Since 1790, the U.S. census has been a recurring, essential civic ceremony in which everyone counts; it reaffirms a commitment to equality among all, as political representation is explicitly tied to population counts. Assessing the 2020 Census looks at the quality of the 2020 Census and its constituent operations, drawing appropriate comparisons with prior censuses. The report acknowledges the extraordinary challenges the Census Bureau faced in conducting the census and provides guidance as it plans for the 2030 Census. In addition, the report encourages research and development as the goals and designs for the 2030 Census are developed, urging the Census Bureau to establish a true partnership with census data users and government partners at the state, local, tribal, and federal levels.

The decennial census is foundational to the functioning of American democracy, and maintaining the public's trust in the census and its resulting data is a correspondingly high-stakes affair. The 2020 Census was implemented in light of severe and unprecedented operational challenges, adjusting 2020 Census operations to the COVID-19 pandemic, natural disasters, and other disruptions. This interim report reviews and evaluates the quality of the data that were collected in the 2020 Census, as well as various process measures and indicators of data quality.

Sponsored by the Census Bureau and charged to evaluate the 2010 U.S. census with an eye toward suggesting research and development for the 2020 census, the Panel to Review the 2010 Census uses this first interim report to suggest general priorities for 2020 research. Although the Census Bureau has taken some useful organizational and administrative steps to prepare for 2020, the panel offers three core recommendations, and suggests the Census Bureau take and assertive, aggressive approach to 2020 planning rather than casting possibilities purely as hypothetical. The first recommendation on research and development suggests four broad topic areas for research early in the decade. Second, the report suggest that the Bureau take an aggressive, assertive posture toward research in these priority areas. Third, it identifies the setting of bold goals as essential to underscoring the need for serious reengineering and building commitment to change.

Planning for the 2020 census is already beginning. This book from the National Research Council examines several aspects of census planning, including questionnaire design, address updating, non-response follow-up, coverage follow-up, de-duplication of housing units and residents, editing and imputation procedures, and several other census operations. This book recommends that the Census Bureau overhaul its approach to research and development. The report urges the Bureau to set cost and quality goals for the 2020 and future censuses, improving efficiency by taking advantage of new technologies.

How do you count a nation of more than 250 million peopleâ€"many of whom are on the move and some of whom may not want to be counted? How can you obtain accurate population information for apportioning the House of Representatives, allocating government resources, and characterizing who we are and how we live? This book attempts to answer these questions by reviewing the recent census operations and ongoing research and by offering detailed proposals for ways to improve the census.