83C Change Memo

Memorandum United States Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

National Center for Education Statistics

DATE: June 30, 2020; Revised July 10, 2020

TO: Robert Sivinski, OMB

THROUGH: Carrie Clarady, OMB Liaison, NCES

FROM: Jill McCarroll, Study Director, Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies Program, NCES

SUBJECT: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2022-23 (ECLS-K:2023) Field Test Change Request (OMB# 1850-0750 v.21)

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) program, conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), draws together information from multiple sources to provide rich, descriptive data on child development, early learning, and school progress. The ECLS program studies deliver national data on children’s status at birth and at various points thereafter; children’s transitions to nonparental care, early care and education programs, and school; and children’s experiences and growth through the elementary grades. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2022-23 (ECLS-K:2023) is the fourth cohort in the series of early childhood longitudinal studies. The study will advance research in child development and early learning by providing a detailed and comprehensive source of current information on children’s early learning and development, transitions into kindergarten and beyond, and progress through school. The ECLS-K:2023 will provide data about the population of children who will be kindergartners in the 2022-23 school year, and will go beyond its predecessor kindergarten cohort studies by adding a round of data collection in the spring prior to children’s kindergarten year, known as the “preschool round.” Collecting parent data beginning in preschool will enable the study to measure influences on children’s development before entry into formal schooling, including children’s home environments and access to early care and education. The ECLS-K:2023 will focus on children’s early school experiences continuing through the fifth grade, and will include collection of data from parents, teachers, and school administrators, as well as direct child assessments. The request to conduct a field test of the ECLS-K:2023 preschool data collection activities from January through October 2020, to field test the preschool data collection materials and procedures, was approved in November 2019 (OMB# 1850-0750 v.19) with a change memo approved in January 2020 (OMB #1850-0750 v.20). The ECLS-K:2023 preschool field test will be followed by the kindergarten-first grade field test (planned for August-December 2021), the spring preschool national data collection (January-June 2022), and the fall (August-December 2022) and spring (March-July 2023) kindergarten national data collections – which will be requested under separate clearance submissions.

This request is to update study respondent materials, web surveys, and website designs that will be used in the ECLS-K:2023 fall 2020 follow-up portion of the preschool field test data collection activities. Revisions were made to these materials based on additional review and to incorporate lessons learned from the spring 2020 component of this preschool field test. The preschool fall follow-up field test for which this change request pertains will conduct data collection from September through November 2020. The data collection period was extended by a month relative to the period mentioned in the original package to permit adequate time for respondents to receive the survey invitation and complete the survey before distribution of follow-up reminders.

The requested changes do not affect the approved total cost to the federal government for conducting this study, nor do they affect participant burden. Revisions were made to some parts of the previously approved ECLS-K:2023 field test request (OMB# 1850-0750 v.19 with the most recent approved change memo request v.21) and are detailed below. Deletions are denoted with red strikethrough text, while additions are in red text.

The following edits were made in Attachment A:

• REVISED – A17 and A17-S were formatted as a bilingual postcard, similar to A2 and A2-S in the spring round (Attachment A, pages 21 and 58).

• REVISED – Revisions were made in letters A20, A20-S, A21, A21-S, A23, A23-S, A24, A24-S, A25, and A25-S, letters that are mailed with the print versions of the fall follow-up survey enclosed. The revisions added the sampled child’s first name, age, and gender, because the survey refers to the “child named in the letter” and this information was missing in the letters in previous submissions (Attachment A, pages 25, 61, 26, 62, 29, 65, 30, 66, 31, and 67).

In A20 the revision reads:

Recently, we sent you an email or text asking you to complete a short 5-minute follow-up survey about your child:

<CHILD> AGE: <AGE> <BOY/GIRL>

In A20-S the revision reads:

Recientemente le enviamos un correo electrónico o un mensaje de texto pidiéndole que complete una breve encuesta de seguimiento de 5 minutos acerca de su niño(a):

<CHILD> EDAD: <AGE> <BOY/GIRL>

In A21, A23, A24, and A25, the revision reads:

Please fill out the enclosed, 5-minute survey about your child shown below, and return it in the postage-paid envelope as soon as possible.

<CHILD> AGE: <AGE> <BOY/GIRL>

In A21-S, A23-S, A24-S, and A25-S, the revision reads:

Por favor llene la encuesta de 5 minutos que viene incluida, acerca de su niño(a) que mencionamos a continuación y devuélvala en el sobre prepagado lo más pronto posible.

