Elementary-Secondary Education Statistics Project (ESESP)

Detailed information for 2005/2006

The Elementary-Secondary Education Statistics Project (ESESP) is a national survey that enables Statistics Canada to provide information on enrolments (including minority, second language, aboriginal language and special needs programs), graduates, educators and finance of Canadian elementary-secondary publicly funded educational institutions. This information is used mainly to meet policy and planning needs in the field of elementary-secondary education.

Data release - January 10, 2008

• Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s)
• Description
• Data sources and methodology
• Data accuracy
• Documentation

Description

The Elementary-Secondary Education Statistics Project (ESESP) is a national survey that enables Statistics Canada to provide information on enrolments, graduates, educators and finance of Canadian elementary-secondary public educational institutions. This information is used mainly to meet policy and planning needs in the field of elementary-secondary education.

The ESESP is a mandatory, annual survey that collects aggregate data from each provincial/territorial Ministry or Department of Education. Specifically, the information on enrolments pertains to the following programs: regular, minority, second language, aboriginal language and special needs education. The information on regular programs is collected by type of programs (regular, upgrading and professional), education sector (youth or adult), grade and sex. The one on minority and second language programs is collected by type of program (immersion, as language of instruction, as a subject taught) and by grade. Aboriginal language program data is collected in two sections (Aboriginal Language of Instruction and Aboriginal Language as Language of Instruction). Special needs enrolment data is collected in three sections (biological causes, learning and/or behavioural difficulties and students who have socio-economic, cultural and/or linguistic disadvantages).

The survey also collects data on secondary school graduates by type of program (regular, upgrading and professional), sector (youth and adult), age and sex. Graduation rates are produced using these data divided by the average number of 17 and 18 year olds of each province or territory.

Information pertaining to full-time and part-time educators by age group and sex is also collected. Finally, the ESESP also gathers expenditures data pertaining to level of government (school board and other government) and type of expenditures. This data is collected to determine how much is spent in relative detail by school boards and by provincial/territorial total.

The information on elementary-secondary education statistics is used by provincial and territorial departments or ministries of education, national and provincial teachers' and students' associations, school boards, journalists and researchers, as well as international bodies such as OECD and UNESCO.

The goal of this project is to collect elementary/secondary expenditure data and to replace several surveys which were used for the collection of enrolment, graduate, and educator data:
- Elementary-Secondary School Enrolment Survey (ESSE - record number 3128),
- Minority and Second Language Education - Elementary and secondary levels Survey (record number 3129),
- Secondary School Graduate Survey (SSGS - record number 5082),
- Elementary-Secondary Education Staff Survey (ESESS - record number 3127).

Although this project collects expenditure data, the Survey of Uniform Financial System -- School Boards (SUFSB - record number 3119) remains active.

Subjects

• Education finance
• Education, training and learning
• Students
• Teachers and educators

Data sources and methodology

Target population

The frame used is the list of all provinces and territories. The collection unit is the province. Annually, the department or ministry of education in each jurisdiction sends to Statistics Canada data pertaining to enrolments, graduates, educators and finance of the public elementary-secondary schools under their jurisdictions. This survey is a census of all provinces and territories.

Instrument design

The questionnaire includes three tables that were originally part of an annual survey administered annually to all provinces/territories by the British Columbia Ministry of Education. These three tables were collecting generic data on enrolments, educators and expenditures in Canadian public elementary-secondary institutions.

Following formal consultation with provincial and territorial departments or ministries of education, various national organizations and other data users, seven additional tables were introduced by Statistics Canada to collect additional data and, therefore, meet the main data requirements of those various data users. The original goal of the ESES was to collect elementary/secondary expenditure data and to replace several surveys that were used for the collection of enrolment, graduate, and educator data:

- the Elementary-Secondary School Enrolment Survey (ESSE - record number 3128);

- the Minority and Second Language Education - Elementary and secondary levels Survey (record number 3129);
- the Secondary School Graduate Survey (SSGS - record number 5082); and

- the Elementary-Secondary Education Staff Survey (ESESS - record number 3127) as the official collection tools for elementary-secondary enrolments, graduates, and staff data.

