The federal education data landscape has changed more in the past two years than in the previous twenty. Collections have been discontinued. The staff who used to answer your questions are gone. Websites have been reorganized, and links that worked last year now go nowhere. If you depend on NCES data for research, journalism, policy, or institutional work, the hard part is no longer the analysis — it is knowing what still exists.

Tom Snyder spent decades as Director of Annual Reports and Information Staff at the National Center for Education Statistics, where he built and maintained the very systems this session covers. He knows what existed, what changed, and what you can still reach today.

In this session, Tom walks you through:

• What has been discontinued and what remains available
• Administrative data: CCD, IPEDS, and EDGE
• Sample surveys: NAEP, NPSAS, NTPS, and NHES
• Longitudinal studies: ECLS, HSLS, and Baccalaureate and Beyond
• The complete suite of NCES data tools — Digest of Education Statistics, Fast Facts, College Navigator, NAEP Data Explorer, DataLab PowerStats, ElSi, and more
• How to find what you need, including search strategies and the downloadable NCES cheat sheet

Whether you are a seasoned researcher reorienting to a changed landscape, a journalist verifying what data still exists, or a policymaker who needs to know what is available for the next few years — this is your map.

The NCES cheat sheet Tom references is linked above. Download it and keep it beside you while you watch.