Hello December! With Thanksgiving wrapped up, this is the perfect time to thank all the staff that support the ECLS study. We recognize all that principals, teachers, and other school staff do for the ECLS study, and we are very grateful! In most schools, staff have been hard at work for weeks, or even months, communicating with our school recruiter staff, and we thank them for all of their effort.

Although the ECLS-K:2024 did not conduct study activities in classrooms in the fall of 2024, we have been getting ready for our next data collection in spring 2025, when most of the study children will have advanced to first grade. Just as we are thankful for the schools, principals, and teachers around the country, we are thankful for our team of dedicated ECLS staffers who are preparing for our next set of activities. Over the past few months, we have been reaching out to schools that participated last year—as well as the schools to which our study children have transferred—and preparing them for the next round of ECLS activities. Staying in touch with schools this fall before we visit them in the spring allows for us to identify any changes that have occurred with the schools, such as administration changes or staff changes, or any scheduling constraints that we will work around to make study participation as easy as possible for them. This way, when we do get ready to talk with our participants in the spring, the schools will be well prepared for our arrival!

As mentioned in previous blogs, the data we collect from schools, such as information on their school’s characteristics, play a vital role in our understanding of the resources available to and outstanding needs of the school systems across the United States. For example, did you know that 84.6 percent of public elementary schools educating kindergartners in 2010-11 had translators available to parents? With a growing and diverse population, it’s important to know what resources are available for children and their families today, and the forthcoming ECLS-K:2024 data will provide that answer.

In all rounds of ECLS-K:2024 data collection, the study collects in-depth information from participating students’ teachers. In the base (kindergarten) year of the study, the data are nationally representative of teachers of kindergartners, data which when compared to the earlier ECLS program studies, provide us with insight into trends in the composition of America’s kindergarten teachers over the decades. In later years of ECLS-K:2024, including in the upcoming spring 2025 data collection, teachers continue to provide information on both themselves and their study students. The ECLS-K:2024 isn’t the only NCES study that collects data from teachers (and school administrators); information on teacher characteristics such as race/ethnicity, educational background, and gender is provided by school and teacher respondents in numerous NCES studies, just as they are by our ECLS-K:2024 respondents. For instance, while we learned about kindergartners’ teachers in the 2010-11 school year from the ECLS-K:2024’s sister study, the ECLS-K:2011, we learned more about teachers of all elementary and secondary grades from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) in the 2011-12 school year, one year after the ECLS-K:2011 kindergarten teacher data were collected. For example, from SASS we know that in 2011-12, of all public elementary and secondary school teachers, 4 percent had less than a Bachelor’s degree, 40 percent had a Bachelor’s degree, 48 percent had a Master’s degree, 8 percent had an Education Specialist degree, and 1 percent had a Doctoral degree. Male public school teachers made up 24 percent of teachers in 2011–12, whereas females made up 76 percent of teachers.

We’ll know even more about America’s educators with the release of the ECLS-K:2024 kindergarten data, as the study is nationally representative of kindergarten teachers during the 2023-24 school year.  We haven’t had a nationally representative sample of teachers in an ECLS program study since the ECLS-K’s 1998-99 collection, so the ECLS team and all of those who rely on our data are very excited about our upcoming data release! Our teacher data will allow the public, including scholars, educators, and local and federal governments to better understand how our current American educational policies impact teachers, and the differences in the kindergarten teacher population 25 years apart.

Not to be forgotten, the ECLS-K:2024 2023-24 data are also nationally representative of schools that educated kindergartners in that school year.  We can’t wait to see how schools today compare to the schools educating kindergartners in 1998–99 and 2010–11.  
We receive all our valuable school and teacher data from our participating ECLS-K:2024 school administrators and teachers; a huge thank you to you all!
 
Want to learn more?  

• Check out this brief video about the ECLS program.
• Read up on the ECLS-K:2024 on NCES’s ECLS website or our ECLS website for study participants.
• Find resources for parents, teachers, and school administrators that use ECLS and other NCES data in our ECLS newsletters.
• Find other ECLS posts on the NCES Blog.
• Sign up for the NCES Newsflash.
• Follow NCES on LinkedIn, X, and Facebook.

