Tribal Education Reports and Statistics

Reports:

(see also our page on National Advisory Council on Indian Education reports)

Additional resources can be found the National Indian Education Association website.

2013:

The State of Education for Native Students, The Education Trust (August 2013)

Regaining Control over the Children: Reversing the Legacy of Assimilative Policies in Education, Child Welfare, and Juvenile Justice that Targeted Native American Youth by Ryan Seelau. Published in American Indian Law Review (2013).

Cultivated Ground: Effective Teaching Practices for Native Students in a Public High School. Prepared By Brittany Dorer and Anna Fetter, Co-Authors Harvard University Graduate School of Education (May 2013).

Management Challenges Continue to Hinder Efforts to Improve Indian Education. Statement of George A. Scott, Director Education, Workforce, and Income Security Issues. Testimony Before the Subcommittee on Interior, Environment, and Related Agencies, Committee on Appropriations, House of Representatives (February 27, 2013).

2012:

Native American Education 2012. Arizona Department of Education, Research & Evaluation Division (2012).

Partnerships between tribal education departments and local education agencies. REL 2012–No. 137, Institute of Education Sciences, US Department of Education (February 2012).

2011:

Tribal Education Departments Report, 2011. Tribal Education Departments National Assembly (2011).

2010:

Indian Education in New Mexico, 2025. A Study Contracted by New Mexico Public Education Department, Indian Education Division. Conducted by Eight Northern Indian Pueblos Council, Inc., Indigenous Education Study Group (June 2010).

2009:

American Indian Education: The Role of Tribal Education Departments. Mid-continent Research for Education and Learning (2009).

2008:

Native Languages Archives Repository Project - Reference Guide, ANA

Report to the National Indian Education Association for the FY 08 Federal Budget Comprehensive Indian Education Appropriations Request

Early Childhood, Elementary, and Secondary Education Subcommittee Hearing: Challenges Facing Bureau of Indian Education Schools in Improving Student Achievement (September 9, 2008)

GAO Report: Bureau of Indian Education Schools: Improving Interior's Assistance Would Help Some Tribal Groups Implement Academic Accountability Systems (June 27, 2008)

2007:

Striving to Achieve: Helping Native American Students Succeed - National Caucus of Native American State Legislators, 2007.

Report to the National Congress of American Indians for the Annual State of Indian Nations Address and the FY 09 Tribal Budget Request, Jan. 16, 2007

Higher Education : Information Sharing Could Help Institutions Identify and Address Challenges Some Asian Americans and Pacific Islander Students Face (Government Accountability Office) 2007.

Truth in Labeling: Disproportionality in Special Education

Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Minorities- report from the Institute of Educational Sciences that examines the educational progress and challenges that racial and ethnic minorities face in the United States. This report shows that over time larger numbers of minorities have completed high school and continued their education in college. Despite these gains, progress has varied, and differences persist among Hispanic, Black, American Indian/Alaska Native, Asian, Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander, and White students on key indicators of educational performance.

From Harvard Family Research Project

Native Languages Archives Repository Project - Reference Guide, ANA

2006:

The Condition of Education 2006. The Condition of Education 2006 summarizes important developments and trends in education using the latest available data.

NCES Studies on American Indian and Alaska Native Education, May, 2006.

Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Students, Staff, Schools, School Districts, Revenues, and Expenditures, NCES, November, 2006

Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2005, US Census Bureau, August, 2006

American Indian, Alaska Native and Native Hawaiian Education in the States, Kyle Zinth, March 2006

Characteristics of Schools, Districts, Teachers, Principals, and School Libraries in the United States. The National Center for Education Statistics in the Institute of Education Sciences yesterday released its first report containing data from the 2003-04 Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), the nation’s most extensive sample survey of schools and the teachers and administrators who staff them. (March 23, 2006)

OIE E-Newsletter. The OIE e-newsletter is designed to be an informative bulletin for Title VII programs containing news of upcoming events and highlighting successful American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) students, programs, and communities in Indian education.

