Variables

The correctional education variables defined in this guidebook are organized into eight topical areas intended to span the correctional education field. These topical areas fall into three categories: inmate, facility, and state-level variables.

Inmate-level variables refer to inmates under state custody or supervision and include data on inmates’ demographics, incarceration characteristics, education characteristics, correctional education program eligibility and participation, program completions, and employment characteristics. Facility-level variables include aggregated statistics on correctional facilities’ educational programs and facility staffing, while state-level variables focus on statewide correctional facility expenditures.

Each data element is specified using a variable name, field length, variable type, description, and response coding. When needed, additional instructions for the codes are provided. The following definitions explain the fields of the variables.

• Name — The data element or field name.
• Length — The number of characters in the field.
• Type — Indicates whether a field is a numeric or text field.
• Description — A short definition of the data element.
• Coding — The value label assigned to the response.

Instructions for the timing of measurement are not provided, since the purpose of this guidebook is to build consensus around common definitions and coding instructions. Timing is crucial, however, if correctional education data are to be collected and shared across states in the future. Should that occur, a date would be set for states to collect their data. For the purposes of this guidebook, however, it should be assumed that the variables refer to a single point in time.

The variables in this guidebook also do not represent all possible data that might be collected on correctional education. Over time, additional data elements may be added to the guidebook and existing elements modified to incorporate new information or changes in states’ capacity to collect and report data.