Change Sheet Memo

Memorandum United States Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

National Center for Education Statistics

DATE: June 4, 2020

TO: Robert Sivinski, OMB

THROUGH: Carrie Clarady, Avar Consulting, in contract with NCES

FROM: Stephen P. Broughman, Project Officer, Private School Universe Survey (PSS), Cross-sectional and Sample Surveys Division, NCES

SUBJECT: Private School Universe Survey (PSS) 2019-20 and 2021-22 Summer 2020 Data Collection Change Request (OMB# 1850-0641 v.12)

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education, conducts the Private School Universe Survey (PSS), a national survey of private elementary and secondary schools. The PSS is designed to collect biennial data on the total number of private schools, teachers, and students; and to create an NCES universe frame of private schools that serve as a sampling frame for NCES surveys. This survey is an ongoing project to improve NCES universe and sample data on private schools.

The request to conduct the 2019-20 and 2021-22 PSS data collections, and the 2021-22 PSS list frame building operations was approved in April 2019 (1850-0641 v.9-10). CATI non-response follow-up for the 2019-20 PSS collection ended on March 13th, 2020. Field follow-up of the CATI nonresponding cases was scheduled to begin on April 6th and last until May 29th. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic emergency, the Census Bureau’s National Processing Center has been closed, and all Census Bureau employees are practicing social distancing. To abide by those restrictions, NCES originally delayed the beginning of field follow-up until May 4th (1850-0641 v.11). NCES has subsequently learned that, due to continuing social distance practices, the Census Bureau will not be able to conduct field follow-up for the 2019-20 PSS.

This request addresses the loss of the field follow-up and updates the data collection procedures by adding an additional email contact for the remaining schools. We will send a final reminder email (Appendix C12) to the approximately 4,000 unresolved cases, for which we have email addresses, on June 9^th encouraging the school to respond and containing the 2019-20 PSS online questionnaire link and login information.

This request does not introduce significant changes to the estimated respondent burden or the costs to the federal government. This request updates A16 (Publication Plan/Time Schedule), B2 (Procedures for Data Collection), and Appendix C12 (Final Email) was added to Appendix C (School Contacting Materials).

Part A

A16. Publication Plans/Time Schedule

2019-20 PSS

The first mailing of questionnaires (web invitation or paper questionnaire) is scheduled for October 1, 2019 (see Appendix C-2). A second mailout (paper questionnaire only) for schools that did not respond to the first mailout is scheduled for October 15, 2019. A third mailout (paper questionnaire) for schools that did not respond to the first or second mailouts is scheduled for October 28, 2019. Telephone follow-up for nonresponse will begin in January 2020. Emails (web invitation) to CATI noninterviews are scheduled to be sent out on April 15^th, May 6^th, and May 20^th., and June 9^th. Personal visit follow-up for mail/internet noninterviews and CATI noninterviews is scheduled for January 2020 through May 2020.

The 2019-20 PSS survey is being conducted according to the following time schedule:

Request Private School Lists 7/5/2018

Conduct Screener Calls for List-Frame Schools 8/13/2018-3/4/2019

Conduct Screener Calls for Area-Frame Schools 9/5/2019-9/30/2019

1^st Survey Mailout (Web invitation or paper questionnaire) 10/1/2019

2^nd Survey Mailout (Paper questionnaire only) 10/15/2019

3^rd Survey Mailout (Paper questionnaire only) 10/28/2019

CATI/Field Followup 1/13/2020-5/29/2020

Emails to CATI Nonrespondents 4/15/2020, 5/6//2020, 5/20/2020, and 5/206/9/2020

Check-in, Clerical Edit 10/1/2019-67/2020

Process Data 7/2020-10/2020

Final File 11/2020

NCES Reports Results 5/2021

Part B

B2. Procedures for Data Collection—Statistical Methods, Estimation Procedures, Accuracy, and Anticipated Problems

The first mailout (web invitation or paper questionnaire; see Appendix C-2) will be followed by a second mailout (paper questionnaire) to nonrespondents two weeks later. The second mailout will be followed by a third mailout (paper questionnaire) again two weeks later. A reminder postcard will be sent one week after the third mailout. Five weeks after the third mailout, noninterview cases will be turned over to the CATI facility for telephone follow-up and, when necessary, to field staff for personal visit follow-up. In the 2019-20 PSS, emails (web invitation) to CATI noninterviews will be sent on April 15^th, May 6^th, and May 20^th, and June 9^th.

Appendix C

C12. Final Email

Subject line: U.S. Department of Education Survey FINAL NOTICE

Dear <ADMINISTRATOR>:

This is your school’s last chance to participate in the 2019-20 Private School Survey (PSS), a biennial national data collection effort recognizing the importance of private education in the United States. If you have already completed and returned your questionnaire, thank you!

If not, we must receive your completed response by Friday, July 3. If we do not receive a completed response by this date, your school’s information, including your school’s NCES ID, will be removed from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) private school search tool. Many organizations (Google classroom, Walmart, Target, etc.) require that schools and districts are listed on the NCES site to award a grant. The NCES ID serves as proof that the entity is listed on the site.

It is critical that you respond now by clicking on the link below and logging in with your personalized User ID.

Respond now at https://respond.census.gov/pss

Log in using this User ID: <USERID>

Your participation is vital to the success of this survey as higher response rates give us confidence that the findings are accurate. We understand the many difficulties surrounding schools, their staff, and students, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Our convenient online instrument allows schools to respond on a secure website, without the need for survey enumerators to travel to schools in person.

If you have any general questions about the survey, contact the U.S. Census Bureau, the survey collection agency, via email at pss@census.gov. To learn more about PSS, visit https://www.nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation in this important data collection effort!

Sincerely,

James L. Woodworth

Commissioner

National Center for Education Statistics

U.S. Department of Education

Paperwork Burden Statement

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this voluntary information collection is 1850-0641. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 20 minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate, suggestions for improving this collection, or comments or concerns about the contents or the status of your individual submission of this questionnaire, please e-mail: pss@census.gov, or write directly to: Private School Universe Survey (PSS), National Center for Education Statistics, Potomac Center Plaza, 550 12th Street SW, Room #4012, Washington, DC 20202.