**Request for System Clearance**

**Quick Response Information System**

Section A. Justification

A.1. Importance of the Information

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Quick Response
Information System (QRIS) consists of the Fast Response Survey System
(FRSS) and the Postsecondary Education Quick Information System (PEQIS).
The QRIS currently conducts surveys under OMB generic clearance
1850-0733, which expires in October 2009. This clearance request
represents a request for a continuation of the current clearance
conditions through October 2012. FRSS primarily conducts surveys of the
elementary/secondary sector (districts, schools) and public libraries.
PEQIS conducts surveys of the postsecondary education sector. FRSS and
PEQIS surveys are cleared under the QRIS generic clearance. The QRIS
clearance goes through the regular clearance process at OMB with a
60-day notice and a 30-day notice as part of the 120-day review period.
The QRIS package describes the general scope of the surveys, their quick
turnaround time, their length, size of sample, sample design, and some
typical topics. Each individual FRSS or PEQIS survey goes into the
clearance process with an abbreviated clearance package, justifying the
particular content of the survey, describing the sample design, the
timeline for the survey activities, and the questionnaire. The review
period for each individual survey is approximately 45 days, including a
30-day Federal Register notice period. OMB will provide comments as soon
after the end of the 30-day notice period as possible. This generic
clearance request is for surveys of state education agencies, school
districts, schools, postsecondary institutions, and libraries. Surveys
of teachers, students, commercial establishments, and households are not
included in this request.

The Fast Response Survey System (FRSS), established in 1975, and the
Postsecondary Education Quick Information System (PEQIS), established in
1991, are operated by the National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES), Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education,
to meet the data needs of Department of Education officials and other
government officials with education data needs (e.g., the Department of
Agriculture or the National Endowment for the Arts). NCES is authorized
to conduct these surveys under Part C, Section 153(a) of the Education
Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-279), which states that the
purpose of NCES is "to collect, report, analyze, and disseminate
statistical data related to education in the United States and in other
nations." FRSS and PEQIS, referred to in their combined form as the
Quick Response Information System (QRIS), provide information that is
needed quickly and that cannot be collected through traditional NCES
surveys, either because the topic of interest is not covered by current
surveys or because of time constraints. NCES receives requests for data
to help formulate policy; to make legislative, budgetary, and planning
decisions for existing programs; and to develop new programs. Findings
from QRIS surveys may be included in Congressional reports, testimony to
Congressional subcommittees, and Department of Education reports. The
findings may also be used by state and local education officials.

FRSS is designed to conduct brief surveys of state education agencies
(SEAs), public school districts, public and private elementary and
secondary schools, and school and public libraries. A nationally
representative probability sample of the appropriate respondent group is
selected for each FRSS survey. The typical sample size for an FRSS
survey of districts or schools is 1,200 respondents. Depending on the
survey topic, samples are either nationally representative general
purpose probability-proportionate-to-size (PPS) samples selected from
the appropriate NCES sampling frame (e.g., the Common Core of Data
district or school frames, the public library frame), or nationally
representative special purpose samples tailored to the specific needs of
a survey (e.g., districts with Title I funding or schools with education
partnerships or specific grade spans). FRSS sampling approaches are
discussed in more detail in Section B.

PEQIS is designed to conduct brief surveys of postsecondary education
institutions or state higher education agencies. Most PEQIS surveys of
postsecondary education institutions use the PEQIS panel, which is a
nationally representative sample of approximately 1,600 2-year, 4-year,
and graduate level postsecondary institutions in the United States that
agreed to participate in the PEQIS system (see Section B for additional
information about the PEQIS panel). The panel consists of all types of
Title IV degree-granting postsecondary institutions at the 2-year,
4-year, and graduate levels, including universities, baccalaureate
colleges, community colleges, technical schools, graduate and
professional schools, and nursing and health science schools. PEQIS can
also include a supplementary sample of less-than-2-year or
non-degree-granting postsecondary institutions when required for a
particular survey. These institutions were not included in the basic
PEQIS panel because of the great volatility of these types of
institutions and low frequency of survey topics for which these
institutions are appropriate. These institutions, many of which are
proprietary, open and close at a much faster rate than the types of
postsecondary institutions included in the PEQIS panel. Thus, NCES
decided that when a survey was requested through PEQIS that included
less-than-2-year or non-degree-granting institutions, the most recent
IPEDS Institutional Characteristics file would be used to draw an
up-to-date supplementary sample of these institutions to be used for
that survey. This procedure was used for the PEQIS surveys on financial
aid, campus crime, and occupational programs, where obtaining
information from less-than-2-year institutions was crucial. The PEQIS
universe and panel are discussed in more detail in Section B. Depending
on the topic of the survey, questionnaires can either be sent to all
institutions in the PEQIS panel or to a subsample of the institutions,
for example, 2-year institutions. Surveys can also be sent to state
higher education agencies.

A.2. Purposes and Uses of the Data

QRIS is designed to conduct 5 to 10 surveys each year in response to
requests from Department of Education and other government officials who
have education data needs that cannot be met through other NCES surveys.
For example, the FRSS surveys on Internet access in U.S. public schools
provided data on a timely basis to the Secretary of Education regarding
the availability and use of the Internet in public schools. Other recent
FRSS surveys provided information about distance education courses for
public elementary and secondary school students, principals' perceptions
of their school facilities, and after-school programs in public
elementary schools. A recent PEQIS survey provided information about
distance education at postsecondary institutions. Other recent PEQIS
surveys provided information about remedial education, educational
technology in teacher education programs, and dual enrollment programs
for high school students at postsecondary institutions. Individual
surveys typically are nonrecurring, although a few, such as the Internet
access and distance education surveys, have been repeated at various
intervals. In the past, QRIS surveys were typically been mail surveys
with telephone followup for questionnaire nonresponse and data
consistency. Beginning with surveys conducted in fall 2003, QRIS surveys
integrated a Web version of the questionnaire into the data collection.
FRSS has conducted over 90 surveys and PEQIS has conducted 15 surveys
thus far on a variety of topics. The questionnaires for a few of these
FRSS and PEQIS surveys are attached (see attachment A). A listing of the
surveys conducted under FRSS and PEQIS is given in Exhibit 1.

A.3. Improved Information Technology

In the past, QRIS surveys were typically been mail surveys with
telephone followup for questionnaire nonresponse and data consistency.
Beginning with surveys conducted in fall 2003, QRIS surveys integrated a
Web version of the questionnaire into the data collection. Respondents
are given the option of responding on a traditional pencil and paper
questionnaire, or on a Web version of the questionnaire. When paper
versions of the questionnaire are used, they are transmitted to and from
respondents by fax whenever possible. In addition, the email address for
the contractor (Westat) responsible for answering respondent questions
is included on the front of the questionnaire. These procedures are all
designed to minimize the burden on respondents.

Exhibit 1. Summary of FRSS and PEQIS surveys and data requesters

  ---------------------------- ------------- ----------------------------
  FRSS Survey Number and Title Sector        Data Requester
                               Surveyed      

  1\. Statewide Developments   SEAs          National Institute of
  in Performance-Based                       Education (NIE)/DHEW
  Education, 1976                            

  2\. Job Placement Services   Public school Office of Assistant
  Provided by Public School    districts     Secretary for Education
  Districts to High School                   (OASE)/DHEW \-- coordinated
  Students, Graduates, and                   with U.S.E.S.
  Dropouts, 1976                             

  3\. Part-time Student        Colleges      Office of Planning, Budget
  Financial Aid Counselors in                and Evaluation, OE/DHEW
  Institutions of Higher                     
  Education, 1977                            

  4\. Teacher and              Public school National Center for
  Administrator Shortages in   districts     Education Statistics
  Public School Systems, Fall                (NCES)/DHEW
  1977                                       

  5\. Training Needs of Public Public school Assistant Secretary for
  School Administrators,       districts     Education/
  Summer 1978                                DHEW---coordinated with
                                             American Association of
                                             School Administrators

  6\. Arts Education: Policies SEAs          Arts Coordinator, OE/DHEW
  and Programs, Winter                       
  1978-1979                                  

  7\. School Districts         Public school Office of Assistant
  Participating in Multiple    districts     Secretary for Education
  Federal Programs, Winter                   (OASE)/DHEW
  1978-79                                    

  8\. ESEA Title I Evaluation: Public school Office of Assistant
  School District Needs for    districts     Secretary for Planning and
  Technical Assistance, 1979                 Evaluation (ASPE)/DHEW

  9\. ESEA Title I Schoolwide  SEAs          Office of Legislation,
  Projects: Eligibility and                  OE/DHEW
  Participation, 1979                        

