Feasibility of Collecting School Pension Data: Evaluation of Data From the Pilot School Pension Survey

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session 15
  In Roundtable Session: Economics of Education and Human Capital Management

Abstract

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) recently commenced an exploratory data collection entitled the School Pension Survey (SPS). Prior to 2019, NCES did not collect data items that may facilitate a more comprehensive understanding of pension funds for teachers and other school personnel. The pilot SPS collected FY 17 pension and social security status data at the district level from 9 states. The initial research question is whether the SPS is a viable, efficient method of collecting school pension data? The R&D report discusses the respondents’ ability to report survey data items; respondent burden; administrative records available to report pension-related data; data quality issues; data anomalies; and edit procedures. The advantages and challenges of collecting pension data are discussed.

Authors

• Stephen Quin Cornman, U.S. Department of Education

• Phillip Vidal

• Melinda Caskey

• Osei Ampadu, U.S. Census Bureau