Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K) Resource Guide |
Introduction
About the Guide
This resource guide provides a brief overview of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 1998-99 (ECLS-K), and specific instructions for creating an extract dataset from the ECLS-K Kindergarten through Fifth Grade longitudinal data files which you can download to your own computer. It also provides guidance in obtaining access to additional restricted-use data. ECLS-K users should refer to the NCES User's Manual, which provides greater detail on the topics discussed below.
About the Data
The ECLS-K is a large, nationally representative survey of the school experiences of a cohort of U.S. children who were enrolled in public or private kindergarten during the 1998-99 school year. The ECLS-K should be distinguished from a parallel study, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B), which follows children born in 2001 through kindergarten. The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which is part of the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences, sponsors both ECLS-B and ECLS-K.
The ECLS-K is a multi-method and multi-source survey examining children's development from kindergarten through high school in the context of their families, schools and communities. Data sources include parents, teachers, school officials, school administrative records, and direct student assessments. Beginning in grade three, children complete self-description questionnaires; at fifth and eighth grades, they also complete food consumption questionnaires.
Data from ECLS-K can be used to: (1) advance research on academic achievement in the elementary years, (2) assess the cognitive, motor and physical development of children at the start of their formal schooling and at critical junctures during the elementary school years, and (3) study relationships between the family, preschool and school experiences, and children's developmental processes. Research using these studies can enrich our understanding of children's early learning, development, and educational experiences.
The ECLS-K data are available in longitudinal and cross-sectional format, in public-use and restricted-use versions.
Acknowledgements
This resource guide was prepared by Donald J. Hernandez, Department of Sociology, University at Albany, State University of New York. It was developed for the PreK-3rd Data Resource Center: The First Six Years of Schooling and Beyond, a Web site hosted by ICPSR with support from the Foundation for Child Development.