  10\. Availability of         Four-year     National Council on Women\'s
  Evening-Weekend              colleges      Educational Programs/DHEW
  Baccalaureate Degree-Credit                
  Courses, 1980                              

  11\. State Vocational        SEAs          Office of Occupational and
  Education Programs in the                  Adult Education(OAE)/ED
  Arts and Related Careers,                  
  1980                                       

  12\. Interactive Use of      Public school Office of Educational
  Computers for Instruction,   districts     Research and Improvement
  1980                                       (OERI)/ED

  13\. School District         Public school School Finance Project/ED
  Perceptions of Federal       districts     
  Competitive Education                      
  Programs, 1981                             

  14\. Instructional Use of    Public        Assistant Secretary for
  Computers in Public Schools, schools       Educational Research and
  1982                                       Improvement/ED

  15\. School District         Public school National Commission on
  Academic Requirements and    districts     Excellence in Education/ED
  Achievement, 1982                          

  16\. Undergraduate Teacher   Four-year     National Commission on
  Education, 1982-83           colleges      Excellence in Education/ED

  17\. Federal Discretionary   SEAs          Office of Vocational and
  Program Priorities for the                 Adult Education (OVAE)/ED
  Office of Vocational and                   
  Adult Education (OVAE),                    
  1983-84                                    
  ---------------------------- ------------- ----------------------------

Exhibit 1. Summary of FRSS and PEQIS surveys and data requesters
(continued)

  ---------------------------- ------------- -----------------------------
  FRSS Survey Number and Title Sector        Data Requester
                               Surveyed      

  18\. Teacher Preparation in  Four-year     Assistant Secretary for
  the Use of Computers in      colleges      Educational Research and
  Education, 1984                            Improvement/ED

  19\. Remedial/Developmental  Colleges      Under-Secretary of
  Studies in Institutions of                 Education/ED
  Higher Education, 1984                     

  20\. Patron Use of Computers Public        Center for Libraries and
  in Public Libraries, 1984-85 library       Education Information, Office
                               systems       of Educational Research and
                                             Improvement (OERI)/ED

  21\. School Discipline       Public        National Council on
  Policies and Practices, 1985 schools       Educational Research (NCER)
                                             through the National
                                             Institute of Education
                                             (NIE)/ED

  22\. Use of Volunteers in    Adult         Adult Literacy Initiative
  Adult Literacy, 1985         literacy      
                               programs      

  23\. High School Academic    Public school National Commission on
  Requirements/ Initiatives,   districts     Excellence in Education
  1985                                       (NCEE)/ED

  24\. ECIA Chapter 1          Public school Office of Research, Office of
  Oversight Experience, 1986   districts     Educational Research and
                                             Improvements (OERI)/ED

  25\. ECIA Chapter 1          Public school Office of Research, Office of
  Participation of Nonpublic   districts     Educational Research and
  School Students, 1986                      Improvements (OERI)/ED

  26\. Teacher Perspectives of Teachers in   Office of the General
  School Discipline, 1986-87   public        Counsel/ED
                               schools       

  27\. Arts and Humanities     Public school National Endowment for the
  Policies of School           districts     Arts (NEA) and National
  Districts, 1987                            Endowment for the Humanities
                                             (NEH)

  28\. Library Services to     Public        Office of Library Programs,
  Young Adults in Public       libraries     Office of Educational
  Libraries, 1987                            Research and Improvement
                                             (OERI)/ED

  29a. State Survey on         SEAs          Office of Planning, Budget
  Substance Abuse Education,                 and Evaluation (OPBE)/ED
  1987                                       

  29b. District Survey on      Public school Office of Planning, Budget
  Substance Abuse Education,   districts     and Evaluation (OPBE)/ED
  1987                                       

  30\. State Vocational        SEAs          Office of Planning, Budget
  Education Policies, 1987                   and Evaluation (OPBE)/ED

  31\. Public School Early                   Survey canceled by NCES
  Estimates, 1987                            

  32\. Principals\'            Principals in Office of Educational
  Perceptions of Academic      public high   Research and Improvement
  Reform, 1987                 schools       (OERI)/ED

  33\. Education Partnerships, Public        Private Sector Initiative
  1988                         schools       (PSI)/ED

  34\. Use of Research and     Public school Office of Educational
  Development Resources, 1989  districts     Research and Improvement
                                             (OERI)/ED

  35\. Private School Early    Private       National Center for Education
  Estimates, 1988              schools       Statistics (NCES)/ED

  36\. Services to Children in Public        Office of Library Programs,
  Public Libraries, 1989       libraries     Office of Educational
                                             Research and Improvement
                                             (OERI)/ED
  ---------------------------- ------------- -----------------------------

Exhibit 1. Summary of FRSS and PEQIS surveys and data requesters
(continued)

  ---------------------------- ---------------- ----------------------------
  FRSS Survey Number and Title Sector Surveyed  Data Requester

  37\. Survey of State Library                  Survey canceled by Office of
  Agencies, 1989                                Library Programs/ED

  38\. Remedial Developmental  Colleges         National Center for
  Studies in Colleges, 1990                     Education Statistics
                                                (NCES)/ED

  39\. Office for Civil Rights Public school    Office for Civil Rights
  Feasibility Study, 1991      districts        (OCR)/ED

  40\. District Survey on      Public school    National Center for
  Safe, Drug-free, Disciplined districts        Education Statistics (NCES)
  Schools, 1991                                 and Office of Planning,
                                                Budget, and Evaluation
                                                (OPBE)/ED

  41\. School Survey on Safe,  Public schools   National Center for
  Drug-free, Disciplined                        Education Statistics (NCES)
  Schools, 1991                                 and Office of Planning,
                                                Budget, and Evaluation
                                                (OPBE)/ED

  42\. Teacher Survey on Safe, Teachers in      National Center for
  Drug-free, Disciplined       public\          Education Statistics (NCES)
  Schools, 1991                schools          and Office of Planning,
                                                Budget, and Evaluation
                                                (OPBE)/ED

  43\. Postsecondary           Postsecondary\   National Center for
  Institutional Reporting      institutions     Education Statistics
  Capability, 1991                              (NCES)/ED

  44\. Survey on Teacher       Teachers in      Office of Research, Office
  Performance Evaluations,     public\          of Educational Research and
  1993                         elementary       Improvement (OERI)/ED
                               schools          

  45\. National Assessment of  Teachers in      Office of Research, Office
  Vocational Education Survey  public\          of Educational Research and
  of Teachers, 1992            secondary        Improvement (OERI)/ED
                               schools          

  46\. Kindergarten Teacher    Kindergarten     National Center for
  Survey on School Readiness,  teachers in      Education Statistics
  1993                         public schools   (NCES)/ED and National
                                                Education Goals Panel

  47a. Public Library Services Public libraries Office of Library Programs,
  to Children, 1994                             Office of Educational
                                                Research and Improvement
                                                (OERI)/ED

  47b. Public Library Services Public libraries Office of Library Programs,
  to Young Adults, 1994                         Office of Educational
                                                Research and Improvement
                                                (OERI)/ED

  48\. High School Curricular  Public high\     National Center for
  Options, 1993-94             schools          Education Statistics
                                                (NCES)/ED

  49\. Survey of Attitudes and Household RDD    National Center for
  Expectations toward                           Education Statistics
  Secondary Education in the                    (NCES)/ED
  U.S., 1994                                    

  50a. Arts Education for      Public           National Endowment for the
  Elementary Schools, 1994     elementary\      Arts (NEA)
                               schools          

  50b. Arts Education for      Public           National Endowment for the
  Secondary Schools, 1994      secondary\       Arts (NEA)
                               schools          

  51\. Advanced                Public           Office of the Secretary/ED
  Telecommunications in Public elementary and   
  Elementary and Secondary     secondary\       
  Schools, 1994                schools          
  ---------------------------- ---------------- ----------------------------

Exhibit 1. Summary of FRSS and PEQIS surveys and data requesters
(continued)

  ---------------------------- ------------- ----------------------------
  FRSS Survey Number and Title Sector        Data Requester
                               Surveyed      

  52\. Nutrition Education in  Public        Office of Analysis and
  U.S. Public Schools, 1995    elementary    Evaluation, Food and
                               and secondary Consumer Service, U.S.
                               schools       Department of Agriculture
                                             and the National Center for
                                             Education Statistics
                                             (NCES)/ED

  53\. School Survey on Racial Public        National Center for
  and Ethnic Classifications,  elementary    Education Statistics (NCES)
  1995                         and secondary and the Office for Civil
                               school        Rights (OCR)/ED
                               principals    

