Colorado by the Numbers: Education

• Assessing the New Federalism State Database provided by the Urban Institute. "This database includes information on the fifty states and the District of Columbia in areas including income security, health, child well-being, demographic, fiscal and political conditions, and social services." Includes information on immigrants, educational achievement, utilization of social services, and other topics. After selecting a broad subject area, the user can select from a list of data available in that subject area. Many data sets include multiple years of data. Includes documentation on the sources of the data and a link to download the data set. Data are also available for on-screen viewing.
• Census 2000 Supplementary Survey provides estimates of demographic, social, economic, and housing characteristics for the United States and the fifty states. The Census recently released data on cities and counties in Colorado with populations of 250,000 or more. These include the cities of Aurora, Colorado Springs, and Denver and Adams, Arapahoe, Boulder, Denver, El Paso, and Jefferson counties. State-level data is available from the pull-down menu of states. For access to city and county data, choose the link to Census 2000 Supplementary Survey Summary Tables near the bottom of the page. The survey includes:

  • "information on school enrollment, educational attainment, marital status, disability status, migration, place of birth, language spoken at home, ancestry, and additional topics."

• Census 2000 Summary File 3 (SF 3)---Sample data on disability, employment status, households and familities, income (family and nonfamily, household, and individual), industry, occupation and class of worker, journey to work (commuting), language and ability to speak English, marital status, migration, place of work, poverty status (family, household, and individuals, school enrollment and educational attainment, and veteran status. Access the detailed data from the Data Sets menu of American Factfinder.
• Child Nutrition page from the USDA provides state level data on the National School Lunch, the National School Breakfast, Special Milk, Child and Adult Care Food, and Summer Food Programs. Data includes number of participants, number of meals served, cash payments, and commodity costs for 1995 to the present. The Frequently Asked Questions section provides an overview of each program.
• College Opportunities On-Line (COOL)--an online directory of public and private postsecondary institutions. The directory includes tools to search by location, institution type, instructional programs, and other attributes. Profiles of institutions include information on tuition and fees, typical expenses for books and supplies and room and board. In addition, the profiles provide data on fall enrollment data on graduate and undergraduate enrollment, percentage of undergradute enrollment by gender and ethnicity, and percentage of full time students. The profiles also include the number of graduate and undergraduate degrees awarded by instructional program and data on financial aid to full-time, first-time undergraduate students by type of aid, percentage of students receiving aid, and average amount received.
• Colleges--Number and Enrollment, by State, 1992
• Colorado Commission on Higher Education provides
  • Consumer Guide to Colorado's Higher Education Institutions includes general information about applying for college and profiles of two and four colleges in Colorado. With data on student demographics, undergraduate class size, crime, student activities and services, and special study options.
  • Degrees Granted, by Program Area or Institution 1998 to the present.
• Colorado Department of Education provides
  • School Statistics such as graduation and completion rates, data on pupils and teachers including average teacher salaries and pupil /teacher ratios. It also includes data trends in school membership for charter schools, home schools, nonpuplic schools, and public shools for 1994-1998. Data are available at the school district level. In addition, the School Statistics page includes statewide data from 1992-1997.
  • Student Assessments which includes state, school and district level data on the 1997-1999 assessments of reading and writing. In addition, the site provides extensive background information on the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) and standards-based education.
• Colorado School Finance. An overview of school finance with links to financial data on revenues and expenditures, including support service expenditures and transportation. With tables on school district mill levies.
• Digest of Education Statistics provide a compilation of statistical information covering the broad field of American education from prekindergarten through graduate school. Some of tables provide state level data.
• Educational Attainment--Annual estimates from the Current Population Survey. State level data are available in table 13 of each report for the years 1991 to 2000. Table 14 of each report contains data by age, sex, race, and Hispanic origin for the 25 largest states. Colorado data are available for the years 1999 and 2000. Consult the "Detailed Tables".
• Educational Attainment-- States, 1990
• Enrollment
  • Changes in Public School Enrollment between 1980-1993
  • Enrollment, Years Completed and Educational Attainment: K-12 through College
  • Public Elementary and Secondary School Enrollment, 1980-1993
  • Projected Enrollment in Public Schools to 2006
• High-Spending and Low-Spending School Districts, 1989-1990
• Historical United States Census Browser Provides state and county level data for the 1790-1970 censuses. The first census of Colorado was taken in 1870. Although the data varies by census, a census may include statistics on education, employment, agriculture, general population characteristics, housing, manufacturing, place of birth, and retail and wholesale businesses. Includes options for sorting data and graphing.
