Research

Scope and Content Note

The Basic Educational Data Systems (BEDS) Institutional Master File contains data on each school district, public and private school, and BOCES in New York State. Each file record identifies the institution's name, location, and chief officer. Each record also contains information on enrollment statistics, the number and type of professional and paraprofessional staff, and limited information on facilities, such as the number and type of classrooms and buildings. Additionally, school and BOCES data records identify special educational programs available at the institution. The individual files are arranged by year, from 1967 to 1981, and contain four record types: school data record (public and private), district data records, and BOCES data record.

The Archives can provide copying of the data file on magnetic tape or floppy disk and copying of all support documentation. A user's guide is available from the State Archives.

Tape characteristics: The Institutional Master File contains 14 rectangular flat files stored in standard label EBCDIC. The files contain numeric and character data. The files are stored on two reels of magnetic tape at 6250 bpi. The data can be manipulated using a common statistical package. Tape copies are in Standard-label EBCDIC format. Floppy disk copies are in ASCII format.