  54\. School Education        Public        Office of Educational
  Reform, 1996                 elementary    Research and Improvement
                               and secondary (OERI), and the Planning and
                               school        Evaluation Service (PES)/ED
                               principals    

  55\. Teacher Education       Public        Office of Educational
  Reform, 1996                 elementary    Research and Improvement
                               and secondary (OERI), and the Planning and
                               school        Evaluation Service (PES)/ED
                               teachers      

  56\. Advanced                Private       Office of Nonpublic
  Telecommunications in U.S.   schools,\     Education/ED
  Private Schools, K-12, 1995  K-12          

  57\. Advanced                Public        Office of the Secretary /ED
  Telecommunications in U.S.   schools,\     
  Public Schools, K-12, 1995   K-12          

  58\. Parental Involvement in Public        National Center for
  Public Schools, 1996         schools       Education Statistics
                                             (NCES)/ED

  59\. State Survey on Racial  Telephone     National Center for
  and Ethnic Classifications   survey of     Education Statistics (NCES)
  in Public Schools, 1997      SEAs          and the Office for Civil
                                             Rights (OCR)/ED

  60\. Teacher Nutrition       Teachers in   U.S. Department of
  Education, 1997              public\       Agriculture
                               elementary    
                               schools       

  61\. Advanced                Public        Office of the Secretary/ED
  telecommunications in U.S.   elementary    
  public schools, K-12, 1996   and secondary 
                               schools       

  62\. Summer Migrant          Providers of  Office of Migrant Education
  Education Programs, 1998     summer        (OME)/ED
                               migrant       
                               education     
                               programs      

  63\. Principal/School        Public        National Center for
  Disciplinarian Survey on     elementary    Education Statistics (NCES)
  School Violence, 1997        and secondary and the Planning and
                               schools       Evaluation Service (PES)/ED

  64\. Internet Access in U.S. Public        Office of the Secretary/ED
  Public Schools, Fall 1997    elementary    
                               and secondary 
                               schools       

  65\. Teacher Survey on       Teachers in   Office of the Secretary/ED
  Professional Development and public\       
  Training, 1998               elementary    
                               and secondary 
                               schools       

  66\. Programs for Adults in  Public        Office of Educational
  Public Library Outlets, 2000 libraries     Research and Improvement
                                             (OERI), the National Library
                                             of Education , and the
                                             National Center for
                                             Education Statistics
                                             (NCES)/ED
  ---------------------------- ------------- ----------------------------

Exhibit 1. Summary of FRSS and PEQIS surveys and data requesters
(continued)

  ----------------------------- ------------- ----------------------------
  FRSS Survey Number and Title  Sector        Data Requester
                                Surveyed      

  67a. Elementary Arts          Public        Office of Educational
  Education Survey, Fall 1999   elementary    Research and Improvement
                                schools       (OERI)/ED and the National
                                              Endowment for the Arts

  67b. Secondary Arts Education Public        Office of Educational
  Survey, Fall 1999             secondary     Research and Improvement
                                schools       (OERI)/ED and the National
                                              Endowment for the Arts

  68\. Advanced                 Private       Office of Nonpublic
  Telecommunications in U.S.    elementary    Education/ED
  Private Schools: 1998-1999    and secondary 
                                schools       

  69\. Internet Access in U.S.  Public        Office of the Secretary/ED
  Public Schools, Fall 1998     elementary    
                                and secondary 
                                schools       

  70\. Public School Teachers   Teachers in   Office of the Secretary/ED
  Use of Advanced               public\       
  Telecommunications and Other  elementary    
  Technologies in the           and secondary 
  Classroom, 1999               schools       

  71\. Service-Learning and     Public        Office of the Secretary/ED
  Community Service, 1999       elementary    
                                and secondary 
                                schools       

  72\. Vocational Programs in   Public        Office of Vocational and
  Secondary Schools, 1999       secondary     Adult Education (OVAE)/ED
                                schools       

  73\. Condition of Public      Public        Office of the Under
  School Facilities, 1999       elementary    Secretary/ED
                                and secondary 
                                schools       

  74\. Teacher Professional     Teachers in   Office of the Secretary/ED
  Development and Training in   public\       
  U.S. Public Schools,          elementary    
  1999-2000                     and secondary 
                                schools       

  75\. Internet Access in U.S.  Public        Office of the Secretary/ED
  Public Schools, Fall 1999     elementary    
                                and secondary 
                                schools       

  76\. District Survey of       Public school Office of the Under
  Alternative Schools and       districts     Secretary and Office of
  Programs, 2000                              Special Education and
                                              Rehabilitative Services
                                              (OSERS)/ED

  77a. Elementary School Visual Visual arts   Office of Educational
  Arts Specialists, 2000        specialists   Research and Improvement
                                in public\    (OERI)/ED and the National
                                elementary    Endowment for the Arts
                                schools       

  77b. Elementary School Music  Music         Office of Educational
  Specialists, 2000             specialists   Research and Improvement
                                in public\    (OERI)/ED and the National
                                elementary    Endowment for the Arts
                                schools       

  77c. Arts Survey of           Classroom     Office of Educational
  Elementary School Classroom   teachers in   Research and Improvement
  Teachers, 2000                public\       (OERI)/ED and the National
                                elementary    Endowment for the Arts
                                schools       
  ----------------------------- ------------- ----------------------------

Exhibit 1. Summary of FRSS and PEQIS surveys and data requesters
(continued)

  ---------------------------- ------------- ----------------------------
  FRSS Survey Number and Title Sector        Data Requester
                               Surveyed      

  78\. Classes that Serve      Public        Office of Educational
  Children Prior to            elementary    Research and Improvement
  Kindergarten, 2001           and special   (OERI)/ED
                               education     
                               schools       

  79\. Internet Access in U.S. Public        Office of the Secretary/ED
  Public Schools, Fall 2000    elementary    
                               and secondary 
                               schools       

  80\. Survey of High School   Public high   Office of Vocational and
  Guidance Counseling, 2001    schools       Adult Education (OVAE)/ED

  81\. Effects of Energy Needs Public school National Center for
  and Expenditures on U.S.     districts     Education Statistics
  Public Schools, 2001                       (NCES)/ED

  82\. Internet Access in U.S. Public        Office of the Secretary/ED
  Public Schools, Fall 2001    elementary    
                               and secondary 
                               schools       

  83\. Internet Access in U.S. Public        Office of the Secretary/ED
  Public Schools, Fall 2002    elementary    
                               and secondary 
                               schools       

  84\. Distance Education      Public school Office of the Secretary/ED
  Courses for Public           districts     
  Elementary and Secondary                   
  School Students: 2002-03                   

  85\. Dual Credit and         Public high   Office of Vocational and
  Exam-based Courses, 2003     schools       Adult Education (OVAE)/ED

  86\. Internet Access in U.S. Public        Office of the Secretary/ED
  Public Schools, Fall 2003    elementary    
                               and secondary 
                               schools       

  87\. Foods and Physical      Public        National Center for
  Activity in Public           elementary    Education Statistics
  Elementary Schools: 2005     schools       (NCES)/ED

  88\. Public School           Public        National Center for
  Principals' Perceptions of   elementary    Education Statistics
  Their School Facilities:     and secondary (NCES)/ED
  Fall 2005                    schools       

  89\. Distance Education      Public school Office of the Secretary/ED
  Courses for Public           districts     
  Elementary and Secondary                   
  School Students: 2004-05                   

  90\. Internet Access in U.S. Public        Office of the Secretary/ED
  Public Schools, Fall 2005    elementary    
                               and secondary 
                               schools       

  91\. After-school Programs   Public        Office of Elementary and
  in Public Elementary         elementary    Secondary Education
  Schools, 2008                schools       (OESE)/ED

  92\. Educational Technology  Public        Office of the Secretary/ED
  in U.S. Public Schools, Fall elementary    
  2008                         and secondary 
                               schools       
  ---------------------------- ------------- ----------------------------

Exhibit 1. Summary of FRSS and PEQIS surveys and data requesters
(continued)

  ---------------------------- ------------- ----------------------------
  FRSS Survey Number and Title Sector        Data Requester
                               Surveyed      

  93\. Educational Technology  Public school Office of the Secretary/ED
  in Public School Districts,  districts     
  Fall 2008                                  

  94\. Unfunded Retiree Health Public school Survey cancelled by NCES
  Insurance, 2008              districts     

