How we prepare for 2010

Census tests are an important way for the Census Bureau to evaluate procedures and obtain critical information needed for an accurate and cost-effective census. Preparations for the 2010 Census involve extensive planning, development, testing, revising and retesting of literally thousands of procedures needed to complete a successful census. The Census Bureau conducted the following tests/dress rehearsal:

• 2008 Dress Rehearsal - Rehearsal of the 2010 Census in San Joaquin, Calif., and a nine-county area surrounding Fayetteville, N.C.
• 2006 Census Test - Cheyenne River Reservation and Travis County, Texas
• 2005 National Census Test - Questionnaire design
• 2004 Census Test - Queens County, N.Y., and Southwest Georgia
• 2003 National Census Test - Response methods and race question

2008 Census Dress Rehearsal – Rehearsal of the 2010 Census

The 2008 Census Dress Rehearsal was a dry run of the upcoming 2010 Census in two selected sites: San Joaquin County, Calif., and a nine county area surrounding Fayetteville, N.C.

The dress rehearsal was a critical part of the Census Bureau’s plan to ensure an accurate count of the nation’s increasingly diverse and rapidly growing population.

It served as an opportunity for the Census Bureau to study and refine, if necessary, operations planned for the 2010 Census:

• In May-June of 2007, census workers updated the Census Bureau’s address list.
  
  
• In April 2008, residents were mailed questionnaires [PDF-545K]. Households that did not respond received a second questionnaire.
  
  
• Some residents, who lived in areas with high concentrations of Spanish speakers, received a bilingual English/Spanish questionnaire.

English Questionnaire	Bilingual Questionnaire Cuestionario en ingles y espanol

• San Joaquin County: This California county was selected because it presented an urban location with a multilingual population and an assortment of group quarters housing, such as college dorms and nursing homes.
  
  
• Fayetteville and the surrounding area: This North Carolina region is a mix of both urban and suburban areas and has two military bases (Fort Bragg and Pope Air Force Base). The following nine counties were included in the site: Chatham, Cumberland, Harnett, Hoke, Lee, Montgomery, Moore, Richmond and Scotland.

The 2006 Census Test was one of the final evaluations of the new methods and procedures under consideration for the 2010 Census. The test was conducted in a culturally diverse high-density metropolitan area with plenty of multi-unit dwellings and on an American Indian reservation.

Site locations:

The two test sites encompassed a portion of Travis County, Texas (including portions of the municipalities of Austin and Pflugerville), and the Cheyenne River Reservation in South Dakota.

Why were these sites chosen?
Travis County, Texas, was selected because it provided the Census Bureau with culturally diverse, high-density metropolitan areas, including many multi-unit dwellings.

Cheyenne River Reservation was selected to test which enumeration methods work best on American Indian reservations.

About the 2006 Census Test
The 2006 Census Test started in March 2006 with the mailing of advance letters and ended in July 2006 after census takers followed up with households that did not respond by mail. At the Cheyenne River Reservation, residents did not receive surveys in the mail; instead, enumerators visited each household.

The Census Bureau assessed the following in the 2006 Census Test

Travis County Test Site

• The usefulness of hand-held computers for providing maps to enumerators and interviewing respondents.
• The effectiveness of revised definitions and methods for distinguishing group quarters from housing units.
• The effectiveness of new methods to improve overall population and housing coverage and to eliminate duplication.

Cheyenne River Reservation Test Site

• The usefulness of hand-held computers for providing maps to enumerators.
• The effectiveness of new methods to improve overall population and housing coverage on reservations.

The results from the 2005 National Census Test, which was sent to 420,000 households nationwide, will help the Census Bureau develop the best ways to design the questions on the form in order to obtain more accurate responses.

Site locations:

• Seven neighborhoods of northwest Queens County, N.Y. – Astoria, Corona, Elmhurst, East Elmhurst, Jackson Heights, Long Island City and part of Woodside
• Three counties of southwest Georgia – Colquitt, Thomas and Tift

Why were these sites chosen?
Queens, N.Y., was chosen because of its culturally diverse, high-density urban setting and Georgia was chosen because of its rural setting.

About the 2004 Test
The 2004 Census Test started in February 2004 with the mailing of advance letters and ended July 2004.

The Census Bureau assessed the following in the 2004 Census Test

• The usefulness of hand-held computers for collecting census information from respondents.
• The effectiveness of revised definitions and methods for distinguishing group quarters and housing units.
• The effectiveness of new methods to improve overall population and housing coverage and to eliminate duplication.
• How respondents react to the revised race and Hispanic-origin questions.

The 2003 Census Test was a national test that allowed the Census Bureau to study new response technologies and the effects of changes to questions about race and Hispanic origin. The test focused on finding the best strategy for increasing mail response to the census and to reducing the timely and costly nonresponse follow-up workload. The nationwide test surveyed 240,000 households and began in January 2003.

The Census Bureau assessed the following in the 2003 National Census Test

• The option of responding via Internet.
• The option of using a telephone to respond to an interactive voice recognition system.
• Changes to the questions about race and Hispanic origin.