Projects

Project Overview

Insight provided the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) with statistical support for the analysis, writing, production, and release of reports on the latest administration of data from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). Statistical support included data mining, statistical coding and analysis, and recommendations on key analytical decisions related to report content. Insight also adjusted analyses for complex survey design and ensured report compliance with NCES statistical standards and reporting requirements.

Insight completed two Statistical Analysis Reports that incorporated data from the 2011–12 SASS, a sample survey of elementary and secondary schools in the United States on topics of interest in educational policy. Insight used restricted-use data to identify issues, develop report table content, and contribute recent data to educational policy research.

The first Statistical Analysis Report examined the postsecondary majors and teaching certifications of public middle grades teachers in a selection of subject areas. For the first dedicated NCES middle grades report in several years, Insight provided NCES with recommendations for a standardized definition of middle grades teachers, students, and classrooms based on literature review and data assessment. The final report documented findings across departmentalized and nondepartmentalized middle grades teachers at the teacher, classroom, and student levels.

The second Statistical Analysis Report examined the trends and predictions of supply and demand for teachers in the nation’s schools. The study examined several areas of information—including demographic characteristics, experience and income, and previous occupation—for each of the four supply sources of newly hired teachers, with results presented separately for teachers in public and private schools. The report incorporated data from seven administrations of the SASS survey to illustrate trends over time in the major supply sources for newly hired teachers between 1987 and 2012. Analyses adjusted for complex survey design through the use of replicate weights and time series regression analyses to indicate broad trends.

Products

Report, Education and Certification Qualifications of Public Middle Grades Teachers of Selected Subjects: Evidence From the 2011–12 Schools and Staffing Survey

Report, Teacher Supply in the United States: Sources of Newly Hired Teachers in Public and Private Schools, 1987–88 to 2011–12