  95\. Teachers' Use of        Teachers in   Office of the Secretary/ED
  Educational Technology in    public\       
  U.S. Public Schools, 2009    elementary    
                               and secondary 
                               schools       

  96\. District Survey of      Public school Office of Safe and Drug-Free
  Alternative Schools and      districts     Schools/ED
  Programs, 2008                             
  ---------------------------- ------------- ----------------------------

Exhibit 1. Summary of FRSS and PEQIS surveys and data requesters
(continued)

  ---------------------------- ------------------ ----------------------------
  PEQIS Survey Number and      Sector Surveyed    Data Requester
  Title                                           

  1\. Higher Education         Higher education   Office of Policy and
  Finances and Services, 1993  institutions       Planning (OPP) and the
                                                  National Center for
                                                  Education Statistics
                                                  (NCES)/ED

  2\. Deaf and Hard of Hearing Postsecondary      Office of Special Education
  Students in Postsecondary    institutions       and Rehabilitative Services
  Education, 1993                                 (OSERS)/ED

  3\. Precollegiate Programs   Higher education   Office of the Under
  for Disadvantaged Students   institutions       Secretary/ED
  at Higher Education                             
  Institutions, 1994                              

  4\. Financial Aid at         Postsecondary      Office of the Under
  Postsecondary Education      institutions       Secretary/ED
  Institutions, 1994-95                           

  5\. Survey on Distance       Higher education   Office of Educational
  Education Courses Offered by institutions       Research and Development
  Higher Education                                (OERI)/ED
  Institutions, 1995                              

  6\. Survey on Remedial       Higher education   Office of the Under
  Education in Higher          institutions       Secretary/ED
  Education Institutions, 1995                    

  7\. Campus Crime and         Postsecondary      Office of Educational
  Security at Postsecondary    institutions       Research and Development
  Education Institutions, 1996                    (OERI)/ED

  8\. Students with            Postsecondary      Office of Special Education
  Disabilities at              institutions       and Rehabilitative Services
  Postsecondary Education                         (OSERS)/ED
  Institutions, 1998                              

  9\. Distance Education at    Postsecondary      National Center for
  Postsecondary Education      institutions       Education Statistics
  Institutions, 1998                              (NCES)/ED

  10\. Noncredit Offerings at  Higher education   Survey cancelled by NCES
  Higher Education             institutions       
  Institutions, 1999                              

  11\. Occupational Programs   2-year and         Office of Vocational and
  in Postsecondary Education   less-than-2-year   Adult Education (OVAE)/ED
  Institutions, 1999           postsecondary      
                               institutions       

  12\. Remedial Education in   Higher education   National Center for
  Higher Education             institutions       Education Statistics
  Institutions: Fall 2000                         (NCES)/ED

  13\. Distance Education at   Title IV           National Center for
  Higher Education             degree-granting    Education Statistics
  Institutions: 2000-2001      institutions       (NCES)/ED

  14\. Dual Enrollment         Title IV           Office of Vocational and
  Programs and Courses for     degree-granting    Adult Education (OVAE)/ED
  High School Students, 2004   institutions       

  15\. Educational Technology  4-year Title IV    Office of the Secretary/ED
  in Teacher Education         degree-granting    
  Programs for Initial         institutions       
  Licensure, 2006                                 
  ---------------------------- ------------------ ----------------------------

Exhibit 1. Summary of FRSS and PEQIS surveys and data requesters
(continued)

  ---------------------------- ----------------- ----------------------------
  PEQIS Survey Number and      Sector Surveyed   Data Requester
  Title                                          

  16\. Distance Education at   Title IV          Office of the Secretary/ED
  Postsecondary Institutions,  degree-granting   
  2007                         institutions      
  ---------------------------- ----------------- ----------------------------

A.4. Efforts to Identify Duplication

One of the criteria for QRIS is to collect only data that are not
available elsewhere. Prior to the implementation of a given survey,
every effort is made to determine if the requested information is
available from another source. Depending on the survey, this might
include contacting other federal agencies or other offices within the
Department of Education, seeking input from national associations (e.g.,
the Council for American Private Education, the American Library
Association, the American Association of Collegiate Registrars and
Admissions Officers, the National Association of Student Financial Aid
Administrators), or obtaining background information on a topic through
searches of databases and clearinghouses such as the What Works
Clearinghouse, ERIC, and Higher Education Abstracts.

A.5. Methods Used to Minimize Burden on Small Entities

Burden is minimized for all respondents by keeping the questionnaires
short, restricting questions to generally available information, giving
respondents the option of completing a Web version of the questionnaire,
conducting followup for nonresponse and data cleaning by telephone, and
transmitting paper versions of the questionnaire by fax whenever
possible. In addition, smaller institutions were sampled at a lower rate
than larger institutions in the PEQIS panel, and are generally sampled
at a lower rate for FRSS surveys.

A.6. Consequences of Not Collecting the Information

QRIS surveys are conducted in response to requests from Department of
Education and other government officials who have education data needs
that cannot be met through other NCES surveys, either because the topic
is not covered by current surveys or because of time constraints. NCES
receives requests for data to help formulate policy; to make
legislative, budgetary, and planning decisions for existing programs;
and to develop new programs. Findings from QRIS surveys may be included
in Congressional reports, testimony to Congressional subcommittees, and
Department of Education reports. The findings may also be used by state
and local education officials. ED officials will not have the
information they need if the QRIS surveys are not conducted.

A.7. Adherence to the Guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5

Data collection will be conducted in a manner consistent with the
guidelines in 5 CFR 1320.5. The only exception is that responses are
requested in fewer than 30 days, following the well-developed procedures
for NCES quick response surveys such as PEQIS and FRSS, which are
intended to collect data quickly.

A.8. Consultations Outside NCES

Prior to the implementation of a given survey, input is sought from
outside sources. Depending on the survey, this might include contacting
other Federal agencies or other offices within the Department of
Education, seeking input from national associations (e.g., the Council
for American Private Education, the American Library Association, the
American Association of Collegiate Registrars and Admissions Officers,
the National Association of Student Financial Aid Administrators, the
National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships, the National
Association of State Directors of Career Technical Education
Consortium), or sending early drafts of questionnaires to a few
potential respondents for an informal review. In the past, FRSS surveys
have also been reviewed by and coordinated with the Education
Information Management Advisory Consortium (EIMAC) of the Council of
Chief State School Officers. In addition, a pretest with 9 or fewer
respondents is conducted prior to implementing the survey. Feedback from
this pretest is used to be sure that the requested information is
readily accessible, and that the wording and instructions in the
questionnaire are clear.

A.9. Payments to Respondents

Not applicable. No payments or gifts to respondents will be made on QRIS
surveys covered under this generic clearance.

A.10. Assurance of Confidentiality

Data to be collected will not be released with institutional or personal
identifiers attached. Data will be presented in aggregate statistical
form only. In addition, each data file undergoes extensive disclosure
risk analysis and is reviewed by the NCES/IES Disclosure Review Board
before use in generating report analyses and before release as a public
use data file.

Each respondent will be assured that all information identifying them or
their school will be kept confidential in compliance with the Education
Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-279), which requires that no
person may:

-   use any individually identifiable information furnished under the
    provisions of this section for any purpose other than the
    statistical purposes for which it is supplied;

-   make any publication whereby the data furnished by any particular
    person under this section can be identified; or

-   permit anyone other than the individuals authorized by the
    Commissioner to examine the individual reports.

As requested by OMB, both the cover letter accompanying the
questionnaire and the header on the questionnaire state: "Your answers
may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or
used, in identifiable form for any other purpose unless otherwise
compelled by law (Public Law 107-279, Education Sciences Reform Act,
Section 183)."

In addition, all Westat staff members working on the study are required
to sign the NCES Affadavit of Nondisclosure, as well as Westat\'s
confidentiality pledge, which appears as Exhibit 2.

A.11. Sensitive Questions

The types of questions asked on QRIS surveys are not likely to be
considered sensitive. Questions focus on institution-level information
rather than on personal information about individuals. Published data
from the surveys present composite information that does not identify
individual respondents.

A.12. Estimates of Response Burden

Questionnaire completion time for each survey is estimated to average 45
minutes. Information about estimated respondent burden hours and cost
for QRIS surveys is summarized in Exhibit 3. If ten QRIS surveys are
conducted each year, with one state survey, six school or district
surveys, one library survey, and two postsecondary surveys sent to every
institution in the PEQIS panel, the total respondent burden would be
7,889.25 hours. The cost to respondents is estimated to be \$30 per hour
for a total cost to respondents of \$236,678 for the ten surveys
(7,889.25 hours x \$30).

