ERIC Number: ED629232
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2023-Jul
Pages: 39
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
An Improved Method for Estimating School-Level Characteristics from Census Data. EdWorkingPaper No. 23-804
Hashim, Shirin A.; Kelley-Kemple, Thomas; Laski, Mary E.
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
We propose a new method for estimating school-level characteristics from publicly available census data. We use a school's location to impute its catchment area by aggregating the nearest "n" census block groups such that the number of school-aged children in those "n" block groups is just over the number of students enrolled in that school. We then weight census data by the number of school-aged children in the block-group to estimate school-level measures. We conduct several robustness checks to assess the quality of our estimates and find that our method is broadly successful in replicating known school-level characteristics and producing unbiased estimates for school-level income. This method expands the available set of school-level variables to the broader and richer set of characteristics measured in the census, which can then be used to conduct descriptive and observational research across a long time horizon.
Descriptors: Institutional Characteristics, Schools, Computation, Census Figures, Methods, Data Analysis, School Location, Income, School Statistics, School Funds, Enrollment Rate
Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University. Brown University Box 1985, Providence, RI 02912. Tel: 401-863-7990; Fax: 401-863-1290; e-mail: AISR_Info@brown.edu; Web site: http://www.annenberginstitute.org
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Annenberg Institute for School Reform at Brown University
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A