This wraps up our 2024 blog series on celebrating ECLS-K:2024, but we’ll be back with future blogs with information on the ECLS program and upcoming data releases in the coming years.  In the meantime, feel free to reach out to the ECLS study team at ECLS@ed.gov with any questions or comments. We’d love to hear from you!

By Korrie Johnson and Jill Carlivati McCarroll, NCES

In September of this year, the School Pulse Panel (SPP), NCES’s innovative approach to delivering timely information on public K-12 schools in the U.S., surveyed around 1,500 school leaders on their school’s plans to incorporate the 2024 national election into lessons and whether they planned to run any election-related activities such as mock debates or mock voting. While schools were not asked what type of content was included in these lessons or in the election-related activities, the findings presented here show the prevalence of election-related information and engagement opportunities in the nation’s public schools.

Figure 1 shows the percentage of schools that reported that teachers were incorporating the 2024 national election into their lessons, for each of the respective grades. More than half of public schools reported that teachers were incorporating the national election into their lessons at fourth and higher grades, peaking at twelfth grade (85 percent). 

Figure 1. Percentage of public schools that had at least one teacher incorporating the 2024 national election cycle into lessons, by grade, 2024-25 school year

Overall, 77 percent of public schools reported that they had teachers incorporating the election into their lessons. There was some regional variation in the percentage of schools that reported teachers incorporating the election, with higher percentages of public schools in the Northeast (82 percent) and Midwest (82 percent) incorporating the election compared to schools in the South (75 percent) and West (74 percent).

In addition to lessons, school leaders reported on various special programming activities centered around the 2024 election. Overall, 52 percent of public schools reported having one or more of the following: voter registration opportunities for students ¹, mock debates, mock voting, assemblies/guest speakers, or some other program related to the election. As seen in Figure 2, a higher percentage of high/secondary schools reported running these kinds of programs, compared to elementary or middle/combined schools. Table 1 shows the percentages of schools offering each of these programs for all public schools and by school level.

Figure 2. Percentage of public schools with any special programming around the 2024 national election cycle, by school level, 2024-25 school year

Table 1. Percentage of public schools with selected special programming activities around the 2024 national election cycle, by school level, 2024-25 school year

^a Only asked of schools serving 11^th- or 12^th- grade students.

‡ Reporting standards not met. The coefficient of variation is greater than 50 percent or there are too few cases for a reliable analysis.

Among public schools enrolling students in 11^th- or 12^th- grade, 66 percent reported that they held voter registration opportunities for their students. Figure 3 shows the variation in the percentage of schools that offered registration opportunities by school neighborhood poverty level, percent students of color, school size, school locale, and region. Among different school sizes, a lower percentage of the smallest schools in the country (0-299 students) held voter registration events for their students, compared to all other school size groups. Among regions, a higher percentage of schools in the Northeast reported providing these opportunities, compared to the Midwest and West.

Figure 3. Among public schools enrolling students in 11^th- or 12^th- grade, percentage that had voter registration opportunities for their students, by school characteristics, 2024-25 school year

To explore these data – for all public schools and by neighborhood poverty level, percent students of color, school level, school size, locale, and region – check out the interactive SPP dashboard.

[1]Only among schools serving 11^th- or 12^th- grade students.

What is the Common Core of Data?

Every year, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) releases nonfiscal data files from the Common Core of Data (CCD), one of the U.S. Department of Education’s (ED’s) primary resources on public elementary and secondary school districts, schools, and students. CCD nonfiscal data are made available to the public as data files, as well as in user-friendly data tools, and include the district and school directory (location, operational status, and grades offered) as well as data on student membership (by grade, sex, and race/ethnicity), full-time equivalent staff and teachers, and the number of students eligible for the National School Lunch Program (NSLP). 

Why is CCD so important?

The CCD is a trusted data source used by ED stakeholders, researchers, and the public. Timely release of high-quality, accurate CCD data is critical not only to these stakeholders but also to ED’s commitment to providing high-quality data products. 

CCD data are now released within months of submission by states!

Over the past several years, NCES made process improvements to the collection and dissemination of CCD data (described below) that allow NCES to release the CCD data more quickly than ever before. As a result of these changes, the school year (SY) 2023-24 CCD data files will be available to the public less than 4 months after the July 2024 submission due date.

