User Guide: A Guide to Disability Statistics from the National Assessment of Educational Programs (NAEP)

Policymakers, service providers, disability advocacy groups and researchers use disability statistics for a wide variety of purposes. A common problem that these groups encounter is finding a data source, a disability definition and/or a statistical method that provides them with a disability statistic that is both relevant to their needs and useful. The mission of the Cornell StatsRRTC is to bridge the divide between the sources of disability data and the users of disability statistics. One product of this effort is a series of User Guides to national survey data sets that collect information on the disability population. The purpose of each of the User Guides is to provide disability data users with: 1. An easily accessible guide to the disability information available in the nationally representative survey; 2. Estimates of the population with a disability, the disability prevalence rate, and estimates of participation-related statistics; 3. A description of the unique features of the dataset that will help disability statistics users determine whether the dataset can provide them with the statistic that they need; and 4. A description of how the dataset compares to other national data that are used to describe the population with disabilities. This User Guide contains information on the National Assessment of Educational Programs (NAEP), also known as “the Nation\u27s Report Card.” Unlike the other data sources addressed by the User Guide Series, the NAEP focuses solely on children. As a result, the focus of this Guide will shift to the inclusion and accommodation of educational activities of children with disabilities, as opposed to adult employment and economic well-being, which are the focus of many of the other User Guide