the following resources:

• Elementary/Secondary Information System: Provides data in table format for schools. Users can break the data down by state, district, or individual school, and the data can further be broken down by a wide variety of factors.

• State Education Data Profiles: Provides information on schools and libraries for each state, including a comparison of how each state fares relative to the US average.

If you're looking for information on specific schools, school districts, or colleges, please see the following resources:

• College Navagator: Provides information and statistics on colleges and universities. Targed towards future college attendees, but provides a nice collection of information.

• IPEDS Data Center: Provides in-depth data on colleges and universities. Users can see information for individual schools, compare schools, or see the changes in a school over time.

• Public School Districts, Public Schools, Private Schools, and Public Libraries: These search tools provide information on specific schools, districts, or libraries, with information such as amount of money spent per student and student-teacher ratios.

For more information on these topics, please see these LibGuides made by Snell Library:

• Education Research
• Social Science Statistics, Education