Exhibit 2. Westat confidentiality statement

**WESTAT, INC.**

**EMPLOYEE OR CONTRACTOR\'S ASSURANCE OF CONFIDENTIALITY OF SURVEY
DATA**

**Statement of Policy**

Westat is firmly committed to the principle that the confidentiality of
individual data obtained through Westat surveys must be protected. This
principle holds whether or not any specific guarantee of confidentiality
was given at time of interview (or self-response), or whether or not
there are specific contractual obligations to the client. When
guarantees have been given or contractual obligations regarding
confidentiality have been entered into, they may impose additional
requirements which are to be adhered to strictly.

**Procedures for Maintaining Confidentiality**

> 1 All Westat employees and field workers shall sign this assurance of
> confidentiality. This assurance may be superseded by another assurance
> for a particular project.
>
> 2\. Field workers shall keep completely confidential the names of
> respondents, all information or opinions collected in the course of
> interviews, and any information about respondents learned incidentally
> during field work. Field workers shall exercise reasonable caution to
> prevent access by others to survey data in their possession.
>
> 3\. Unless specifically instructed otherwise for a particular project,
> an employee or field worker, upon encountering a respondent or
> information pertaining to a respondent that s/he knows personally,
> shall immediately terminate the activity and contact her/his
> supervisor for instructions.
>
> 4\. Survey data containing personal identifiers in Westat offices
> shall be kept in a locked container or a locked room when not being
> used each working day in routine survey activities. Reasonable caution
> shall be exercised in limiting access to survey data to only those
> persons who are working on the specific project and who have been
> instructed in the applicable confidentiality requirements for that
> project.
>
> Where survey data have been determined to be particularly sensitive by
> the Corporate Officer in charge of the project or the President of
> Westat, such survey data shall be kept in locked containers or in a
> locked room except when actually being used and attended by a staff
> member who has signed this pledge.
>
> 5\. Ordinarily, serial numbers shall be assigned to respondents prior
> to creating a machine-processible record and identifiers such as name,
> address, and Social Security number shall not, ordinarily, be a part
> of the machine record. When identifiers are part of the machine data
> record, Westat\'s Manager of Data Processing shall be responsible for
> determining adequate confidentiality me assures in consultation with
> the project director. When a separate file is set up containing
> identifiers or linkage information which could be used to identify
> data records, this separate file shall be kept locked up when not
> actually being used each day in routine survey activities.
>
> 6\. When records with identifiers are to be transmitted to another
> party, such as for keypunching or key taping, the other party shall be
> informed of these procedures and shall sign an Assurance of
> Confidentiality form.
>
> 7\. Each project director shall be responsible for ensuring that all
> personnel and contractors involved in handling survey data on a
> project are instructed in these procedures throughout the period of
> survey performance. When there are specific contractual obligations to
> the client regarding confidentiality, the project director shall
> develop additional procedures to comply with these obligations and
> shall instruct field staff, clerical staff, consultants, and any other
> persons who work on the project in these additional procedures. At the
> end of the period of survey performance, the project director shall
> arrange for proper storage or disposition of survey data including any
> particular contractual requirements for storage or disposition. When
> required to turn over survey data to our clients, we must provide
> proper safeguards to ensure confidentiality up to the time of
> delivery.
>
> 8\. Project directors shall ensure that survey practices adhere to the
> provisions of the U.S. Privacy Act of 1974 with regard to surveys of
> individuals for the Federal Government. Project directors must ensure
> that procedures are established in each survey to inform each
> respondent of the authority for the survey, the purpose and use of the
> survey, the voluntary nature of the survey (where applicable) and the
> effects on the respondents, if any, of not responding.

[PLEDGE]{.underline}

I hereby certify that I have carefully read and will cooperate fully
with the above procedures. I will keep completely confidential all
information arising from surveys concerning individual respondents to
which I gain access. I will not discuss, disclose, disseminate, or
provide access to survey data and identifiers except as authorized by
Westat. In addition, I will comply with any additional procedures
established by Westat for a particular contract. I will devote my best
efforts to ensure that there is compliance with the required procedures
by personnel whom I supervise. I understand that violation of this
pledge is sufficient grounds for disciplinary action, including
dismissal. I also understand that violation of the privacy rights of
individuals through such unauthorized discussion, disclosure,
dissemination, or access may make me subject to criminal or civil
penalties. I give my personal pledge that I shall abide by this
assurance of confidentiality.

Signature

Exhibit 3.

Estimates of response burden for QRIS Surveys

  ------------ --------- ----------- ------------- ---- ----------- ------------ ------------
  Sector       Sample    Estimated   Estimated          Estimated   Respondent   Respondent
               size      response    number of          number of   burden       cost (@ \$30
                         rate        respondents        surveys     hours\       each)
                                     per survey                     (@ 45 min.   
                                                                    each)        

                                                                                 

  States       51        100%        51                 1           38.25        \$1,148

  Schools or   1,200     90%         1,080              6           4,860.00     \$145,800
  LEAs                                                                           

  Libraries    1,178     90%         1,060              1           795.00       \$23,850

  PEQIS panel  1,627     90%         1,464              2           2,196.00     \$65,880

  Total                                            10               7,889.25     \$236,678
  ------------ --------- ----------- ------------- ---- ----------- ------------ ------------

A.13. Estimates of Cost Burden for Collection of Information

Not applicable. Respondents will not need to purchase or maintain
equipment or services to respond to QRIS surveys.

A.14. Estimates of Cost to the Federal Government

A typical FRSS state survey is estimated to cost the Federal government
about \$175,000-\$200,000 for contractual costs, a district survey is
estimated to cost about \$415,000-\$440,000 for contractual costs, a
school survey is estimated to cost about \$450,000-\$475,000 for
contractual costs, and a library survey is estimated to cost about
\$340,000-\$365,000. A typical PEQIS institutional survey is estimated
to cost the Federal government about \$450,000-\$475,000 for contractual
costs. Contractual costs include the costs for survey preparation, data
collection, data analysis, and report preparation and dissemination.
Each survey will also entail an estimated \$40,000 in costs to the
Federal Government for salaries and expenses.

A.15. Changes in Burden

QRIS anticipates conducting 5 to 10 surveys a year. No change is being
requested in the Information Collection Budget (ICB) estimate of burden.

A.16. Publication Plans/Time Schedule

After each survey is approved by OMB, Westat (the QRIS contractor) will
mail the questionnaire to the respondents. Including in the mailing will
be information about the option to complete a Web version of the survey.
About 3 weeks after mailout, Westat will begin telephone followup for
nonresponse and data consistency. Data collection is scheduled for
completion about 16-18 weeks after mailing. See Exhibit 4 for the
anticipated time schedule for QRIS institutional surveys.

Tabulations will be produced for each data item. Crosstabulations of
data items will be made with selected classification variables such as
instructional level and school size for FRSS surveys, and level and
control of the institution for PEQIS surveys. The findings will be made
available to the data requesters immediately upon receipt of tabulations
from Westat, about 8 weeks after the end of data collection.

Reports of the findings will be distributed to the data requester,
survey respondents, institutions in the PEQIS panel, and, upon request,
to other interested individuals and organizations. Westat will draft a
survey report 8 weeks after the tabulations have been produced. After
NCES has returned final modifications of the draft, Westat will prepare
the report for distribution. Westat will also submit a procedural report
to NCES.

A.17. Approval to Not Display Expiration Date

Not applicable. All QRIS surveys will display the expiration date for
OMB approval of the information collection.

A.18. Exceptions to the Certification Statement

Not applicable. No exceptions to the certification statement are being
sought.

**Exhibit 4. Anticipated Time Schedule for QRIS Institutional Surveys**

  -------------------------------------------- ------------- -------------
                                               Cumulative    
                                               workdays      

                                               From          From OMB
                                               submission to approval
                                               RIMS/OMB      

                                                             

  Package to RIMS/OMB                          0             \-

  Package approved by OMB                      45            0

  Mailout                                      55            10

  Followup started                             70            25

  Followup completed                           135           90

  Basic tabulations                            175           130

  Survey report - draft                        215           170
  -------------------------------------------- ------------- -------------

Section B. Description of Statistical Methodology

B.1. Respondent Universe and Sample Design

The Quick Response Information System (QRIS) consists of the Fast
Response Survey System (FRSS) and the Postsecondary Education Quick
Information System (PEQIS). The respondent universes and sample designs
for FRSS and PEQIS that are covered by this generic clearance request
are described below.

