children out of school in america - University of Tennessee Digital ...

Limitations of Census Data
Our analysis of Census data begins to trace the
broad outlines of the problem, its size and some of
its dimensions. However, it is only the beginning of
the story. CDF's in-depth survey substantiates what
the Census data tell us and gives us more information
about groups of children out of school and how
the schools deal with their children who are different.
But before we look more closely, it is necessary
to consider some of the limitations of the Census
data.
Census enrollment data are derived from the question:
"Since February I, 1970, has this person at-
tended regular school or college at any timeT' Those
who have not attended in the previous two to three
months are considered not enrolled. Some may, in
fact, have been registered or enrolled, but may not
have attended. Further, the fairly narrow definition
of "regular" school excludes some programs which
might be considered as furthering children's training
or education even though they would not be receiving
a diploma or degree.
On the other hand, this definition results in an
understatement of the attendance problem which is,
after all, the real problem of children out of school.
Those who attend either infrequently or irregularly,
but do not miss long periods of time, are counted
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