This paper presents a list of key items in the field of elementary and secondary education, statistics for which are frequently requested. Each item is followed by the date of the latest published or available National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) statistics. With the exception of Census data, all of these data should be collected by the NCES at the State level and later aggregated to provide national totals. Basic items should be collected annually and published in a report similar to "Fall Statistics of Public Elementary and Secondary Day Schools." A definitive report, using "Statistics of State Schools Systems" as a model, should be prepared biennially, providing a detailed statistical account of public education. Other survey items of secondary and tertiary importance are: (1) information for a directory of public school systems; (2) trends in public school finance; (3) private elementary and secondary schools; (4) offerings and enrollments in high school subjects; (5) surveys of preprimary enrollment; (6) special education for the handicapped and the gifted; (7) organizational structure of public and private elementary and secondary schools; (8) educational background and characteristics of teachers; (9) dropout characteristics; and (10) the quality of education. State departments of education can be used as the major source of statistics on these items. (JAZ)