National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA): Neighborhood-School Gap by Census Tract and ZIP Code Tabulation Area, United States, 2009-2010 and 2015-2016 (ICPSR 38579)

Version Date: Nov 14, 2022

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Principal Investigator(s):
Iris Gomez-Lopez, University of Michigan. Institute for Social Research; Min Hee Kim, University of California-San Francisco. Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies; Mao Li, University of Michigan. Institute for Social Research; Dominique Sylvers, University of Michigan. School of Public Health; Michael Esposito, Washington University in St. Louis; Philippa Clarke, University of Michigan. Institute for Social Research; Megan Chenoweth, University of Michigan. Institute for Social Research

Series:

https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38579.v2

Version V2 ()

  • V2 [2022-11-14]
  • V1 [2022-10-27] unpublished
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Summary

This study contains measures of neighborhood-school gap for 2009-2010 and 2015-2016. Neighborhood-school gap (NS gap) refers to the discrepancy between the demographics of a public school and its surrounding community. For example, if 60 percent of a school's student body is Black, but 30 percent of the neighborhood population is Black, the school has a positive Black neighborhood-school gap. These datasets measure gaps in race and poverty between elementary school student populations and the census tracts and ZIP code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) that those elementary schools serve. Data is at the census tract and ZCTA level. Supplemental data containing component variables used to calculate NS gap at the school and block group level is also available.

Citation

Gomez-Lopez, Iris, Kim, Min Hee, Li, Mao, Sylvers, Dominique, Esposito, Michael, Clarke, Philippa, and Chenoweth, Megan. National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA): Neighborhood-School Gap by Census Tract and ZIP Code Tabulation Area, United States, 2009-2010 and 2015-2016. Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2022-11-14. https://doi.org/10.3886/ICPSR38579.v2

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Funding

United States Department of Health and Human Services. Administration for Community Living. National Institute on Disability, Independent Living, and Rehabilitation Research (90RTHF0001), United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute on Aging (RF1-AG-057540), United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Institute of Nursing Research (U01NR020556), United States Department of Health and Human Services. National Institutes of Health. National Center on Minority Health and Health Disparities (U01NR020556)

Subject Terms

Geographic Coverage

Smallest Geographic Unit

census tract and ZIP code tabulation area (ZCTA)

Distributor(s)

Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research
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Time Period(s)

2009 -- 2010, 2015 -- 2016

Date of Collection

2020 -- 2021

Data Collection Notes

  1. Data and documentation for the census tract-level data were originally deposited in openICPSR project 156043.

    Data and documentation for the ZCTA-level data were originally deposited in openICPSR project 156045.

  2. A ZIP code to ZCTA crosswalk must be used to combine this dataset with ZIP code geocoded data. Such a crosswalk is available on the UDS Mapper website at https://udsmapper.org/zip-code-to-zcta-crosswalk/. Sample code for merging the UDS Mapper crosswalk with NaNDA datasets is available at https://doi.org/10.3886/E124461.

  3. Data users interested in a broader picture of a neighborhood's school and educational landscape landscape might find useful data in these other NaNDA datasets:

    National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA): School Counts by Census Tract, United States, 2000-2018.

    National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA): School Counts by ZIP Code Tabulation Area, United States, 2000-2018.

    National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA): School Counts and Characteristics by School District, United States, 2000-2018.

  4. For additional information, see the National Neighborhood Data Archive (NaNDA).

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Study Purpose

These data measure discrepancies between the school environment and that of the surrounding community. The collection aims to contribute to the discussion about the causes and the consequences of variations in educational context across geographies.

Study Design

The research team created these datasets using the following steps:

  1. Map school attendance boundaries to block groups
  2. Obtain block group demographics
  3. Obtain elementary school demographics
  4. Calculate median gap for each census tract and ZIP code tabulation area (by aggregating block group data)
  5. Combine data from 2009-2010 and 2015-2016.

Please see the study documentation for additional information on each step.

Time Method

Cross-sectional

Universe

Census tracts and ZIP code tabulation areas (ZCTAs) in the United States, including U.S. island territories.

Unit(s) of Observation

census tract, ZIP code tabulation area (ZCTA)

Data Source

Census block group demographics: Data on neighborhood demographics came from the American Community Survey five-year summary files (U.S. Census Bureau, 2012 and 2017). For compatibility with other NaNDA datasets, ACS 2008-2012 was used to create 2009-2010 NS gap measures, and ACS 2013-2017 was used to create 2015-2016 NS gap measures.

Census tracts, ZIP code tabulation areas, and block groups: The research team used the 2010 TIGER/Line shapefiles for census block groups (U.S. Census Bureau, 2010) and aggregated measures to the census tract and ZCTA levels.

School attendance boundaries: A school attendance boundary (SAB) is the geographic area within which a public school draws its student population. The research team used school attendance boundaries for elementary schools because elementary schools are usually smaller than middle and high schools, and they serve a smaller geographic area. SAB shapefiles were available for two school years only:

  • 2009-2010: SAB shapefiles were obtained from the School Attendance Boundary Information System (SABINS) (College of William and Mary and Minnesota Population Center, 2011) through the IPUMS National Historical Geographic Information System (NHGIS).
  • 2015-2016: SAB shapefiles came from the National Center for Education Statistics (2016).

Data and documentation for the census tract-level data were originally deposited in openICPSR project 156043.

Data and documentation for the ZCTA-level data were originally deposited in openICPSR project 156045.

School data: Administrative data were obtained on elementary schools from the Department of Education's Common Core of Data (CCD), the primary database on public elementary and secondary education in the United States. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) compiles CCD annually based on data provided by state education agencies (National Center for Education Statistics, n.d.). CCD data was accessed via the Urban Institute's Education Data Portal (National Center for Education Statistics, 2020).

Data Type(s)

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Original Release Date

2022-10-27

Version History

2022-11-14 The Principal Investigators supplied updated versions of their two documentation files that support the data files. No change was made to any of the actual data files or ICPSR codebooks.

2022-10-27 ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

  • Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.
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Notes

  • The public-use data files in this collection are available for access by the general public. Access does not require affiliation with an ICPSR member institution.