Activity Card for Unit 2

Handout 2
What is the American Community Survey?

Let’s get to know the American Community Survey! To familiarize yourselves with the survey
work with your group to explore the related resources below. As you watch and read the
resources, discuss and record what you notice and wonder along with your responses to the
questions. In addition, record the questions you have.

ACS resources to explore:

● Watch this video (to the 3:55 time stamp) that introduces data users to the data in the
survey
○ What is the ACS survey?
○ What is the purpose of the ACS survey?
○ What are the benefits of using ACS data over the census data?

● Read the ‘Introduction’ and ‘Short History of the ACS’ sections of the ACS Information
Guide on page 1.
○ What is the history of the ACS survey?
○ How is the ACS survey different from the census?

● Look at the visual on page 3 of the ACS Information Guide, ‘How the ACS works for
your Community’
○ Describe what this visual reveals about the ACS survey (Write a sentence for
each row of the visual)

● Read through what is collected (Table 1.1, page 2) and how the survey is used (Box 1.1,
pages 3 & 4) from ‘Understanding and Using the American Community Survey Data’
○ Describe what type of information the government chooses to find out about
people regularly.
○ Give an example of what the data is used for.
○ Choose 2-3 survey topics from Table 1.1. How do you think this information might
be used and by whom?

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