The 1998 Missouri Census of Elementary and Secondary Education Computing gathered essential baseline information about instructional computing and the Internet among Missouri public schools. A "census" methodology was used to gather information from all Missouri School Districts and schools. Often survey projects draw inferences about a population by measuring the characteristics of a relatively small, usually random, sample of the larger population. However, Missouri School districts have very diverse characteristics and also have widely different levels of technology. To establish definitive baseline information every district and every school was enumerated and data sought from all of them --a census.

Even though the response rates were high for the 1998 Census they were not as high as the rates from the 1997 Census. Many of the districts stated that their reason for not reporting was the fact that not much changed during the course of a year in their technology hardware and software. For the purposes of the study the two years worth of data were combined to create an "Adjusted 1998" response. The districts and buildings that completed the 1997 Census form but not the 1998 Census form were combined with the responses of the districts and buildings on the 1998 Census form. Thus with the two years combined, the overall response rate is 98.5% for the districts and 99% for the school buildings. Once again the resulting information is the most definitive available (see the Response Rate tables). A review of the relatively few non-responding districts indicates that they are predominately small school districts and those that are elementary only districts.

The schools not responding to the Building Census form for either year are predominately elementary schools (72% of the 40 schools missing) and located on the suburban fringe of metropolitan areas.

The District Technology Census assesses the overall extent of Internet networking at each Missouri school district. Completed by district level technology specialists, ninety-eight (98) percent of Missouri Districts (516 out of 525) are included in the census.

The Building Technology Census assesses the level of Internet connectivity for each building. Completed by building level staff with technology responsibilities, ninety-nine (99) percent of Missouri schools (2,112 out of 2,132) are included in the census.

In late 1997 Department of Elementary and Secondary Education Staff, MOREnet Staff, and OSEDA staff collaborated in the design of the census questionnaires. The forms were modeled after the Quality Education Data (QED) and Data Marketing Retrieval, two commercial groups that collect national education data. Initial versions were pilot tested among a small group of technology coordinators and teachers. Following revisions, final formats were approved. In February 1998, Missouri School Districts were informed of the forthcoming technology census with a letter from the Assistant Commissioner of Schools Services Dr. Marilou Joyner. In February 1998, questionnaires were mailed by OSEDA to the Census Technology Points of Contact. Between February and July an extensive follow-up was conducted by OSEDA staff and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education staff. On July 31^st, the census database was closed for processing.