Fast Response Survey System

FRSS is designed to conduct brief surveys of state education agencies,
public elementary and secondary schools, private elementary and
secondary schools, public school districts, and school and public
libraries. In the sections that follow, the approaches that will be used
to design and select samples from the various sectors of interest are
described. State education agencies are not discussed here, since they
would be surveyed on a 100-percent basis without sampling.

Efficient probability sampling designs are an integral part of the FRSS.
For those sectors that are surveyed frequently in FRSS (e.g., school
districts and public schools), a general approach to sampling is
designed and modified as necessary to meet the specific goals of the
study. For example, for many FRSS surveys,
probability-proportionate-to-size (PPS) sampling designs are used to
ensure that both categorical and quantitative variables can be estimated
reliably.

For some of the less frequently surveyed sectors, it is desirable to
select a sample that is tailored to the specific needs of the individual
survey. This specialization will be most efficient when pertinent data
are available for sample selection purposes. Examples of situations that
will necessitate designing and drawing special-purpose samples include
surveys that are restricted to a particular subgroup (e.g., districts
with summer migrant education programs, or less-than-2-year
postsecondary institutions), surveys that require concurrent fielding of
different questionnaires in the same sector (e.g., library services for
children and young adults), and related surveys involving different sets
of respondents that must be linked through an overlapping sample design
(e.g., the three surveys on educational technology being conducted in
2008-09).

Public Elementary and Secondary Schools

Since each new survey to be conducted under the FRSS will have unique
analytic requirements, it is not possible to specify the exact form of
the sample design that will be appropriate and efficient for a
particular study. This can only be done after the study objectives have
been clearly delineated. However, past experience suggests that many
design features that have been employed successfully in prior studies
will also be applicable to future FRSS studies.

First, the frame to be used to select the required samples will be
constructed from the most recent NCES CCD Public School Universe File.
As shown in Table 1, almost 86,000 regular public schools are included
in the CCD file, including about 64,000 elementary schools and about
22,000 secondary/combined schools. The school-level variables that are
available in the CCD Public School Universe File include enrollment,
number of teachers, instructional level, grade span, type of locale,
region, percentage of minority students, percentage of students eligible
for free/reduced-price lunch, and others. Such information is critical
for designing efficient samples for the QRIS. As in prior studies, it is
anticipated that instructional level, enrollment size, and one or more
other variables will be used to define the primary strata for sampling
purposes. It should be noted, however, that it may be necessary to merge
information from other data sources (e.g., the Schools and Staffing
Survey - SASS) to obtain relevant auxiliary variables useful for
stratification or weighting purposes. Also, some variables in the CCD
file may have missing values (e.g., minority enrollment and the number
of students eligible for free/reduced-price lunch). If used for
stratification purposes, the missing values will have to be imputed or
treated as a separate category.

Table 1. Number of schools in the 2005-06 CCD Public School Universe
file, by level and enrollment size class

+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| #                    | # E                   | # Number of school    |
| Instructional level  | nrollment size class  | s\* {#number-of-schoo |
| {#instructional-leve | {#enrollment-size-cla | ls .TH-Table-Heading} |
| l .TH-Table-Heading} | ss .TH-Table-Heading} |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 1\. Elementary       | > Less than 300       | 16,335                |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
|                      | > 300 to 499          | 20,895                |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
|                      | > 500 to 599          | 8,731                 |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
|                      | > 600 to 749          | 8,405                 |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
|                      | > 750 or more         | 9,281                 |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| 2\.                  | > Less than 300       | 6,718                 |
| Secondary/combined   |                       |                       |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
|                      | > 300 to 499          | 3,622                 |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
|                      | > 500 to 999          | 5,615                 |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
|                      | > 1,000 to 1,499      | 2,842                 |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
|                      | > 1,500 or more       | 3,275                 |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+
| TOTAL                |                       | 85,719                |
+----------------------+-----------------------+-----------------------+

\* Counts reflect only regular schools in the CCD file. For example,
special education, vocational education, and other alternative schools
are excluded.

Next, decisions must be made on how to allocate the total sample to the
primary strata. For example, proportional allocation (in which the
sample is allocated to a stratum in proportion to the number of schools
in the stratum) is generally efficient for estimating the percentage of
schools having a given characteristic (e.g., percentage of schools that
have computers for instructional purposes). On the other hand,
allocation in proportion to enrollment is generally more effective for
estimation of aggregate statistics that are correlated with enrollment
(e.g., the number of secondary school students that have direct access
to the Internet). Although many prior FRSS samples have been designed
primarily to estimate the latter type of aggregate statistics, there has
generally been an equal interest in estimating percentages. For this
reason, allocation in proportion to the square root of enrollment offers
a compromise solution that is often used in many QRIS surveys. Again,
the specific requirements of a particular survey will dictate how the
sample is allocated to strata.

Within the primary strata, schools can also be selected at varying rates
depending on the goals of the study. This can be accomplished either by
using a PPS systematic sampling algorithm (Hansen, Hurwitz, and Madow,
1953), or by forming appropriate size classes (strata) of equal
aggregate measure of size and selecting equal numbers of schools from
each size stratum. The latter procedure is often used for reasons of
simplicity.

The sample size for a typical FRSS survey of public schools is
approximately 1,200. This will yield a sample of 1,080 respondents
assuming a response rate of 90 percent. For a sample of this size, the
standard error of an estimated percentage for the total sample can be
expected to be in the range of 1.3 to 1.6 percent. For a 50 percent
item, a standard error of 2 percent corresponds to a coefficient of
variation (cv) or relative standard error (RSE) of 4 percent. Moreover,
the sample is large enough to provide reasonably reliable estimates for
broad subsets of the population (e.g., one-way classifications by type
of locale or size class). Table 2 illustrates the levels of precision
that can be expected for a sample of 1,080 responding public schools.
The standard errors presented in this table are given for illustrative
purposes only; the actual standard errors to be obtained for any given
QRIS survey may be smaller or larger than those shown.

Table 2. Illustrative standard errors for an estimated percentage based
on a sample of 1,080 public schools, by instructional level, Census
region, type of locale, and size class

+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| #  {#section .T  | #  {#se       | # E      |          |          |
| H-Table-Heading} | ction-1 .TH-T | stimated |          |          |
|                  | able-Heading} |  percent |          |          |
|                  |               | age equa |          |          |
|                  |               | l to: {# |          |          |
|                  |               | estimate |          |          |
|                  |               | d-percen |          |          |
|                  |               | tage-equ |          |          |
|                  |               | al-to .T |          |          |
|                  |               | H-Table- |          |          |
|                  |               | Heading} |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| # Subset         | #             | # 80     | # 50     | # 30     |
|  of sample {#sub |  Expected sam | % {#sect | % {#sect | % {#sect |
| set-of-sample .T | ple size\* {# | ion-2 .T | ion-3 .T | ion-4 .T |
| H-Table-Heading} | expected-samp | H-Table- | H-Table- | H-Table- |
|                  | le-size .TH-T | Heading} | Heading} | Heading} |
|                  | able-Heading} |          |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Total sample     | 1,080         | 1.3      | 1.6      | 1.5      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
|                  |               |          |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Instructional    |               |          |          |          |
| level            |               |          |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Elementary       | 648           | 1.7      | 2.1      | 2.0      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Se               | 432           | 2.1      | 2.6      | 2.4      |
| condary/combined |               |          |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Census region    |               |          |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Northeast        | 186           | 3.1      | 3.8      | 3.6      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Midwest          | 297           | 2.5      | 3.1      | 2.9      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| South            | 372           | 2.2      | 2.8      | 2.6      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| West             | 227           | 3.0      | 3.8      | 3.5      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Type of locale   |               |          |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Cities           | 252           | 2.8      | 3.5      | 3.2      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Urban fringe     | 262           | 2.7      | 3.4      | 3.1      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Towns            | 292           | 2.5      | 3.1      | 2.8      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Rural areas      | 274           | 2.5      | 3.2      | 2.9      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Enrollment size  |               |          |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Small (less than | 356           | 2.1      | 2.7      | 2.4      |
| 500)             |               |          |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Medium (500-999) | 351           | 2.1      | 2.7      | 2.4      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Large (1,000+)   | 373           | 2.1      | 2.6      | 2.4      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+

\* Assumes an initial sample of 1,200 schools and a response rate of 90
percent.

