NCEO Editing Checklist

Report Name:

Authors:

Reviewer:

Date:

Cover

Citation on front cover, inside cover, and any “how to cite” statement all match and words are spelled correctly.
Authors are identified and spelled correctly.

Reading Level

We aim for the following Flesch–Kincaid Readability Index levels:

SEA staff and policymakers: grade 12–12.9
Parents: grade 8–9
Researcher-only audience: grade 12–15

See the NCEO Style Guidelines for more on reading levels and how to calculate them.

Headings

Heading levels are applied using Word’s Styles tool. H1, H2, etc. (The point size and font for each Style are not as important as applying each heading level.) See paragraph styles .

See the NCEO Style Guidelines for more on heading levels.

Text

Text body font is 12 pt Times New Roman.
Text is double-spaced with one inch margins.
Single space is used after periods and colons.

Other

Full names are listed before acronyms.
Numerals are used to express numbers 10+ and words for <10.
Contractions are not used.
All lists (e.g., bullets, seriation etc.) have appropriate and consistent punctuation and use Word’s tools for making the lists (i.e., not manually made). See making lists .
Em dash and en dash are used appropriately with no spaces before or after.

Em dash instead of hyphen to set off an item that amplifies or digresses from main clause (e.g., “Studies—published and unpublished—are included”). In Word select Insert > Symbols and click on Symbol, then select More Symbols, then Special Characters, then "Em Dash" and Insert.

En dash is used to indicate a numerical range. For example, “In the years 2008–2009....” and between words of equal weight in a compound adjective (e.g., “a high school–college conference”). In Word select Insert > Symbols and click on Symbol, then select More Symbols, then Special Characters, then then select “En Dash” and Insert.

See the NCEO Style Guidelines for more on general usage.

Tables and Figures

Tables

Row and column headers are designated. (Look for a setting in the table properties panel that lets you indicate this.)
Table has table summary (select table then see layout, table properties, alt text)
Table’s header row is designated a repeating header. In Word, right click on header row, Table Properties>Row> check box that says “Repeat as header row at the top of each page”
Table cells are not empty. Use text such as “Not applicable,” “none,” etc. to indicate that there is no data in empty cells. See accessible tables .
Font is 10 pt Arial or Helvetica, sans serif, and single spaced within cells.
Table foot notes are 9 pt font.
Default table borders are used.
Numbers in table are aligned by decimal.
Tables do not have abbreviations or symbols.
State names are spelled out.
Headings and text do not have hyphens manually inserted (e.g., to split a word for line breaks)

See the NCEO Style Guidelines for more on making tables.

Figures

Colors of figures are distinct and high contrast. See contrast .
Figure titles are in upper/lower case and bold, and above the figure.

Example: Figure 1. Extent of Reporting General Assessment Data for Students with Disabilities

Figures are editable, not picture.
Figure font is 10 pt text, sans serif, and black.
Figure has alternative text. See adding alt text .

See the NCEO Style Guidelines for more on making figures.

Citations

Citations omit publication location, do not give date downloaded, nor say “Retrieved from…”
DOIs are added to references, if they are assigned. Present DOIs as live hyperlink (i.e., begins with “http:” or “https:”) No period at the end. See DOIs and URLs .
For resources without DOIs, include a URL. URLs are presented as live hyperlinks (i.e., beginning with “http:” or “https:”). No period at the end of a URL. See DOIs and URLs .
URLs are from primary sources, not secondary sources.
APA reference list citations have correct format and punctuation (especially if AI tools have been used to generate citations).
All hyperlinks work and do not go to dead ends.

See the NCEO Style Guidelines for more on making citations.

Final step before submitting to Kristi Liu

Run the document through Word’s Accessibility Checker (Review>Check Accessibility). Address any issues identified.
When finished addressing all issues covered in this checklist, send to kline010@umn.edu.

Resources

For more on accessibility, see 7 Core Accessibility Skills , and the Digital Accessibility Badging Program .

For additional APA and NCEO style specifications, see The APA Publication Manual (7th edition) and the NCEO Style Guidelines.

The Center is supported through a Cooperative Agreement (#H326G210002) with the Research to Practice Division, Office of Special Education Programs, U.S. Department of Education. The Center is affiliated with the Institute on Community Integration at the College of Education and Human Development, University of Minnesota. Consistent with EDGAR §75.62, the contents of this report were developed under the Cooperative Agreement from the U.S. Department of Education, but do not necessarily represent the policy or opinions of the U.S. Department of Education or Offices within it. Readers should not assume endorsement by the federal government. Project Officer: Kristen Rhoads

IDEAS that Work, U.S. Office of Special Education Programs

In collaboration with:

NCEO partner logos: aem, Center for Parent Information & Resources, CCSSO, NASDSE, WestEd

NCEO Core Staff

Andrew R. Hinkle, Co-Director

Kristi K. Liu, Co-Director

Jessica Bowman

Gail Ghere

Linda Goldstone

Michael L. Moore

Darrell Peterson

Mari Quanbeck

Virginia A. Ressa

Kathy Strunk

Yi-Chen Wu

National Center on Educational Outcomes

University of Minnesota

2025 East River Parkway, Room 1-330

Minneapolis, MN 55414

Phone 612/626-1530

http://www.nceo.info

The University of Minnesota shall provide equal access to and opportunity in its programs, facilities, and employment without regard to race, color, creed, religion, national origin, gender, age, marital status, disability, public assistance status, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression.

This document is available in alternative formats upon request.

NCEO is an affiliated center of the Institute on Community Integration

NCEO Editing Checklist