Historical state-level data on U.S. public school systems from 1919/20 to 1973/74

Abstract There is growing interest in understanding how exposure to education contexts and quality shapes wellbeing, particularly in later life. Although public investment in education expanded significantly during much of the 20th century, electronic data on U.S. public education systems before 197...

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Main Authors: Katrina M. Walsemann, Emily Abbruzzi, Heide M. Jackson, Pallavi Tyagi, Jennifer A. Ailshire
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Nature Portfolio 2025-07-01
Series:Scientific Data
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05507-6
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author Katrina M. Walsemann
Emily Abbruzzi
Heide M. Jackson
Pallavi Tyagi
Jennifer A. Ailshire
author_facet Katrina M. Walsemann
Emily Abbruzzi
Heide M. Jackson
Pallavi Tyagi
Jennifer A. Ailshire
author_sort Katrina M. Walsemann
collection DOAJ
description Abstract There is growing interest in understanding how exposure to education contexts and quality shapes wellbeing, particularly in later life. Although public investment in education expanded significantly during much of the 20th century, electronic data on U.S. public education systems before 1975 remain limited. In this paper, we introduce the State Education Contextual Data Resource (S-ECDR), a publicly available dataset that provides state-level education context measures from 1920–1974. We describe the procedures used to construct S-ECDR from historical reports, outline the available measures of state-level education context, and discuss key considerations for linking the dataset with other population-based surveys. Data from the S-ECDR indicate substantial improvements in public education systems over the 20th century but also persistent disparities across states, with southern states investing less in their education systems. The S-ECDR can be linked to population-representative survey data to examine how education contexts shape well-being in midlife and older adulthood.
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spelling doaj-art-e26f88a72319434da72e34dd3724ee612025-08-20T03:04:22ZengNature PortfolioScientific Data2052-44632025-07-011211810.1038/s41597-025-05507-6Historical state-level data on U.S. public school systems from 1919/20 to 1973/74Katrina M. Walsemann0Emily Abbruzzi1Heide M. Jackson2Pallavi Tyagi3Jennifer A. Ailshire4School of Public Policy, University of MarylandSchool of Public Policy, University of MarylandMaryland Population Research Center, University of MarylandSchool of Public Health, University of MarylandLeonard Davis School of Gerontology, University of Southern CaliforniaAbstract There is growing interest in understanding how exposure to education contexts and quality shapes wellbeing, particularly in later life. Although public investment in education expanded significantly during much of the 20th century, electronic data on U.S. public education systems before 1975 remain limited. In this paper, we introduce the State Education Contextual Data Resource (S-ECDR), a publicly available dataset that provides state-level education context measures from 1920–1974. We describe the procedures used to construct S-ECDR from historical reports, outline the available measures of state-level education context, and discuss key considerations for linking the dataset with other population-based surveys. Data from the S-ECDR indicate substantial improvements in public education systems over the 20th century but also persistent disparities across states, with southern states investing less in their education systems. The S-ECDR can be linked to population-representative survey data to examine how education contexts shape well-being in midlife and older adulthood.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05507-6
spellingShingle Katrina M. Walsemann
Emily Abbruzzi
Heide M. Jackson
Pallavi Tyagi
Jennifer A. Ailshire
Historical state-level data on U.S. public school systems from 1919/20 to 1973/74
Scientific Data
title Historical state-level data on U.S. public school systems from 1919/20 to 1973/74
title_full Historical state-level data on U.S. public school systems from 1919/20 to 1973/74
title_fullStr Historical state-level data on U.S. public school systems from 1919/20 to 1973/74
title_full_unstemmed Historical state-level data on U.S. public school systems from 1919/20 to 1973/74
title_short Historical state-level data on U.S. public school systems from 1919/20 to 1973/74
title_sort historical state level data on u s public school systems from 1919 20 to 1973 74
url https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-025-05507-6
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