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NAEP Sample Design → Sample Design for the 2000 Assessment → State Assessment Sample Design in 2000 → Stratification of Schools in the Sampling Frame for the 2000 State Assessment → Urbanization Classification for the 2000 State Assessment

NAEP Technical DocumentationUrbanization Classification for the 2000 State Assessment

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) type of location variable defines the urbanization of the school's location. The type of location variable has seven urbanization categories:

• Large Central City: A central city of a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) with a population greater than or equal to 400,000, or a population density greater than or equal to 6000 persons per square mile;

• Mid-Size Central City: A central city of an MSA but not designated as a large central city;

• Urban Fringe of Large City: A place within an MSA of a large central city and defined as urban by the U.S. Census Bureau;

• Urban Fringe of midsize City: A place within an MSA of a mid-sized central city and defined as urban by the U.S. Census Bureau;

• Large Town: A place not within an MSA, but with a population greater than or equal to 25,000 and defined as urban by the U.S. Census Bureau;

• Small Town: A place not within an MSA, with a population less than 25,000, but greater than or equal to 2,500, and defined as urban by the U.S. Census Bureau; and

• Rural: A place with a population of less than 2,500 and defined as rural by the U.S. Census Bureau.

Each urbanization classification within a participating jurisdiction must have a minimum of 10 percent of the jurisdiction's eligible students. Some jurisdictions must have their type of location categories collapsed together until this requirement is met. Specific rules govern the collapsing of type of location categories. Initial collapses merge the central city categories, urban fringe categories, and/or town categories. If needed, additional collapses merge together all central city and urban fringe categories, or both town and the rural categories.

For the 2000 state assessment, all public school jurisdictions requiring urbanization classification contained no missing urbanization classification values.

Note that the urbanization classification variable is more detailed than the type of location variable used for reporting data. The reported type of location variable contains only three categories: urban, suburban, and rural.

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