Vocational Education Data in the U.S. Department of Education, 1996. Third Biennial Report to Congress.

Overview & Synopsis

Four agencies are involved in the U.S. Department of Education's vocational education data collection and reporting activities, as mandated by the 1990 Perkins Act: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES); Office of Vocational and Adult Education (OVAE); National Institute of Postsecondary Education and Lifelong Learning (NIPELL); and Office of the Under Secretary (OUS). NCES, NIPELL, and OUS primarily provide data for use in formulating policy, whereas OVAE primarily collects and reports data for use in program administration. In its capacity as the Department of Education's statistical agency, NCES collects and reports general-purpose education statistics that are often relevant to vocational education (for example, information on issues such as whether enrollment is declining and whether students with disabilities take the same amount of advanced vocational courses as students without disabilities do). Both NIPELL and OUS staff conduct major studies of federal education programs, whereas OVAE monitors vocational programs by collecting data through its performance and financial status reports. In compliance with its mandate under the 1990 Perkins Act, the Department of Education has prepared a biennial report detailing its strategies and activities to improve the data collection and reporting activities of NCES, OVAE, NIPELL, and OUS. (MN)