About the NCERDC
The North Carolina Education Research Data Center (NCERDC) was established in 2001 through a partnership with the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction (DPI) to store and manage a publicly accessible dataset with the goal to provide researchers and the broader policy community ready access to the data on the state's public schools, school districts, students and teachers.
The data, which date back to the late-1990s and are anonymized, are available to university researchers, nonprofit research institutions, and government agencies. The NCERDC includes an immense collection of data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. All activities conducted by the Data Center strictly comply with the Family Education Rights and Privacy Act.
Please note that the review and response time for NCERDC applications is approximately 14 days. Thank you for your patience.
Data Available Through the NCERDC
To date the NCERDC has received over two decades of data from the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction on districts, schools, teachers, and students in the North Carolina public school system.
- Student data- end of grade and end of course test scores, demographics, absences, suspensions, course enrollments and standardized tests including AP, PSAT, SAT and ACT scores.
- Teacher data- degree obtained, salary, years of experience, licensure and national board certification.
For more information, see the summary of data files and the longitudinal availability of student-level data.
Accessing NCERDC Data
NCERDC data may be released to an institution of higher education, a non-profit research institution, or a government agency located within the United States. The institution must have established protocols for an Institutional Review Board for the protection of human subjects. Researchers requesting NCERDC data must have their current primary affiliation with an eligible institution or be a currently enrolled student in a doctoral program at an eligible institution.
Please note that there is a new NCERDC Application form! Data fees vary for access, customization, and annual updates. The current data access fee for new projects is $4,024 and the annual update fee for additional files is $1,006. Fees for customization are based on NCERDC time required to complete the request.
Examples of Research Using the NCERDC
NCERDC data have been used to explore topics including, but not limited to, academic achievement gaps, teacher characteristics and student outcomes, student behavior, the impact of specific policies on student outcomes, and outcomes beyond K-12. For example:
- Francis, D. V., & Darity, W. A. (2021). Separate and Unequal Under One Roof: How the Legacy of Racialized Tracking Perpetuates Within-School Segregation. RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences, 7(1), 187–202.
- Bai, Y., Ladd, H. F., Muschkin, C. G., & Dodge, K. A. (2020). Long-term effects of early childhood programs through eighth grade: Do the effects fade out or grow? Children and Youth Services Review
- Goldhaber, D., Wolff, M., & Daly, T. (2020). Assessing the Accuracy of Elementary School Test Scores As Predictors of Students’ High School Outcomes. Working paper, ERIC Number ED605735, May 2020.
- Linnenbrink-Garcia, L., Wormington, S. V., Snyder, K. E., Riggsbee, J., Perez, T., Ben-Eliyahu, A., & Hill, N. E. (2018). Multiple pathways to success: An examination of integrative motivational profiles among upper elementary and college students. Journal of Educational Psychology, 110(7), 1026-1048
- Corcoran, S. P., & Jennings, J. (2018). The gender gap in charter school enrollment. Educational Policy, 32(5), 635-663.
- Clotfelter, C. T., Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor, J. L. (2011). Teacher mobility, school segregation, and pay-based policies to level the playing field. Education, Finance and Policy, 6(3), 399438.