Change Memo

Memorandum United States Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

National Center for Education Statistics

DATE: December 10, 2019

TO: Robert Sivinski, OMB

THROUGH: Kashka Kubzdela, NCES

FROM: Elise Christopher, NCES

SUBJECT: High School and Beyond 2020 (HS&B:20) Base-Year Full-Scale Study Recruitment and Field Test Update Change Request (OMB# 1850-0944 v.5).

The High School and Beyond 2020 study (HS&B:20) will be the sixth in a series of longitudinal studies at the high school level conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. HS&B:20 will follow a nationally representative sample of ninth grade students from the start of high school in the fall of 2020 to the spring of 2024 when most will be in twelfth grade. A field test will be conducted one year prior to the full-scale study. The study sample will be freshened in 2024 to create a nationally representative sample of twelfth-grader students. A high school transcript collection and additional follow-up data collections beyond high school are also planned. The NCES secondary longitudinal studies examine issues such as students’ readiness for high school; the risk factors associated with dropping out of high school; high school completion; the transition into postsecondary education and access/choice of institution; the shift from school to work; and the pipeline into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). They inform education policy by tracking long-term trends and elucidating relationships among student, family, and school characteristics and experiences. HS&B:20 will follow the Middle Grades Longitudinal Study of 2017/18 (MGLS:2017) which followed the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011), thereby allowing for the study of all transitions from elementary school through high school and into higher education and/or the workforce. HS&B:20 will include surveys of students, parents, students’ math teachers, counselors, and administrators, plus a student assessment in mathematics and reading and a brief hearing and vision test. The HS&B:20 Base-Year Full-Scale study (BYFS) will begin in the fall of 2020. The request to conduct the HS&B:20 Base-Year Field Test (BYFT) and the BYFS sampling and state, school district, school, and parent recruitment activities, both scheduled to begin in the fall of 2019, was last approved in August 2019 with a change request approved in August 2019 (OMB# 1850-0944 v.3-4). These activities include collecting student rosters and selecting the BYFS sample. This request is to add a parent data collection email reminder to the study’s communication materials (Appendix A). Approval for the base-year full scale study data collection will be requested in a separate submission in early 2020.

The requested here change does not affect the approved total cost to the federal government for conducting this study nor the estimated respondent burden.

The added letter is copied below.

Appendix A

The following new materials was added on page 81 of Appendix A:

Appendix A11.3b Parent Data Collection Email Reminder (New)

Dear <<fname>>,

My name is Elise Christopher and I am the Project Officer for the High School and Beyond Longitudinal Study of 2020 (HS&B:20), from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). I hope that you will take a bit of time out of your busy schedule to complete the HS&B:20 survey today. This survey is part of a nationwide study of students’ education and life experiences as they move through high school and transition into postsecondary education and/or the workforce. Your views and those of your child are important to this study. Decisions about what high school courses to take, whether to pursue further education after high school, and which future career paths to follow are important for policymakers and researchers to understand.

On average, the survey takes only about <##> minutes and you will receive <<inc_amount>> as a token of appreciation for filling it out.

To complete the survey online, go to our secure website:

<<website>>

Study ID: <<StudyID>>

Password: <<password>>

If you have questions or prefer to complete the survey over the phone please call us at 855-500-1439. You may also contact HSB20survey@rti.org. Our data collection contractor, RTI International, is available to assist you with any questions you may have.

Thank you for helping to make HS&B:20 a success.

Elise Christopher, PhD

HS&B:20 Project Officer

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

U.S. Department of Education

Elise.Christopher@ed.gov

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