Report to the National Congress of American Indians for the Annual State of Indian Nations Address and the FY 07 Tribal Budget Request, Washington DC, (January 12, 2006)

2005:

Improving Academic Performance Among American Indian, Alaska Native & Native Hawaiin Students: Assessment & Identification of Learning and Learning Disabilities (December, 2005)

Determining the Cost of Providing an Adequate Education in the State of Montana. Prepared for the Quality Schools Interim Committee and the Montana State Legislature (October, 2005)

Preliminary Report on (NCLB) No Child Left Behind in Indian Country (October, 2005) (National Indian Education Association)

American Indian and Alaska Native Children. Findings From the Base Year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ELCS-B) (August, 2005)

Education Amendments to Navajo Nation Education Code Launches a New Navajo Department of Education

Major Elementary and Secondary Federal Education Programs Serving Tribal Students: What are They and What are the Roles of SEA's, LEAs and Indian Tribes? (April, 2005)

2004:

Pennsylvania State University, The Graduate School, College of Education - A Thesis in Educational Leadership by Martin J. Reinhardt (December 2004)

Report of Special Rapporteur on the Situation on Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms of Indigenous People (United Nations) (August 2004). If you have any problems with this link, go to the Catalog of human rights documents at the UN web site and find "The situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people." Click on "E" for English.

Income, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2003 (August, 2004)

Bureau of Indian Affairs Office of Indian Education Program Central Office Management of Administrative Funds (March 2004)

School Construction Program: Improvements Needed To Ensure Safety And Program Performance (February 2004)

2003:

Bureau of Indian Affairs Schools - Expenditures in Selected Schools Are Comparable to Similar Public Schools, but Data Are Insufficient to Judge Adequacy of Funding and Formulas (September 2003)

A Quiet Crisis - Federal Funding and Unmet Needs in Indian Country (US Commission on Civil Rights) (July 2003) (PDF format - use bookmarks to navigate to applicable sections of the document)

Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory - A Review of the Research Literature on the Influences of Culturally Based Education on the Academic Performance of Native American Students (February 2003)

2001:

BIA [Bureau of Indian Affairs] and DOD [Department of Defense] Schools: Student Achievement and Other Characteristics Often Differ From Public Schools' (US GAO) (September 2001)

Prior to 2001:

Survey Report, Investments and Deposits of Public Law 100-297 Grant Funds by Schools Operated by Indian Tribes and Tribal Organizations (US Dept. of the Interior, Office of Inspector General) (December 1998)

Indian Nations at Risk: An Educational Strategy for Action (US Dept. of Ed.) (1991)

1990 White House Conference on Indian Education Final Report

1969 Report of the Committee on Labor and Public Welfare, United States Senate made by its Special Subcommittee on Indian Education pursuant to S. Res. 80 (Kennedy Report)

The Problem of Indian Administration (Meriam Report) (US Dept. of Interior) (1928)


Statistics

This section is used to post reports that focus on statistical data from entities such as

  • government agencies -- for example, the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA), U.S. Department of Education, Census Bureau, Government Accounting Office (GAO), and National Advisory Council on Indian Education (NACIE),
  • non-profit organizations in the United States and other countries,
  • educational institutions,

The Harvard Project on American Indian Economic Development:

American Indians on Reservations: A Databook of Socioeconomic Change Between the 1990 and 2000 Censuses by Jonathan B. Taylor and Joseph P. Kalt (January 2005)

National Center for Education Statistics:

The National Indian Education Study 2011 (July 3, 2012).

Partnerships Between Tribal Education Departments and Local Education Agencies (Feburary 2012).

National Indian Education Study - Part I: Performance of American Indian and Alaska Native Students at Grades 4 and 8 on NAEP 2009 Reading and Mathematics Assessments (June 2010).

National Indian Education Study 2009 - Part II: The Educational Experiences of American Indian and Alaska Native Students in Grades 4 and 8 (June 2010).

Indian Education Policies in Five Northwest Region States (October 2009).

Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaska Natives: 2008 (September 2008).
This report examines both the educational progress of American Indian/Alaska Native children and adults and challenges in their education. It shows that over time more American Indian/Alaska Native students have gone on to college and that their attainment expectations have increased. Despite these gains, progress has been uneven and differences persist between American Indian/Alaska Native students and students of other racial/ethnic groups on key indicators of educational performance.

Status and Trends in the Education of Racial and Ethnic Minorities
NCES (which is within the U.S. Department of Education) is the primary federal entity for collecting, analyzing and reporting education data in the United States. Its major statistical compilations cover many areas. Recent specific reports include:

Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Students, Staff, Schools, School Districts, Revenues, and Expenditures, November, 2006. "The report presents data about the students enrolled in public education, including the number of students by grade and the number receiving special education, migrant, or English language learner services" [from the web site]

The Condition of Education 2006. The Condition of Education 2006 summarizes important developments and trends in education using the latest available data. The report presents 50 indicators on the status and condition of education and a special analysis on international assessments. The indicators represent a consensus of professional judgment on the most significant national measures of the condition and progress of education for which accurate data are available. The 2006 print edition includes 50 indicators in five main areas: (1) participation in education; (2) learner outcomes; (3) student effort and educational progress; (4) the contexts of elementary and secondary education; and (5) the contexts of postsecondary education.