<CHILD> EDAD: <AGE> <BOY/GIRL>

• REVISED – In A17, A20, and A20-S, the reference to “[emails/text]” was changed to static text, “an email or text,” in order to simplify preparation of the letter. In the English version of A17 and A20, the phrase “asking you complete…” was revised to “asking you to complete…” (Attachment A, pages 21, 25, and 61).

The revision in A17 and A20 reads:

Recently, we sent you [emails/text] an email or text asking you to complete a short 5-minute follow-up survey about your child:

<CHILD> AGE: <AGE> <BOY/GIRL>

The Spanish revision in A17 and A20-S reads:

Recientemente le enviamos [correos electrónicos/mensajes de texto] un correo electrónico o un mensaje de texto pidiéndole que complete una breve encuesta de seguimiento de 5 minutos acerca de su niño(a):

<CHILD> EDAD: <AGE> <BOY/GIRL>

• REVISED – The address block was added to letters A21, A23, A24, A25, and A27 because the address printed on the letter is used with window envelopes for delivery. In addition, the addressee merge specs were revised to accommodate mailings to respondents who do not provide their names (Attachment A, pages 26, 29, 30, 31, and 33).

[Resident/<FIRST LAST NAME>]

<Address>

<City, State Zip>

• REVISED – The English salutation merge spec in A15, A17, A18, A20, A21, A22, A23, A24, A25, A27, and A29 was revised to accommodate mailings to respondents (who completed the spring parent survey and thus are presumed to be the parent or guardian) who did not provide their names (Attachment A, pages 19, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 31, 33, and 35).

Dear [Parent or Guardian/<FIRST LAST NAME>]:

• REVISED – The Spanish salutation merge spec in A17, A15-S, A18-S, A20-S, A21-S, A22-S, A23-S, A24-S, A25-S, A27-S, and A29-S was revised to accommodate mailings to respondents who did not provide their names (Attachment A, pages 21, 56, 59, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 69, and 71).

[Estimado padre/madre/tutor o guardián/Estimado(a) <FIRST LAST NAME>],

• REVISED – Alternative merge text in Spanish were added to the bottom of English-language letters A20, A21, A23, A24, and A25. The first instruction, advising the recipient to turn the letter over to read the letter in Spanish, will be used in bilingual mailings (that is, English on one side and Spanish on the other). The second instruction, advising the recipient to call the help desk for a Spanish version of the survey, will be use in English-only mailings (Attachment A, pages 25, 26, 29, 30, and 31).

<Si usted prefiere la versión en español, vea al dorso de la carta./

Si usted prefiere recibir la encuesta adjunta en la versión en español, por favor llame al 1-855-898-2018.>

• REVISED – Text in English was added to the bottom of Spanish-language letters A20-S and A21-S advising the recipient to turn the letter over to read the letter in English (Attachment A, pages 61 and 62).

If you prefer to read this in English, please see the back of this letter.

• REVISED – Text in English at the bottom of Spanish-language letters A23-S, A24-S and A25-S was changed to advise the recipient to turn the letter over to read the letter in English (Attachment A, pages 65, 66, and 67).

If you prefer to receive the survey in English, please call 1-855-898-2018.
If you prefer to read this in English, please see the back of this letter.

• REVISED – The room number in the return address printed on the envelopes in A31, A31-S, A32, and A32-S was changed from RE 397 to RC B16, so that returns will reach the field room at Westat directly (Attachment A, pages 37, 73, 38, and 74).

• REVISED – In A15, A17, A18, A22, A23, A24, A27, and A29, an edit was made to change the suggestion from “call Westat” to “call us” (Attachment A, pages 19, 22, 23, 27, 29, 30, 33, and 35).

If you have questions or need assistance, please call Westat us at 1-855-898-2018 or send an email to ECLS@westat.com.

• REVISED – In A17 and A15-S, A18-S, A20-S, A21-S, A22-S, A23-S, A24-S, A25-S, A27-S, and A29-S, the same edit was made (Attachment A, pages 22, 56, 59, 61, 62, 63, 65, 66, 67, 69, and 71).

Si tiene alguna pregunta o necesita ayuda, por favor llame a Westat llámenos al 1-855-898-2018 o envíe un correo electrónico a ECLS@westat.com.

• REVISED – In A20 a missing period was added after the second bullet (Attachment A, page 25).

• If not, please fill out the enclosed, short survey and return it in the postage-paid envelope as soon as possible.

• REVISED – In A23 a missing period was added to the sentence (Attachment A, page 29).

Please fill out the enclosed survey about your child shown below and return it in the postage-paid envelope as soon as possible.

• REVISED – In A23 and A25, a missing article was added before “… $5 bill” (Attachment A, pages 29 and 31).

In A23: To show our appreciation, we have enclosed a $5 bill as a thank you for your time.

