Alternatives for a national data system on elementary and secondary education: A Canadian viewpoint

Abstract

The discussion papers Alternatives for a National Data System on Elementary and Secondary Education and the Synthesis of Invited Papers may well strike a resonant chord when read by users of Canadian statistics on education. Although there are significant differences between the education systems of the United States and Canada, the authors’ assessment concerning the increasing number of constituencies requiring statistical information on the education system is applicable to Canada as well. These demands are placing increased pressure on all information systems, whether national, provincial or local for more and better information to support policy development and program management. Users have indicated the need for new information in a number of areas, including: more comprehensive information on the education process; measures of outcomes of schooling (for example, there is current interest in the issue of youth unemployment and consequently, the dynamics of the individual’s transition from school to the work place); better information on costs of schooling by level and function; information on adult education which can be analyzed in the context of “a life long learning model of education”. More generally, data users are demanding improved timeliness and more value added to disseminated information through analysis and summary measures. Many have indicated that the presentation of data alone is insufficient; analytic interpretation and profiles which highlight the most important features of the data base are desired. In Canada, the current Education Statistics program draws a major portion of its information from extracts and aggregations of existing school administrative records. The latter source is supplemented by information from the Canadian Census, conducted each five years, and from the monthly Labour Force Survey (the latter being similar to the monthly Current Population Survey of the United States). As with any statistical information derived from administrative records, school records have both strengths and weaknesses. The major positive attribute is the limited respondent burden that the collection process entails (as the information has been collected for administrative purposes in any case). This advantage, however, is offset in many instances by the limited amount of contextual material that these records contain (for example, the limited socio-demographic information contained in administrative microrecords pertaining to individuals), by inter-