The "Quarterly" offers a comprehensive overview of work done across all of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Each issue includes short publications and summaries covering all NCES publications and data products released in a given time period as well as notices about training and funding opportunities. In addition, each issue includes a featured topic with invited commentary, and a note on the topic from NCES. This issues featured topic is International Assessments. This section contains the first three articles: (1) Highlights from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 2003 (Patrick Gonzales, Juan Carlos Guzman, Lisette Partelow, Erin Pahlke, Leslie Jocelyn, David Kastberg, and Trevor Williams); (2) International Outcomes of Learning in Mathematics Literacy and Problem Solving: PISA 2003 Results from the U.S. Perspective (Mariann Lemke, Anindita Sen, Erin Pahlke, Lisette Partelow, David Miller, Trevor Williams, David Kastberg, and Leslie Jocelyn); and (3) Invited Commentary: The TIMSS 2003 and PISA 2003 Reports: Sustaining Focus and Concern about the State of Mathematics Education in the United States (Joan Ferrini-Mundy). The second section, Early Childhood Education, contains the following article: (4) Children Born in 2001: First Results from the Base Year of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) (Kristin Denton Flanagan and Jerry West). The third section, Elementary and Secondary Education, presents: (5) America's Charter Schools: Results from the NAEP 2003 Pilot Study; (6) Characteristics of Private Schools in the United States: Results from the 2001-2002 Private School Universe Survey (Stephen P. Broughman and Kathleen W. Pugh); (7) Dropout Rates in the United States: 2001 (Phillip Kaufman, Martha Naomi Alt, and Christopher Chapman); and (8) Indicators of School Crime and Safety: 2004 (Jill F. DeVoe, Katharin Peter, Philip Kaufman, Amanda Miller, Margaret Noonan, Thas D. Snyder, and Katrina Baum). The fourth section, Postsecondary Education, contains the next two articles: (9) College Persistence on the Rise? Changes in 5-Year Degree Completion and Postsecondary Persistence Rates between 1994 and 2000 (Laura Horn and Rachael Berger); and (10) Staff in Postsecondary Institutions, Fall 2002, and Salaries of Full-Time Instructional Faculty, 2002-03 (Laura G. Knapp, Janice E. Kelly-Reid, Roy W. Whitmore, Shiying Wu, Seungho Huh, Burton Levine, and Susan G. Broyles). The fifth section, Lifelong Learning, contains the following article: (11) Participation in Adult Education and Lifelong Learning: 2000-01 (Kwang Kim, Mary Collins Hagedorn, Jennifer Williamson, and Christopher Chapman). The sixth section, Libraries, presents the next article: (12) State Library Agencies: Fiscal Year 2003 (Barbara Holton, Elaine Kroe, Patricia O'Shea, Cindy Sheckells, Suzanne Dorinski, and Michael Freeman). The seventh section, Crosscutting Statistics, contains the next three articles: (13) Trends in Educational Equity of Girls & Women: 2004 (Catherine E. Freeman); (14) Educational Attainment of High School Dropouts 8 Years Later (David Hurst, Dana Kelly, and Daniel Princiotta); and (15) Digest of Education Statistics 2003 (Thomas D. Snyder, Alexandra G. Tan, and Charlene M. Hoffman). The eighth section, Methodology, contains the next article: (16) National Household Education Surveys Program: 2001: Methodology Report (Mary Jo Nolin, Jill Montaquila, Patricia Nicchitta, Mary Collins Hagedorn, and Chris Chapman). A section on Data Products, Other Publications, and Funding Opportunities is also included. (Individual articles contain references and figures.) [For "Education Statistics Quarterly" Volume 6, Number 3, see ED492619.]