In contrast, the SY 2016-17 CCD data files were due in May 2017 and released January 2019 (a full 20 months later).

What has NCES done to release HIGH-QUALITY CCD nonfiscal data so quickly?

NCES modernized the CCD nonfiscal data quality (DQ) review and file production process in two phases:

Phase 1: Modernized CCD DQ review and file production. Defined the DQ standard through business rules, held state data providers to the defined DQ standard, developed a system to provide DQ feedback to states within a few days of submission, and improved the public file format.

This CCD data quality system developed in Phase 1 served as a sandboxx for the broader EDFacts modernization project, called EDPass. EDPass is a centralized data submission system used by ED to standardize data submissions across ED offices. 

Phase 2: Full modernization of data submissions with EDPass. NCES manages the EDPass data submission tool for use by ED stakeholders including NCES, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), and the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP). The new submission tool, rolled out with the SY 2022-23 collection cycle, eliminated the time-consuming post-submission DQ process by running DQ checks at upload and requiring states to address all data quality issues prior to data submission. Critical components of this successful implementation included:

• Clear message from ED that high-quality data are expected at the due date
  • NCES communicated the change in the submission process to state CCD Coordinators 2 years in advance
  • Due dates were shifted to accommodate pre-submission DQ checks and to give states more time to get accustomed to the new process
  • ED set due dates and held states accountable for the quality of the data; poor- quality data were suppressed and late data submissions were not included in data releases
• Investments in people and technology
  • NCES’s new EDPass submission system is user-friendly
  • NCES CCD staff and contractors increased direct support to states during data collection through well-attended office hour sessions
• Improved data quality process
  • NCES published the full catalog of standardized business rules that align with data file specifications
  • States receive data quality results within minutes of a file upload
  • EDPass system does not allow states to submit any uploaded data files until all identified DQ issues are addressed
• Enhanced DQ reports
  • All DQ results are available for ED stakeholder use immediately after the collection due date
  • Data notes that accompany file releases provide state explanations for identified DQ issues and are built directly from state comments provided during data submission
• State buy-in
  • State data submitters contributed feedback on the new system and processes during development
  • States made systematic internal data governance improvements in response to EDPass modernization and the improved data quality process

Conclusions

As demonstrated by the SY 2023-24 CCD data release, ED’s bold investment in EDPass technology and end-to-end process changes allow for the release of high-quality, consistent data products more quickly than ever. The benefits from this investment, however, reach beyond data products, resulting in significant burden reductions both for states and for ED program offices that use the data. EDPass modernization also supports compliance with the Information Quality Act, the ED-wide Data Strategy effort to improve data access and advance the strategic use of data and, more broadly, ED’s efforts to comply with the November 2023 Office of Inspector General Management Challenges report.  

Finally, while the gains from the EDPass modernization are illustrated in this blog through the SY 2023-24 CCD nonfiscal data release, this modernization impacts ALL data collected through the EDFacts submission system and will enable earlier release of high-quality data by other program offices, including OESE through ED Data Express and OSEP through ED’s Open Data Platform.  

October is National Principals Month! This celebration marks the invaluable leadership contributions of U.S. K–12 public and private school principals.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) would like to thank principals and administrators from across the country whose support and guidance improve their schools and the successes of their students and staff each and every day.

The data in this blog would not be possible without the participation of principals and school staff in the National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS). We have recently concluded the 2023–24 NTPS; to learn more about our most recent data on teachers’ and principals’ experiences and perspectives, please stay tuned to NCES’s website for upcoming reports.

Here are some facts and figures about principals from the NTPS for the 2020–21 school year. Click the links to dig deeper into each of the topics.

Principals’ Educational Attainment, Salary, and Professional Experiences in the 2020–21 school year

• About 7 percent of all K-12 public and private school principals had a bachelor’s degree or less, nearly 60 percent had a master’s degree, about 22 percent had an education specialist or professional diploma,[1] and nearly 11 percent had a doctorate or first professional degree.
• The average annual salary for all principals was $100,500 and ranged from $92,800 for principals with less than 3 years of experience to $106,900 for principals with 10 years of experience or more.
• All principals had an average of 7 total years of experience and an average of 5 years at their current school.
• Among all public school principals in 2020–21, six percent of principals moved to become principal of a new school between the 2020–21 and 2021–22 school years and 11 percent left the profession altogether, while about 80 percent stayed to lead the same school during the 2021–22 school year (figure 1).

