Submitted by:
National Science Foundation
2415 Eisenhower Aveue
Alexandria, VA 22314
SECTION A
INTRODUCTION
The National Science Foundation (NSF) is an independent federal agency that supports research at the frontiers of knowledge, across all fields of science and engineering (S&E) and S&E education. The NSF is the designated federal agency for administration of the Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching. (Please see http://www.paemst.org for more information on the program.). The Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST) is a White House program established by Congress in 1983 authorizing the President to bestow up to 108 awards each year to teachers of mathematics and science at the elementary and secondary levels.
This request seeks OMB approval to collect information from individuals who act as State Coordinators for the PAEMST Program. State Coordinators administer their state’s efforts in coordinating outreach for state nominations, in addition to mentoring and assisting teachers in the application process for PAEMST.
JUSTIFICATION
The PAEMST program is responsible for the efficient and effective operation of the program including recruiting and nominating qualified candidates for the PAEMST recognition and award. The program depends on State Coordinators to identify and nominate qualified applicants as well as mentoring and assisting teachers in the application process for PAEMST. This questionnaire will identify the activities that State Coordinators undertake in that effort and provide a repository of those efforts and their results.
The questionnaire will be executed electronically, within the current PAEMST website used to accept, review and make awards. The questions will be related to State Coordinator duties and will be in the following areas: Program, Recruitment, Mentoring, State Selection Committee, and the State Selection Process. Based on the percentage of response to each question, NSF would be able to better monitor the activities of the State Coordinators’ and support the efforts of the State Coordinators’ in meeting their responsibilities for the PAEMST program.
All aspects of this questionnaire will be completed electronically.
NSF staff associated with the PAEMST program in the agency’s Directorate for Education and Human Resources have been involved in the planning of this questionnaire. This questionnaire does not duplicate any current reporting or monitoring efforts.
Not applicable
This information will be crucial to understanding the process of identification, recruitment, and mentoring of applicants to the PAEMST program, the plans and activities of State Coordinators in each activity and a sharing of successful plans and strategies. Without this information the program will be unable to assess the full range of coordinator activities nor provide assistance in helping formulate effective recruitment and mentoring strategies.
Not applicable
The notice inviting comments on the PAEMST State Coordinator Collection (OMB 3145-0241) was published in the Federal Register on April 1, 2022, at 87 FR 19142, and no comments were received.
Respondents will be provided with clear notification that their responses to the questionnaire are voluntary, and will in no way affect their NSF support. PAEMST State Coordinators will also be informed that their responses to the questionnaire may be made public on the NSF and PAEMST web-sites, and will only be associated with their identities if so authorized by the coordinators. The website will carry a disclaimer explaining that the responses are the opinions of the PAEMST State Coordinators and do not necessarily reflect the policies of the National Science Foundation. The responses will not be used for any purpose other than those described in this summary.
No questions of a sensitive nature will be asked.
There are approximately 120 PAEMST State Coordinators who will receive the questionnaire annually. The estimate of the total burden is 960 hours including compiling and entering data and completing the open-ended questions.
A.12.2. Hour Burden Estimates by Each Form and Aggregate Hour Burdens
The overall annualized cost to the respondents is estimated to be $40,320. The following table shows the annualized estimate of costs to program coordinator respondents, based on average salary for state employees at the mid-level.
Respondent Type |
No. of Respondents |
Burden Hours Per Respondent |
Average Hourly Rate |
Estimated Annual Cost |
Program Coordinators |
120 |
8 |
$42 |
$40,320 |
Total |
120 |
|
|
$40,320 |
Not applicable.
The annual cost of administering the once a year questionnaire and reporting results includes:
8 hours for State Coordinators outreach, tracking of questionnaire responses and completion; outreach to State Coordinators that have not completed between June 15th (after completion of State Selection) and due date of the questionnaire on August 15th
Data Analysis and Preparation of summary report – 32 hours, review of summary report with NSF.
Total Hours – 40 hours Total Cost per Year: $4,991
There are no changes in burden.
Responses to the annual questionnaire will be summarized and used for program management improvement. The responses will be shared with State Coordinators to improve communication and to share effective strategies and plans.
Not applicable
No exceptions apply.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | Supporting Statement for Presidential Awards for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching (PAEMST): State Coordinators Que |
| Author | Baird, Steven Edwyn |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2022-07-20 |