Private Elementary and Secondary Schools

The general approach described previously for public schools will also
apply to private schools. Samples of private schools will be selected
from the most current NCES Private School Survey (PSS) Universe File.
Note that the PSS frame consists of two parts: a list frame and an "area
frame." The latter is actually an area probability sample that
represents schools not included in the list frame. Consequently, the
schools in the area sample must be weighted to represent the unlisted
portion of the private school universe. Table 3 summarizes the weighted
distribution of private schools in the 2005-06 PSS frame by affiliation
and instructional level. To select the sample of private schools,
stratification by instructional level (elementary, secondary, and
combined), type of affiliation (Catholic, other religious, and
nonsectarian), and other characteristics may be employed. Within each
primary stratum, the private school frame can be sorted by enrollment
size, geographic region, or other characteristics available in the PSS
file to induce additional implicit stratification. Depending on the
goals of the survey, the total sample can be allocated to the primary
strata in different ways (e.g., in proportion to the number of schools,
in proportion to enrollment, or in proportion to the aggregate square
root of the enrollment). Table 4 illustrates the levels of precision
that might be expected for a sample of 1,080 responding private schools
(based on an initial sample of 1,200 schools and a response rate of 90
percent).

Table 3. Number of schools in the 2005-06 PSS private school frame by
affiliation and instructional level

+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| #  {#sectio | #  {#sectio | # Instruc   |             |             |
| n-5 .TH-Tab | n-6 .TH-Tab | tional leve |             |             |
| le-Heading} | le-Heading} | l {#instruc |             |             |
|             |             | tional-leve |             |             |
|             |             | l-1 .TH-Tab |             |             |
|             |             | le-Heading} |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| # Type      | #           | # Elementar | # Seconda   | # Combi     |
| of affiliat |  Total {#to | y {#element | ry {#second | ned {#combi |
| ion {#type- | tal .TH-Tab | ary .TH-Tab | ary .TH-Tab | ned .TH-Tab |
| of-affiliat | le-Heading} | le-Heading} | le-Heading} | le-Heading} |
| ion .TH-Tab |             |             |             |             |
| le-Heading} |             |             |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Catholic    | 7,574       | 6,168       | 1,211       | 195         |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Other       | 14,001      | 7,296       | 982         | 5,723       |
| religious   |             |             |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| N           | 5,813       | 4,151       | 728         | 934         |
| onsectarian |             |             |             |             |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+
| Total       | 27,388      | 17,615      | 2,921       | 6,852       |
+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+-------------+

Table 4. Illustrative standard errors for an estimated percentage based
on a sample of 1,080 private schools, by instructional level and
affiliation

+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| #                | #  {#se       | # Est    |          |          |
|   {#section-7 .T | ction-8 .TH-T | imated p |          |          |
| H-Table-Heading} | able-Heading} | ercentag |          |          |
|                  |               | e equal  |          |          |
|                  |               | to: {#es |          |          |
|                  |               | timated- |          |          |
|                  |               | percenta |          |          |
|                  |               | ge-equal |          |          |
|                  |               | -to-1 .T |          |          |
|                  |               | H-Table- |          |          |
|                  |               | Heading} |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| # Subset o       | # E           | # 80     | # 50%    | # 30%    |
| f sample {#subse | xpected sampl | % {#sect |  {#secti |  {#secti |
| t-of-sample-1 .T | e size\* {#ex | ion-9 .T | on-10 .T | on-11 .T |
| H-Table-Heading} | pected-sample | H-Table- | H-Table- | H-Table- |
|                  | -size-1 .TH-T | Heading} | Heading} | Heading} |
|                  | able-Heading} |          |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Total sample     | 1,080         | 1.4      | 1.7      | 1.6      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Instructional    |               |          |          |          |
| level            |               |          |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Elementary       | 527           | 1.9      | 2.4      | 2.2      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Secondary        | 278           | 2.7      | 3.5      | 3.2      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Combined         | 276           | 2.8      | 3.5      | 3.3      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Affiliation      |               |          |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Catholic         | 491           | 2.0      | 2.5      | 2.4      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Other religious  | 407           | 2.2      | 2.8      | 2.6      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Nonsectarian     | 183           | 3.3      | 4.1      | 3.8      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+

\* Assumes an initial sample of 1,200 schools and a response rate of 90
percent.

Public School Districts (LEAs)

The sampling frame to be used to select the required samples of public
school districts (LEAs) will be constructed from the most recent NCES
CCD Public Elementary and Secondary Agency Universe File. As shown in
Table 5, over 14,000 regular public school districts are included in the
2005-06 CCD file. We anticipate that for most of the district surveys to
be conducted under FRSS, stratification by size class, region,
metropolitan status, poverty status, or other variables will be used to
improve the precision of overall estimates, and to ensure minimum sample
sizes for the analytic domains of interest. Further, we expect that a
probability-proportionate-to-square-root-of-size design will be
efficient for the goals of the study. However, this basic design will be
modified as necessary to meet the particular objectives of a given
study.

The sample size for a typical FRSS district survey is approximately
1,200 districts. Assuming a response rate of 90 percent, an initial
sample of 1,200 districts will yield approximately 1,080 respondents. If
the sample is allocated to strata in rough proportion to the aggregate
square root of enrollment, the expected sample sizes would be those
shown in Table 6. With these sample sizes, survey-based estimates for
the total sample and for selected subgroups are expected to be
reasonably precise. Table 6 illustrates the levels of precision to be
expected for a sample of 1,080 public school districts

Table 5. Distribution of public school districts in the 2005-06 NCES CCD
LEA Universe Survey by enrollment size class and poverty status

+--------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| #  {#secti   | #        | # Percen |          |          |          |
| on-12 .TH-Ta |  {#secti | t of chi |          |          |          |
| ble-Heading} | on-13 .T | ldren be |          |          |          |
|              | H-Table- | low pove |          |          |          |
|              | Heading} | rty leve |          |          |          |
|              |          | l\* {#pe |          |          |          |
|              |          | rcent-of |          |          |          |
|              |          | -childre |          |          |          |
|              |          | n-below- |          |          |          |
|              |          | poverty- |          |          |          |
|              |          | level .T |          |          |          |
|              |          | H-Table- |          |          |          |
|              |          | Heading} |          |          |          |
+--------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| # Enroll     | #        | # Miss   | # Under  | #        | # 20+    |
| ment size cl |  Number  | ing {#mi | 10 {#und |  10 to 1 |  {#secti |
| ass {#enroll | of distr | ssing .T | er-10 .T | 9.9 {#to | on-14 .T |
| ment-size-cl | icts^†^  | H-Table- | H-Table- | -19.9 .T | H-Table- |
| ass-1 .TH-Ta | {#number | Heading} | Heading} | H-Table- | Heading} |
| ble-Heading} | -of-dist |          |          | Heading} |          |
|              | ricts .T |          |          |          |          |
|              | H-Table- |          |          |          |          |
|              | Heading} |          |          |          |          |
+--------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| Less than    | 6,520    | 101      | 1,588    | 2,895    | 1,936    |
| 1,000        |          |          |          |          |          |
+--------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| 1,000 to     | 3,335    | 21       | 1,040    | 1,348    | 926      |
| 2,499        |          |          |          |          |          |
+--------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| 2,500 to     | 3,082    | 5        | 1,169    | 1,092    | 816      |
| 9,999        |          |          |          |          |          |
+--------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| 10,000 to    | 869      | 34       | 216      | 385      | 234      |
| 99,999       |          |          |          |          |          |
+--------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| 100,000+     | 26       | 0        | 6        | 12       | 8        |
+--------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+
| TOTAL        | 13,832   | 161      | 4,019    | 5,732    | 3,920    |
+--------------+----------+----------+----------+----------+----------+

\*Based on Title 1 poverty measures provided by NCES.

†Includes district types 1 (local school district not part of a
supervisory union) and 2 (local school district component of a
supervisory union). Counts exclude districts with 0 or missing
enrollment as reported in the CCD universe file.