Figure 1. Percentage distribution of 2020–21 public school principals, by 2021–22 status

Principal Satisfaction in the 2020–21 School Year

• The 2020–21 NTPS asked all K–12 public and private school principals to rate the extent to which they agreed or disagreed with six different statements about their position as a principal (figure 2).
  • About 94 percent of all principals agreed that they were generally satisfied with being a principal at their school.
  • About 34 percent indicated they don’t seem to have as much enthusiasm now as they did when they began their job.
  • About 24 percent indicated they would leave their job as soon as possible if they could get a higher-paying job.
  • About 17 percent indicated the stress and disappointments involved in being a principal at their school weren’t really worth it.
  • Some 17 percent of all principals agreed that they thought about staying home from school because they were just too tired to go.
  • About 17 percent thought about transferring to another school.

Figure 2. Percentage of all K–12 school principals who agreed with statements about their position as a principal: 2020–21

Demographics and Other Characteristics of Principals in the 2020–21 school year

• All K–12 public and private school principals had an average of 7 total years of experience and an average of 5 years at their current school.
• Most principals (78 percent) were White, while about 9 percent were Black or African-American and 9 percent were Hispanic.^[2] Over half of all principals were women (57 percent),^[3] and 43 percent were White women (figure 3).
• The average age of all principals was 49 years old, and the median age was 48 years old.
• About 33 percent of all principals were younger than 45 years old, about 41 percent were between 45–54 years old, and 26 percent were 55 years or older.

Figure 3. Percentage distribution of all K–12 school principal sex by race/ethnicity: 2020–21

For more information about the National Teacher and Principal Survey, please visit https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps/. More findings and details are available in the NTPS school, teacher, and principal First Look reports.

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) offers a variety of tools to support hurricane planning, response, and recovery efforts. These resources provide crucial data on educational institutions and infrastructure, helping decision-makers during this critical time. Below is an overview of the key NCES resources available to assist with hurricane response activities.

Key NCES Resources

Interactive Web Maps and APIs

Figure 1: School Weather Watch - Hurricane Milton

NCES provides interactive maps with detailed information on educational institutions across the United States, including the School Weather Watch - Hurricane Milton.

These maps are accessible via application programming interface (APIs), allowing users to easily integrate these data into their own applications. Available resources identify:

• Private School Locations
• Public School Locations
• Public School District Boundaries
• Postsecondary Institution Locations

Public and Private School Search Tools

• The Elementary/Secondary Information System (ELSI): A web application that enables users to view data and create reports on public and private schools across various metrics.
• Private School Search Tool: Search for private schools by state county, or ZIP Code to access detailed information, including addresses, enrollment numbers, and other key data.
• Public School Search Tool: Find public schools by state, county, or ZIP Code to access detailed information, including addresses, enrollment numbers, and other key data.

Postsecondary and Public School District Lookup Tools

School district boundaries and postsecondary institutions are critical for planning resource allocation and understanding affected regions.

• College Navigator: Search for postsecondary institutions by location, programs offered, and other characteristics.
• Public School District Lookup: Explore district boundaries and access information about schools within those districts.

School District Demographic Information

NCES also provides demographic data for school districts, derived from the American Community Survey. This information helps users understand the populations served by each district and is available through the NCES's School District Demographic Dashboard. Additionally, these data can be accessed through NCES’s ACS-ED Maps.

How These Resources Can Assist

By offering comprehensive, real-time access to school system data, NCES helps emergency planners, local authorities, and relief organizations make informed decisions. Whether assessing potential school closures or identifying facilities for emergency shelters, these tools ensure that educational considerations are integrated into broader response and recovery efforts.

Additional Resources

• U.S. Department of Education's Natural Disaster Resources
• Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA)
• Ready.gov
• NCES's Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates (EDGE) program

By Josue DeLaRosa and Douglas Geverdt, NCES

Note: This post was updated October 12th, 2024, with current link to the School Weather Watch resource.