In A25: We know that you are busy, and in our previous mailing we included a $5 bill to show our appreciation for your time.

• REVISED – In A22-S, the English text that appears in error was removed (Attachment A, page 63).

Si tiene alguna pregunta o necesita ayuda with your login, por favor llámenos al 1-855-898-2018 o envíe un correo electrónico a ECLS@westat.com.

The following edits were made in Attachment B1:

For the web surveys in Attachment B1, no substantive changes were made. Changes to the fall follow-up survey in Attachment B1 between the approved package (#1850-0750 v.20, the January 2020 approved change memo request, has the most recently approved version of this document) and the version being submitted with this change memo can primarily be seen in additions to the programming instructions and skip boxes. Minor edits were made to clarify specifications for programmers and allow for respondents to receive particular questions. One instruction was added to inform respondents about help text. Below are the changes made to survey instructions and programmer skip patterns; any small changes made only to formatting are not included for clarity and brevity.

• REVISED –For Box 1, instructions were changed to allow respondents with particular answers to receive the next question in the survey (Attachment B1, page B1-297).

BOX 1

IF ANY OF THE CODES IN FFS005 = (2, 3, OR 5) (CHILD IS IN PUBLIC/PRIVATE SCHOOL, CHILD CARE IN A CENTER, OR HOMESCHOOLED), GO TO FFS010. ELSE IF FFS005 = (1 OR 4) (CHILD IS NOT IN SCHOOL OR IS IN CHILD CARE IN A HOME) GO TO FFS035. ELSE TO FFS010.

• REVISED –For FFS010, the help text that was shown as instructional text (next to“InstResp”) was moved to help text in the specification. Because of this change, the instructional text was changed to note the location of the help text (Attachment B1, page B1-298).

InstResp "Note: Throughout the survey, click the blue “i” icon for more information about an item."

• REVISED –For FFS012b, the instructions were changed to correspond to how the dropdown list of states functions. Respondents should scroll to their answer rather than type the first letter of their answer for a dropdown list (Attachment B1, page B1-301).

Question "What state do you now live in?

Start by typing the first letter of the state, district, or territory name. Please select a state, district, or territory. If you find a match in the list, select it from the list. If you live in another country, select "Moved out of the county." If you don't find a match, select "Not on List."

State:"

Watermark "Select a state"

• REVISED –For FFS012b, in the Spanish text, the period was moved outside the quote for “Me mudé fuera del país”. and “No está en la lista". (Attachment B1, page B1-301.)

• REVISED –For FFS013a, a note was added to programmer instructions to clarify that when a county is displayed in the question, the state associated with the county will also be displayed (Attachment B1, page B1-302).

NOTE: THE COUNTY NAME IS LISTED WITH THE NAME OF THE STATE.

• REVISED –For FFS013b, a skip was added for respondents who skip FFS013b and have a nonmissing school name for kindergarten in the preschool parent survey (Attachment B1, page B1-302).

IF FFS013B = SK AND THERE IS A NONMISSING SCHOOL NAME IN THE PRELOAD GO TO FFS015.

• REVISED –For FFS013b in the Spanish text, the period was moved outside the quote for “No está en la lista". (Attachment B1, page B1-302.)

• REVISED –For Box 3, instructions were simplified to allow for a larger number of cases to receive question FFS015 about whether the child is attending the school named in the spring parent survey (Attachment B1, page B1-303).

BOX 3

IF FFS001 = 1 (CHILD LIVES WITH SPONDENT) AND FFS010 = 2 (CHILD IS IN

KINDERGARTEN) AND FFS011 = 2 (RESPONDENT HAS NOT MOVED) AND THERE

IS A NONMISSING SCHOOL NAME FROM THE SPRING PARENT SURVEY IN THE PRELOAD, GO TO FFS015.

IF FFS001 = 1 (CHILD LIVES WITH RESPONDENT) AND FFS010 = 2 (CHILD IS IN

KINDERGARTEN) AND FFS011 = 1 (RESPONDENT HAS MOVED) AND FFS012A = 1

(MOVED WITHIN STATE) AND FFS013A = 1 (MOVED WITHIN COUNTY) AND THERE IS A

NONMISSING SCHOOL NAME FROM THE SPRING PARENT SURVEY IN THE PRELOAD, GO TO FFS015.

IF FFS001 = 1 (CHILD LIVES WITH RESPONDENT) AND FFS010 = 2 (CHILD IS IN

KINDERGARTEN) AND FFS011 = 1 (RESPONDENT HAS MOVED) AND FFS012B =

SK (UNKNOWN MOVED TO ANOTHER STATE) AND THERE IS A NONMISSING SCHOOL NAME FROM THE SPRING PARENT SURVEY IN THE PRELOAD, GO TO FFS015.