Table 6. Illustrative standard errors for an estimated percentage based
on a sample of 1,080 public school districts, by size class, region, and
metropolitan status

+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| # Subset o       | # E           | # Est    |          |          |
| f sample {#subse | xpected sampl | imated p |          |          |
| t-of-sample-2 .T | e size\* {#ex | ercentag |          |          |
| H-Table-Heading} | pected-sample | e equal  |          |          |
|                  | -size-2 .TH-T | to: {#es |          |          |
|                  | able-Heading} | timated- |          |          |
|                  |               | percenta |          |          |
|                  |               | ge-equal |          |          |
|                  |               | -to-2 .T |          |          |
|                  |               | H-Table- |          |          |
|                  |               | Heading} |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| #                | #  {#sec      | # 80%    | # 50%    | # 30%    |
|  {#section-15 .T | tion-16 .TH-T |  {#secti |  {#secti |  {#secti |
| H-Table-Heading} | able-Heading} | on-17 .T | on-18 .T | on-19 .T |
|                  |               | H-Table- | H-Table- | H-Table- |
|                  |               | Heading} | Heading} | Heading} |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Total sample     | 1,080         | 1.5      | 2.0      | 1.8      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| District size    |               |          |          |          |
| class            |               |          |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Less than 2,500  | 376           | 2.5      | 3.0      | 2.8      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| 2,500 to 9,999   | 388           | 2.2      | 2.8      | 2.6      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| 10,000 or more   | 315           | 2.5      | 3.1      | 2.8      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Region           |               |          |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Central          | 318           | 2.8      | 3.5      | 3.3      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Northeast        | 210           | 3.5      | 4.3      | 4.0      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Southeast        | 216           | 3.5      | 4.3      | 3.9      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| West             | 335           | 2.8      | 3.5      | 3.2      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Metropolitan     |               |          |          |          |
| status           |               |          |          |          |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Urban            | 211           | 3.0      | 3.8      | 3.5      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Suburban         | 470           | 2.3      | 2.9      | 2.7      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+
| Rural            | 398           | 2.6      | 3.2      | 2.9      |
+------------------+---------------+----------+----------+----------+

\* Assumes an initial sample of 1,200 districts and a response rate of
90 percent.

###  Libraries

As an important provider of educational services, libraries (both school
and public libraries) have been the focus of past research efforts. For
example, public libraries have been surveyed in FRSS 66 (survey on
programs for adults in public library outlets) and FRSS 47 (survey on
library services for children and young adults). In addition, Westat has
conducted surveys of public and private school libraries for ED as part
of the Assessment of the Role of School and Public Libraries in Support
of the National Education Goals. If required for a QRIS survey, samples
of public libraries will be drawn from the most recent NCES Public
Library Survey (PLS) universe file. Westat is familiar with this file,
having used it to design and select samples for previous surveys.

## Postsecondary Education Quick Information System (PEQIS)

The samples of postsecondary institutions for PEQIS studies will usually
use the existing postsecondary education panel. This panel currently
consists of a stratified probability sample of more than 1,600 2- and
4-year public and private institutions. The sampling frame for the 2006
PEQIS panel was constructed from the 2005-06 Integrated Postsecondary
Education Data System (IPEDS) Institutional Characteristics file.
Institutions eligible for the 2006 PEQIS frame included 2-year and
4-year (including graduate-level) institutions that are both Title IV
eligible and degree granting, and are located in the 50 states and the
District of Columbia: a total of 4,265 institutions. The 2006 PEQIS
sampling frame was stratified by instructional level (4-year, 2-year),
control (public, private not-for-profit, private for-profit), highest
level of offering (doctor's/first-professional, master's, bachelor's,
less than bachelor's), and total enrollment. Within each of the strata,
institutions were sorted by region (Northeast, Southeast, Central, West)
and by whether the institution had a relatively high minority
enrollment. The sample of 1,627 institutions was allocated to the strata
in proportion to the aggregate square root of total enrollment.
Institutions within a stratum were sampled with equal probabilities of
selection. Table 7 summarizes the current PEQIS universe counts and
sample sizes by level and type of control.

Table 7. Distribution of institutions in the 2006 postsecondary (PEQIS)
universe and panel

+---------+-----------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| # Leve  | # Contro        | # Number of instit | # Nu               |
| l {#lev | l {#control .TH | utions in 2006 PEQ | mber in 2006 PEQIS |
| el .TH- | -Table-Heading} | IS frame {#number- |  panel {#number-in |
| Table-H |                 | of-institutions-in | -2006-peqis-panel  |
| eading} |                 | -2006-peqis-frame  | .TH-Table-Heading} |
|         |                 | .TH-Table-Heading} |                    |
+---------+-----------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| 4-year  | Public          | 640                | 433                |
+---------+-----------------+--------------------+--------------------+
|         | Private,        | 1,534              | 470                |
|         | nonprofit       |                    |                    |
+---------+-----------------+--------------------+--------------------+
|         | Private, for    | 408                | 69                 |
|         | profit          |                    |                    |
+---------+-----------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| 2-year  | Public          | 1,044              | 550                |
+---------+-----------------+--------------------+--------------------+
|         | Private,        | 113                | 20                 |
|         | nonprofit       |                    |                    |
+---------+-----------------+--------------------+--------------------+
|         | Private, for    | 526                | 85                 |
|         | profit          |                    |                    |
+---------+-----------------+--------------------+--------------------+
| Total   |                 | 4,265              | 1,627              |
+---------+-----------------+--------------------+--------------------+

Since 1991 when the PEQIS panel was originally selected, the panel has
been updated or "reselected" three times at roughly 5 year intervals.
Since it was desirable from an operational standpoint to retain as many
of the existing institutional coordinators as possible, the panels were
reselected using procedures designed to maximize the overlap between the
resulting (new) sample and the previous sample. The method used for this
was a "modified Keyfitz" procedure that maximizes sample overlap subject
to the constraint that the desired overall probabilities of selection
are consistent with those that would have been obtained with an
independently selected sample. Using the modified Keyfitz procedure, the
percentage overlap between successive PEQIS samples has been about 80
percent.

Each institution in the PEQIS panel is asked to identify a campus
representative to serve as survey coordinator. The campus representative
facilitates data collection by identifying the appropriate respondent
for each survey and forwarding the questionnaire to that person.

Less-than-2-year and non-degree-granting institutions are not included
in the PEQIS universe and panel because of the great volatility of these
types of institutions. These schools, many of which are proprietary,
open and close at a much faster rate than other kinds of postsecondary
institutions. This means that any portion of the PEQIS panel allotted to
less-than-2-year and non-degree-granting institutions would be outdated
very quickly \-- that is, it would no longer represent an up-to-date
universe of these schools. Further, NCES does not anticipate that there
will be many survey requests that include these institutions. Thus, NCES
decided that when a survey was requested through PEQIS that included
less-than-2-year or non-degree-granting institutions, the most recent
IPEDS Institutional Characteristics file would be used to draw an
up-to-date supplementary sample of these institutions to be used for
that survey. This approach means that the basic PEQIS panel will remain
up-to-date (i.e., will accurately reflect the current universe of
sampled institutions) for a longer period of time, and the supplementary
samples of less-than-2-year and non-degree-granting institutions will
also be up-to-date for the specific surveys for which these
supplementary samples are drawn. NCES believes that this approach is the
best compromise between the efficiencies of a standing panel of
postsecondary institutions and the need for any such panel to reflect
the current universe of institutions.

Nonresponse weight adjustments will be used to correct for unit
nonresponse in surveys. Variances will be estimated using the jackknife
replication method. Estimates produced during the PEQIS panel design
stage, based on characteristics of the institutions, yielded
coefficients of variation (CVs) in the range of 2 to 4 percent for most
national estimates, with estimates for subgroups somewhat higher.

# B.2. Statistical Methodology

The statistical methodology is described in detail in Section B.1.

B.3. Methods for Maximizing the Response Rate

Telephone followup for nonresponse will begin about 3 weeks after
questionnaires have been mailed to the institutions. Experienced
telephone interviewers will be trained in administering the
questionnaire and will be monitored by Westat supervisory personnel
during all interviewing hours. The response rate for the quick response
surveys with single-stage samples completed to date through FRSS ranges
from 85 to 99 percent, with most surveys above 90 percent, and on PEQIS
ranges from 90 to 96 percent. Similar response rates are anticipated for
future FRSS and PEQIS surveys. Ratio-weighting within adjustment cells
will be used to partially compensate for the expected 10 percent (or
less) nonresponse to each survey.

B.4. Tests of Procedures and Methods

Following the procedures for NCES quick-response surveys (PEQIS and
FRSS) established during the current QRIS generic clearance (1850-0733),
a pretest with nine institutions is conducted prior to OMB review for
each survey to determine what problems respondents might have in
providing the requested information and to make appropriate changes to
the questionnaire, if necessary. Responses and comments on the
questionnaire are collected by fax and telephone during the pretest, and
the results are summarized as part of the documentation for the survey.

B.5. Reviewing Statisticians

Statistician Adam Chu of Westat (301-251-4326) was consulted about the
statistical aspects of the PEQIS panel design. Adam Chu is also the
statistician for FRSS samples.

QRIS surveys are sponsored by NCES. Westat is the contractor currently
conducting the QRIS surveys for NCES. For each survey, Westat will mail
the questionnaires; collect data by Web, mail, and telephone; edit,
code, key, and verify the data; and produce tabulations and the survey
report.