I belong to a member school, but I do not have an NAIS Demographic Center account. How can I get access to this service?
The NAIS Demographic Center uses the same login information as the NAIS website. To access these services, all you need to do is register to receive your NAIS general username and password. This will allow you to access members-only areas of the website.

How should I choose what report to use?
NAIS has created Basic Reports for Independent Schools such as an Executive Summary Report and a Detailed Report that include key demographic variables that we consider relevant for any school administrator. We recommend using these reports first, and once you get familiar with the variables and the site, accessing the Additional Reports for Advanced Use that offer more sophisticated options.

How can I save a report?
Once you have created a report, follow these steps to save it:

• Select the "Save Report" option from the left-hand side menu.
• Click on the "Save" button from the popup window.
• Select a name for your report and make sure to save the file as an Excel document.

Another method for saving the report is as follows:

• From the navigation bar in the left column, select the "Print Friendly Report" option.
• Highlight the entire report using the left mouse button or by pressing CTRL+A.
• Once you have selected the full report, press the right mouse button and choose "Copy" or press CTRL+C.
• Open a new spreadsheet and position the cursor in the upper left-hand cell, right click the mouse, and select "Paste" or simply press CTRL+V.
• The full report will be imported into the spreadsheet.

How can I print a report?
Once you have created a report, follow these steps to print it:

• From the navigation bar in the left column, select the "Print Friendly Report" option.
• Select the “Print Preview” option from your menu to see exactly how your pages will look when they are printed. You can save paper right up until the final print by using this function.
• If you cannot fit all the columns of the report in the page, please select landscape as the orientation of your printing from the “Print Preview” page or from the “Page Setup” option.
• Once you are satisfied with the way the report will be printed, you can print directly from the “Print Preview” page by clicking on the print button or printer icon.

What are the data sources used in the reports?
The following data sources are used to create the various reports:

• Bureau of the Census - 2010 Census and other related sources like Annual Demographic Survey, Current Population Reports, and numerous special Census reports.
• ZIP and County Business Patterns (US Department of Commerce-Economics and Statistics Administration-Bureau of the Census.)
• US Department of Justice-Federal Bureau of Investigation (2006)
• National Center for Education Statistics-Common Core of Data (CCD)
• National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration-National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service-National Climatic Data Center.
• United States Department of the Interior-Geological Survey-Office of Earthquakes, Volcanoes, and Engineering.
• Bureau of Labor Statistics-Department of Labor.

How is "Total Population" determined?
"Total Population" is the sum of White Population + Black Population + Asian Population + Other Population. Hispanic population refers, by Census definition, to ethnicity and not race. Hispanic people can be of any race.

Why don’t the Ethnicity statistics add up to 100%?
Ethnicity is not a required item in the U.S. Census, therefore, not all respondents identify their ethnicity. Race is a required item in the U.S. Census, therefore those statistics do add up to 100%.

What is "High Income Average"?
The "High Income Average" for an area is the average amount of income calculated for each of the households earning over $200,000.

Why can't I find my own town or city or place?
The demographic site includes all census cities (places, etc.) whose population was over 1,000 in the Census. If you cannot find your city, try choosing the closest ZIP Code.

Why do Block Groups and Census Tracts change?
Block Groups and Census Tracts all belong to a single county. When there are county changes (a new county is created, an existing county is absorbed by one or more surrounding counties, etc.), those changes are reflected in the Block and Tract numbers.

Why isn't my ZIP Code here?
It probably is a brand new ZIP Code or a discontinued ZIP Code. Our ZIP Codes are always updated to the current year.

Why is the name of my ZIP Code different from the demographic site's?
All of the names in our products are developed directly from each source. We use the most current name directly from the Post Office.

What happens when there is a tie in rankings?
Tied observations are given the average of the ranks they would have received as if no ranks were tied. For example, if three teams are tied for first, they are also statistically tied for second and for third as well. Therefore, they would be ranked as a "2" ((1 + 2 + 3)/3 = 2).

What is the dominant profile featured on the top of each report?
Within its demographic system, EASI has identified 39 profiles. The profile appearing at the top of the report is the dominant one for that geographic region.

Is there one specific method of weighting variables in the Profile Analysis tool?
Weighting variables is more of an art than an exact science, thus there is no one method that is suggested. Rather, you should create a few reports and test a variety of weights. However, you want to be careful not to overweight any variable and risk skewing your results. Therefore, choose weights that are relatively similar like 1.0 and 1.2. Create your report and study the numbers to see if any variable is skewing the results, then make adjustments in your weights as needed.