IF FFS001 = 1 (CHILD LIVES WITH RESPONDENT) AND FFS010 = 2 (CHILD IS IN

KINDERGARTEN) AND FFS011 = 1 (RESPONDENT HAS MOVED) AND FFS013A =

SK (UNKNOWN MOVED TO ANOTHER COUNTY) AND THERE IS A NONMISSING SCHOOL NAME FROM THE SPRING PARENT SURVEY IN THE PRELOAD, GO TO FFS015.

IF THERE IS A NONMISSING SCHOOL NAME FROM THE SPRING PARENT SURVEY IN THE PRELOAD, GO TO FFS015.

ELSE GO TO FFS020.

• REVISED –For Box 4 an instruction was added so that if the respondent skips the question about moving (FFS011 = SK), the case will be assigned the default FIPS county code from the preload (Attachment B1, page B1-305).

BOX 4

DETERMINE THE RESPONDENT’S CURRENT COUNTY OF RESIDENCE (VARIABLE DEFINED BELOW AS FIPS_NOW), DETERMINE WHETHER IT IS IN A SAMPLED COUNTY (VARIABLE DEFINED BELOW AS FIPS_FLAG), AND ASSIGN THE FIPS COUNTY CODE, AS DEFINED BELOW.

IF FFS011 = 2 OR SK (RESPONDENT HAS NOT MOVED OR THAT QUESTION WAS SKIPPED) THEN FIPS_NOW = FIPS COUNTY CODE FROM THE PRELOAD.

ELSE IF FFS011 = 1 AND FFS012A = 1 AND FFS013A=1 (RESPONDENT MOVED TO

ANOTHER ADDRESS IN THE SAME COUNTY) THEN FIPS_NOW = FIPS COUNTY CODE FROM THE PRELOAD.

ELSE IF (FFS012A = 2 OR FFS013A = 2) AND FFS013B IS NOT EQUAL TO SK OR “NOT ON

LIST” (RESPONDENT MOVED TO ANOTHER STATE OR COUNTY AND PROVIDED AN

ANSWER FOR THE NEW COUNTY) THEN FIPS_NOW = FIPS COUNTY CODE FROM

FFS013B.

ELSE FIPS_NOW = MISSING.

CROSS REFERENCE THE CURRENT COUNTY OF RESIDENCE (FIPS_NOW) WITH THE FLAG INDICATING WHETHER THE COUNTY IS IN THE SAMPLE (FIPS_FLAG).

IF THE COUNTY OF RESIDENCE IS IN A SAMPLED COUNTY (FIPS_FLAG = 1 FOR THE

COUNTY IN FIPS_NOW) AND THE CURRENT COUNTY OF RESIDENCE (FIPS_NOW) IS EQUAL

TO THE FIPS COUNTY CODE FROM THE PRELOAD, THEN GO TO FFS025.

ELSE IF THE COUNTY OF RESIDENCE IS IN A SAMPLED COUNTY (FIPS_FLAG = 1 FOR THE COUNTY IN FIPS_NOW) AND THE CURRENT COUNTY OF RESIDENCE (FIPS_NOW) IS NOT EQUAL TO THE FIPS COUNTY CODE FROM THE PRELOAD, GO TO FFS025OS.

ELSE GO TO FFS035.

• REVISED –For FFS025, a note was added to the display instruction to clarify the specification for programmers (Attachment B1, page B1-307).

NOTE: THE SCHOOL NAME LIST INCLUDES THE SCHOOL NAME AND ADDRESS (STREET AND CITY, NOT STATE AND ZIP CODE) ON ONE LINE, IN ALPHABETICAL ORDER.

• REVISED –For FFS025, errors referencing item numbers in KSQ rather than FFS were corrected in the programming instructions (Attachment B1, page B1-308).

SAVE THE 12 DIGIT ID (NCESSCH_ID) OF THE SCHOOL SELECTED AS KSQ010 FFS025, AND A NEW VARIABLE KSQ010 FFS025_ASK TO SAVE THE CODES 1-25 OF THE SELECTED SCHOOL IN THE LIST.

• REVISED –For FFS035, question text was added to tell respondents to claim their Amazon code or cash (Attachment B1, page B1-309).

"Thank you for your participation in the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study! Please click "Finish" to complete your survey and claim your Amazon code or cash."

• REVISED – For FFS005, text was added to response categories to clarify that parents should report on both in-person and virtual attendance at school. (Attachment B1, page B1-296.)