• Integrated Post secondary Education Data System (IPEDS) This database provides access to institution-level data on fall enrollment, completions, salaries and benefits, and finance for post-secondary institutions. The enrollment data is available by race and ethnicity.
• Literacy: National Institute for Literacy includes information about adult literacy, importance of literacy, and the State of Literacy in America. This publication features a database which includes estimates adults at level 1 literacy (the lowest level of literacy) at the national, state, city and county level.
• Measuring Up 2000--a state-by-state report card for higher education. Data include high school completion rates, K-12 student achievement, participation rates for young adults and working-age adults, and returning student and completion rates. In addition, the report cards include data on affordability, such as family ability to pay and reliance on loans. The report cards also examine the benefits of higher education in terms of educational achievement, economic benefits, civic benefits, and adult skill levels. The "Facts and Figures" section includes data on the number of institutions by type, students enrolled by type of institution, students enrolled by level (undergraduate, graduate, professional), students enrolled by race or ethnicity, enrollment status (full or part time), net migration of students, average tuition, and state and local appropriations for higher education. "Facts and Figures" also measures public and employer satisfaction with higher education. From the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education.
• National Public School Locator find basic data on enrollment, race and ethnicity, number of teachers, teacher/pupil ratio, and the number of students eligible for a free lunch. Data available for individual schools. Includes summary data for school districts.
• Percentage of public school 8th-graders who report spending 2 hours or more on homework daily and watching 2 hours or more of television daily, by state: 1992
• Public Elementary-Secondary Education Finance Data "include revenues, expenditures, debt, and assets (cash and security holdings) of elementary and secondary public school systems." The tables contain data on revenues, expenditures and debt for individual public elementary and secondary school systems with enrollments of 5,000 students or more. The site offers state rankings of elementary-secondary school revenues and expenditures per pupil and rankings based on the relation of elementary-secondary revenues and expenditures to state personal income.
• Quality Counts, a series of annual reports on education in the states from Education Week. Each report includes essays, state report cards, and indicator tables with data on all states. Data are available for onscreen viewing or download.
• Reading,Writing, Mathematics and Science
  • National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) provides a State Profile for Colorado that includes data on the number of school districts, racial and ethnic makeup of the student population, per-pupil expenditures, and state reports on mathematics, reading, writing and science. Also includes a comparison of performance between Colorado and the nation as a whole (scale scores) and achievement levels.
  • Student Assessments which includes state, school and district level data on the 1997-most recent year. assessments of reading, writing, mathematics, and science. In addition, the site provides extensive background information on the Colorado Student Assessment Program (CSAP) and standards-based education.
  • Grade 4 Reading Achievement in Public Schools (1992 and 1994)
  • Reading proficiency, and television and reading habits of 4th graders in public schools, by region and state: 1992
• Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) Scores 1974-75 to 1993-94
• Scholastic Aptitute Test (SAT) Scores, score averages, by state: 1987 to 1997
• School Districts:
  • School District demographics searchable database with social, financial and administrative data for school districts.
  • Colorado Dept. of Education School Statistics such as graduation and completion rates, data on pupils and teachers including average teacher salaries and pupil /teacher ratios. It also includes data trends in school membership for charter schools, home schools, nonpuplic schools, and public shools for 1994-1998. Data are available at the school district level. In addition, the School Statistics page includes statewide data from 1992-1997.
• School Facilities: Accessibility for the Disabled
• Scorecard on Colorado Public Higher Education: an annual report on the status of certain aspects of public higher education in Colorado. Its companion volume, Supporting Data Tables, contains the same measures as the Scorecard on an institutional level. The Scorecard includes information on the education system -- such as faculty diversity and student-to-faculty ratios -- finance, student enrollment and test scores, graduation data, and future trends.
  • Supporting Data Tables for Scorecard on Public Higher Education
• States' Total per Pupil Expenditures
• Technology and Infrastructure in School Facilities

Compendia (online in html and/or pdf formats):

• Encyclopedia of ED Stats A compendium of education statistics from The Condition of Education, The Digest of Education Statistics, Projections of Education Statistics and other sources. Access by title, table of contents, subject area and searches of the table titles or full text. To locate data on Colorado, enter that term and other relevant terms in the search box and select "full text" from the menu. In addition, many of the tables are available in .pdf and spreadsheet formats.
• State Comparisons of Education Statistics: 1969-70 to 1996-97 "State Comparisons contains information on elementary and secondary schools and institutions of higher education aggregated at a state level. The report contains a wide array of statistical data ranging from enrollments and enrollment ratios to teacher salaries and institutional finances".