In recent years, education data have become both more easily accessible and more important than ever to decisions about K-12 policies and practice. Under the "Every Student Succeeds Act" (ESSA), states are required to publish data on how students, including English Learners (ELs), are performing in areas such as reading, math, and…

Major categories of national higher education data are outlined and descriptions and sources are provided for over 50 databases. Categories include institutional descriptors, enrollments/completions, student demography, student longitudinal data, financial aid, institutional financial support, tuition/fees, faculty/staff salaries and benefits,…

This guide is intended to assist planners in developing and using labor market and occupational information when assessing the need for and planning occupational training programs. The first chapter discusses the responsibilities of various federal, state, and local entities for developing labor market information. Special attention is given to…

Illustrates how archival records can provide information in Third World countries. The issues of Saudi Arabia's official newspaper were examined over a one-year period and 434 announcements calling for bids for a variety of educational services were recorded, coded, and organized. (MLF)

Institutional researchers are often called on to compare financial performance across institutions as part of comprehensive institutional management teams. Several types and sources of national data, including databases and publications, are appropriate for this, each with particular strengths and limitations. Three sources also provide…

Designed for use by professionals interested in the field of environmental communications, this resource guide contains sources of information pertaining to employment opportunities especially in the area of written environmental communications. References are compiled under the headings of: (1) subject headings (listing key descriptors for…

Provides a method of classifying and exemplifying the types of discrepancies which are commonly found after comparisons of the content of scientific papers with their bibliographies. Lists and explains some of the major discrepancies and offers strategies for dealing with the problems. (ML)

It is proposed that numerous national surveys of faculty since the late 1960s provide institutional researchers and others with rich sources of descriptive data to help address the shifting national issues and institutional concerns related to faculty resources. An annotated list of 12 major faculty surveys is appended. (MSE)

Describes a student magazine publishing project in which the participating junior high school students accessed the information utility, CompuServe, to gather current and accurate background information for their magazine articles. Student use of CompuServe is described, and the value and costs of using CompuServe are discussed. (MBR)

This self-study curriculum guide is intended to assist counselors and teachers in learning to use labor market and career information with clients more effectively. The following topics are covered: understanding career development and the use of career and labor market information in career counseling (changing ideas about career development, the…

Directed to the heads of executive departments and establishments, this circular establishes policy for the management of federal information resources. Procedural and analytic guidelines for implemented aspects of these policies are included as appendices. The policies apply to the information activities of all agencies of the executive branch of…

Two types of national data sets are described and used to analyze minority student equity in higher education: longitudinal survey data for tracking student persistence and cross-sectional data for monitoring the performance of institutions. Development of additional data sets of institutional characteristics that can provide true explanatory…

The National Science Foundation's Computer-Aided Science Policy and Research database system provides microcomputer-based access and manipulation of multiple national databases for federal and now institutional use. Applications at West Virginia University, Portland State University, and the State University of New York at Buffalo pilot tested the…

Noting that obtaining facts and figures on important policy issues related to children is the critical first step toward identifying what is working and what needs improvement, this Kids Count guide is designed to help local community members find and use data on the condition of children and families in Minnesota. The guide describes how to…

Two approaches to informing engineering students of library resources are described. The first discusses the activities involved in presenting an overview of the library resources, and the second describes how to plan for student projects involving current topics of their choice. (SA)