Library Research Guides: EDUC 215: Educational Inequality and Social Transformation in Schools: Policy, Data, and Edu. Research

Educational Policy & Laws

National Clearinghouse for Comprehensive School Reform
DoE Laws and Guidance
Legislation, regulations, guidance, and other policy documents can be found here for the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), and other topics.
Regional Educational Laboratories (REL) Network
Core Standards
The Common Core standards official website.
Education World: Standards
Links to state and national standards, including standards for indigenous populations on reservations, gifted children, ESL, and more.

Policy File Index This link opens in a new window
Covers a wide range of public policy topics, linking to reports and papers from think tanks, NGOs, and research organizations, 1990 to present.

Social Explorer This link opens in a new window
Interactive tool that combines modern and historical US census and demographic data with an intuitive map interface. 1790-present.

Easily map educational attainment over time using census and ACS data!

Dept. of Ed. Civil Rights Data Collection
"The CRDC collects a variety of information including student enrollment and educational programs and services, most of which is disaggregated by race/ethnicity, sex, limited English proficiency, and disability."

Data Planet Statistical Ready Reference This link opens in a new window
Quickly navigate the billions of points of data contained in the Data Planet Statistical Datasets repository. Search results are viewed as DataSheets, which include a trend, chart, map, or ranking, complete with descriptions of the dataset and data source.
State Stats This link opens in a new window
Easy-to-use social and demographic data for all 50 U.S. states for the past 15 years that can be mapped, graphed, or exported to Excel. Hyperlocal data available at the town/zip code level.

National Center for Education Statistics
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations.
Child Trends
Child Trends is the nation’s leading nonprofit research organization focused exclusively on improving the lives and prospects of children, youth, and their families.
State by State Spending on Children Dataset
"This dataset provides a comprehensive accounting of public spending on children from 1997 through 2016. It draws on the US Census Bureau’s Annual Survey of State and Local Government Finances, as well as several federal and other noncensus sources, to capture state-by-state spending on education, income security, health, and other areas. "
Student Aid Data
"Federal financial assistance is provided to students and families through various loan and grant programs authorized under Title IV of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended. These reports will help you understand more information about Title IV aid applicants, recipients, and disbursements."

Historical Statistics of the United States This link opens in a new window
U.S. statistics (mostly at the national level) from over a thousand sources, with downloadable tables in .csv and .xls formats and the ability to create customized tables and spreadsheets.
Polling the Nations This link opens in a new window
Compilation of hundreds of thousands of public opinion survey questions and responses, at the local, state, national, or international level, 1986 to present. Includes many polling questions about education, funding, equity, and the DoE over time.
Roper iPOLL This link opens in a new window
Searchable collection of 500,000 questions and answers from surveys collected by the major polling firms in the U.S. since 1935, with downloadable datasets.