CODES

1 Not in school either in person or virtually?

2 In a public or private school either in person or virtually, including preschools?

3 In child care in a center INSTEAD of attending a public or private school either in person or virtually?

4 In child care in a home INSTEAD of attending a public or private school either in person or virtually?

5 Homeschooled INSTEAD of attending a public or private school either in person or virtually (including preschools) for some or all classes?

• REVISED – For FFS015, question text was added to clarify that parents should report on both in-person and virtual attendance at school. (Attachment B1, page B1-303.)

“Is {CHILD} attending {SCHOOL NAMED IN SPRING PARENT SURVEY} either in person or virtually?”

• REVISED – For FFS020, text was added to response categories to clarify that parents should report on both in-person and virtual attendance at school. (Attachment B1, page B1-304.)

CODES

1 Public school either in person or virtually (or both public and homeschooled)

2 Private school either in person or virtually

3 Homeschooled only

4 Not in school either in person or virtually

• REVISED – For FFS025, question text was added to clarify that parents should report on both in-person and virtual attendance at school. (Attachment B1, page B1-307.)

“What is the name of the public school where {CHILD} attends kindergarten either in person or virtually?”

The following edits were made in Attachment C:

• REVISED – Purpose of Attachment – 4^th bullet under "All screen will have:" We removed the words "and yellow" to accurately describe the final MyECLS website appearance (Attachment C, page 4).

"standard color scheme, consisting of a green and yellow horizontal bar beneath the three logos, and blue text boxes; and"

• REVISED – Screen 14: Home/Login – Fall. A watermark and note was added. This same language already appeared on the spring data collection screens, but was missing from the fall follow-up screens (Attachment C, page 51).

"Email Address or Mobile Number:

(Watermark: name@domain.com or (555) 555-5555)

*By providing my mobile phone number, I agree to receive a text message to log back into this survey. Message and data rates may apply."

"Dirección de correo electrónico o número de teléfono celular:

(Watermark: nombre@dominio.com o (555) 555-5555)

*Al proporcionar mi número de teléfono celular, acepto recibir un mensaje de texto para volver a iniciar sesión en esta encuesta. Pueden aplicarse tarifas de mensaje y transmisión de datos."

• REVISED – Screen 14: Home/Login – Fall. Added an instruction for what to do if the user did not provide an email or mobile phone number to the study. This is the same language that appeared on the spring survey returning user screen. (Attachment C, pages 51-52).

"If you did not provide an email address or mobile phone number, please contact us at 1-855-898-2018."

"Si usted no proporcionó una dirección de correo electrónico o un número de teléfono celular, por favor comuníquese con nosotros al 1-855-898-2018."

• ADDITION – Screen 15a: Survey Complete Validation Message – Fall. This is the same validation message approved for the spring data collection (see Screen 2b on pages 13-14). The version of the screen for the fall follow-up has now been added (Attachment C, pages 57-58).

The additional language is:

"You have already completed this survey. Thank you for your participation!"

"Usted ya ha completado esta encuesta. ¡Gracias por su participación!"

Page Details

Text alerting the user to the previous completion of the survey will be displayed if the respondent attempts to return to the survey using their email address or mobile phone number after they have already completed the survey.

• ADDITION – Screen 17: Survey Complete – Fall. The link for more information about Amazon's gift codes that appears on screen 18 was also added to screen 17 (Attachment C, page 64).

The additional language is:

To learn more about using an Amazon code, please visit:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201138870

Para obtener más información sobre el uso de un código de Amazon, por favor visite la página:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/help/customer/display.html?nodeId=201138870

• ADDITION – Screen 22: Logout Validation – Contact Information Provided – Fall. This is a similar screen approved for the spring data collection. The entire screen was added (Attachment C, page 88-89).

English Text Reads:

Thank you. All of your answers have been saved.

You can return to this survey any time by going to https://MyECLS.ed.gov

You will be asked to provide the same email address or mobile phone number when you return.

A temporary code, which you will use to return to your survey, will be sent to you at this email address or mobile phone number.

Spanish Text Reads:

Gracias. Todas sus respuestas se han guardado.

Usted puede volver a esta encuesta en cualquier momento yendo a https://MyECLS.ed.gov

Cuando vuelva a la encuesta, se le pedirá que proporcione la misma dirección de correo electrónico o número de teléfono celular.

Se le enviará un código temporal a esta dirección de correo electrónico o a este número de teléfono celular y usted usará el código para volver a su encuesta.

Page Details

The Logout Validation – Contact Information Provided screen is shown to eligible respondents who have provided an email address or mobile number and click on the logout button while completing the survey. This screen thanks the respondent for starting the survey and provides instructions for returning to complete the survey at a later time.