IA Joins Group Urging Redesign of 2026 Census Test

In the US, professional body The Insights Association has warned that proposed changes to the 2026 Census Test, one of the key studies preparing for the country's decennial Census in 2030, risks massive inaccuracies which will make it 'a huge waste of resources.'

Howard Fienberg, the IA's Senior VP Advocacy, said the new Feb 3rd proposed approach to the 'essential' planning study 'could save time and energy by just lighting a huge pile of taxpayer money on fire.' The IA added its signature to a letter to Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on Wednesday (March 4th) urging him 'to reconsider the proposed redesign of the 2026 Census Test and to restore promising elements of the test.' The letter was organised by the Population Association of America (PAA).

Specific problems identified include the reduction of the number of test sites, from six to two locations, which the letter says will 'ultimately exacerbate the undercount of historically hard-to-count populations, including American Indians, young children, rural residents, Latino, and Black communities'; and the selection for the test of the ACS questionnaire. The letter states: 'The ACS is a much longer form that asks different questions than those asked in the decennial questionnaire... Using any questionnaire other than the decennial census form to test census operations is not scientifically valid and will not produce useful information to improve 2030 Census operations and outreach.'

The letter also criticises the proposed data collection approach of the Test, flagging up the limitations of Internet self-response (ISR), including offering it only in English; and the policy of using postal workers as census takers, which it says is 'not an original idea and has been tested in previous simulations' - and will cost more than twice as much as using census part-time enumerators.

'In the middle of the last decade,' says Fienberg, 'shortsighted decisions and regular funding interruptions forced the elimination of almost all field testing, which helped lead to inaccuracies in the 2020 Census count, particularly in rural and remote areas, and among small populations. The Administration's new plan for the 2026 Census Test... is putting the US on a dangerous course that could jeopardize the 2030 Census.' He concludes: 'An inaccurate Census will hobble most every other research study in the country for the next decade, public and private, since most rely on census data for statistical reliability and representativeness.'

The association is online at www.insightsassociation.org .