At the Futures Conference held by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in 1995, discussants from inside and outside the NCES considered the commissioned papers and contributed their expertise. This volume assembles the papers and commentary and summarizes some considerations for policy, research, and practice in future operations of the NCES. The following papers are included: (1) "From Data to Information: New Directions for the National Center for Education Statistics" (Gary Hoachlander); (2) "Tracking Education Reform: What Type of National Data Should Be Collected Through 2010?" (John F. Jennings and Diane Stark); (3) "Where Are We Going? Policy Implications for Data Collection Through 2010" (Christopher Cross and Amy Rukea Stempel); (4) "Enhancing Opportunity To Learn Measures in NCES Data" (Dominic Brewer and Cathleen Stasz); (5) "Teacher Education, Training, and Staff Development: Implications for National Surveys" (David R. Mandel); (6) "'So What?' The Implications of New Analytic Methods for Designing NCES Surveys" (Robert F. Boruch and George Terhanian); (7) "Incorporating Experimental Designs into New NCES Data Collection Methodologies" (Charles E. Metcalf); (8) "Tracking the Costs and Benefits of Postsecondary Education: Implications for National Surveys" (Michael S. McPherson and Morton O. Schapiro); (9) "Special Issues in Postsecondary Education and Lifelong Learning" (David W. Breneman and Frederick J. Galloway); (10) "Large-Scale Video Surveys for the Study of Classroom Processes" (James W. Stigler); (11) "Education and Work: Curriculum, Performance, and Job-Related Outcomes: (Peter Cappelli); (11) "Administrative Record Opportunities in Education Survey Research" (Fritz Scheuren); (12) "New Developments in Technology: Implications for Collecting, Storing, Retrieving, and Disseminating National Data for Education" (Glynn D. Ligon). Appendixes describe the contributors and discuss the agenda of future NCES conferences. References follow each chapter. (Contains six tables, four exhibits, and six figures.) (SLD)