National Indian Education Study: Part II: The Educational Experiences of Fourth- and Eighth-Grade American Indian and Alaska Native Students -- "with particular emphasis on the integration of native language and culture into school and classroom activities" [from the web site].

National Indian Education Study: Part I: The Performance of American Indian and Alaska Native Fourth- and Eighth-Grade Students on NAEP 2005 Reading and Mathematics Assessments.

NCES Studies on American Indian and Alaska Native Education, The Executive Order on American Indian and Alaska Native Education is designed to assist American Indian and Alaska Native students in meeting the challenging student academic standards of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (Public Law 107-110) in a manner that is consistent with tribal traditions, languages, and cultures. This order builds on the innovations, reforms, and high standards of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, including the following: stronger accountability for results; greater flexibility in the use of federal funds; more choices for parents; and an emphasis on research-based instruction that works. Section 3 of the Order states that the Secretary of Education, in coordination with the Working Group, shall conduct a multiyear study of American Indian and Alaska Native education in relation to the challenging student academic standards of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. This publication introduces some of those studies that have data and that can be used to examine the education of American Indian and Alaska Native students.

Digest of Education Statistics, New tables from Digest of Education Statistics, 2005 provide a wide array of data covering prekindergarten through graduate school. Topics include: numbers of institutions; teachers; enrollments; graduates; educational attainment; finances; federal funds for education; employment and income of graduates; libraries; and international comparisons. The National Indian Education Study, 2005

Characteristics of Schools, Districts, Teachers, Principals, and School Libraries in the United States (March 23, 2006)

Nation's Report Card: Reading 2005. National Assessment of Educational Progress. For results by race-ethnicity, open the PDF document that is linked at this site, and click on "Results by Race/Ethnicity" in the bookmarks area of the PDF file.

Nation?s Report Card: Mathematics 2005. National Assessment of Educational Progress. For results by race-ethnicity, open the PDF document that is linked at this site, and click on "Results by Race/Ethnicity" in the bookmarks area of the PDF file.

Table 7: SAT Score Gains – Especially in Math – for Most Racial/Ethnic Groups Between 1995 and 2005. Part of 2005 College-Bound Seniors Tables and Related Items.

American Indian and Alaska Native Children: Findings From the Base Year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) (August 2005) (link for document and press release, available in PDF format, and ordering information)

Status and Trends in the Education of American Indians and Alaska Natives (August 2005) (link for document in one or two parts, available in PDF format, and ordering information)

Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2004 (November 2004) (PDF format – use bookmarks – to navigate to applicable sections of the document)

Overview of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools and Districts: School Year 2001-02 (includes BIA funded schools)

Public School Student, Staff and Graduate Counts, by State: School Year 2001-02 (includes BIA funded schools)

Schools and Staffing Survey, 1999-2000 - Overview of the Data for Public, Private, Public Charter, and Bureau of Indian Affairs Elementary and Secondary Schools (PDF format - use bookmarks to navigate to applicable sections of the document)

State Profiles: The Nation's Report Card (circa 2001-2002)

Each state profile provides information about the percentage of American Indian/Alaskan Native students in the state. Other information about schools in the state is provided. This web site begins with a profile of Alabama. To choose the profiles of other states, use the "Select jurisdiction" tool on the right side of the web page.

Census Bureau:
Several web pages at the U.S. Census Bureau are dedicated to providing information about Native peoples in the United States:

We the People:American Indians and Alaska Natives in the United States, Census 2000 Special Reports (February 2006)

American Indian and Alaska Native Populations

American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Data and Links

Specific reports include:

Children and the Households They Live In: 2000 (March 2004)

The American Indian and Alaska Native Population: 2000

Educational Attainment: 2000

The Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander Population: 2000

The Urban Institute - Education Policy Center:
The Urban Institute is a non-partisan economic and social policy research organization. Its Education Policy Center evaluates major national programs and conducts research on education reform. Recent specific reports include:

Who Graduates? Who Doesn't - A Statistical Portrait of Public High School Graduation, Class of 2001 (includes specific American Indian/Alaska Native data by regions and states)

Center for Civic Innovation at the Manhattan Institute: About the Center for Civic Innovation

Public High School Graduation and College Readiness Rates in the United States (September, 2003)

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