Although the ESES collects some expenditure data, the Survey of Uniform Financial System - School Boards (SUFSB - record number 3119) remains active. The main objectives of the ESES collection tool are to produce relevant, comparable and timely statistics and to reduce the respondent burden on educational organizations and school principals.

Sampling

This survey is a census with a cross-sectional design.

Data are collected for all units of the target population, therefore, no sampling is done.

Data sources

Data collection for this reference period: 2007-05-08 to 2007-12-31

Responding to this survey is mandatory.

Data are collected directly from survey respondents.

This survey is an administrative survey in which aggregate enrolments, graduates, staff and finance data are collected from provincial and territorial departments or ministries of education who originally collected the data for their own purposes. The survey initial contact consists of a written data request via e-mail as well as a table requesting enrolments, graduates, educators and finance data. This initial contact occurs each year usually in January and requests information for September (or as close as possible thereafter) of the previous school year. The provincial or territorial contacts are then followed up by e-mail or telephone, usually in February through December. The collection method used is electronic. It consists of sending electronic tables to Statistics Canada.

The information obtained from each provincial and territorial departments or ministries of education consists of several aggregate data tables. A copy of those tables can be found in the included template.

View the Questionnaire(s) and reporting guide(s) .

Error detection

Error detection is done at the macro level as part of data processing.

Statistics Canada performs a series of data quality controls, including:

1) Checking for internal consistencies; e.g., missing and invalid data, data element inconsistencies, executing frequency tables and examining outliers for certain data elements. These edits are done manually or using basic spreadsheets and database software.

2) Comparing the most recent data year with past data years to detect any unusual or unexpected changes. Counts and rates are compared with data from previous years.

3) Where available, comparisons of tabulated data or reports are made with the data published by the provincial and territorial departments or ministries of education.

Imputation

This survey uses methodologies, tools and processing procedures allowing manual editing and imputation of aggregate data. For incomplete information, imputation is done using the previous year's trend if available, and current data point. Depending on each case, imputation can also be done using data elements obtained from the survey and other key indicators such as population estimates.

Estimation

This methodology type does not apply to this statistical program.

Quality evaluation

During the data production process, Statistics Canada performs a series of data quality controls that include:

1) Ensuring that Statistics Canada data are consistent with provincial and territorial departments or ministries of education data that have been published;

2) Sending the corresponding electronic extracts and certification tables to each responding coordinating body for their review and approval to ensure that Statistics Canada and their departments or ministries of education obtain the same (or similar) results;

3) Reviewing yearly the elementary-secondary institution requirements for each province and territory in order to identify any changes which may have an impact on the data;

4) Comparing trends with other data sources.

Disclosure control

Statistics Canada is prohibited by law from releasing any data which would divulge information obtained under the Statistics Act that relates to any identifiable person, business or organization without the prior knowledge or the consent in writing of that person, business or organization. Various confidentiality rules are applied to all data that are released or published to prevent the publication or disclosure of any information deemed confidential. If necessary, data are suppressed to prevent direct or residual disclosure of identifiable data.

The data are aggregated by province and territory. The tables are evaluated in accordance with Statistics Canada's policies on confidentiality.

In regard to client requests for cross-classified data, Statistics Canada does not supply any tables that could identify a student, graduate or educator. As a guideline, a cell with a count of less than three (3) is suppressed, and in order to avoid residual disclosure, other cells are also chosen for suppression.

Revisions and seasonal adjustment

This methodology does not apply to this survey.

Data accuracy

The target population is very stable and the survey is mandatory, therefore minimizing undercoverage. The maintenance of close relations with respondents is an important factor in minimizing non-response. In order to obtain consistent counts of students, educators, graduates and expenditures, Statistics Canada ensures that all respondents follow common guidelines and definitions.

Generally, all respondents are providing data. However, the quality of responses may vary by variable. Some variables have a high rate of non-response, such as enrolments in Aboriginal language programs, or enrolments and expenditures in special needs education.

Documentation

• Elementary-Secondary Education Statistics Project - Definitions (as of the 2005-2006 reference period)
  • Format: Elementary-Secondary Education Statistics Project - Definitions (as of the 2005-2006 reference period) - ARCHIVED - PDF, 69.02[ARCHIVED - PDF, 69.02 kb]