QUICK RESPONSE INFORMATION SYSTEM

(QRIS)

SUPPORTING STATEMENT PART B

SYSTEM CLEARANCE PROPOSAL

FOR THE YEARS 2015–2018

OMB # 1850-0733 v.30

October 10, 2014
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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, stratified 

probability-proportionate-to-size (PPS) sampling designs are used to ensure that (a) estimates with specified levels 

of sampling precison can be obtained for key subgroups of interest, and (b) 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 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 and data requirements 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, about 87,000 regular public schools are included in the 2011-12

CCD file, including about 51,000 primary schools and about 36,000 middle/high/combined schools. The schoollevel variables that are available in the CCD Public School Universe File include type-of-school code, enrollment, 

number of teachers, instructional level, grade span, type of locale, region, race/ethnicity of students, eligibility 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., enrollment by race/ethnicity 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.

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 

with students enrolled in dual credit courses). 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 
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enrollments of high school students in dual credit courses). 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.

Table 1. Number of regular public elementary and secondary schools in the 2011-12 CCD Public School 

Universe file, by instructional level

Instructional level Number of schools*

Primary schools 50,807

Middle schools 16,536

High schools 13,556

Other (combined) schools 5,801

TOTAL 86,590

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

schools are excluded. The 2011-12 CCD file (version v1.a) is the most recent file used for FRSS sampling purposes.

Within the primary sampling 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

Estimated percentage equal to:

Subset of sample Expected sample size* 80% 50% 30%

Total sample 1,080 1.3 1.6 1.5

Instructional level

Elementary 648 1.7 2.1 2.0

Secondary/combined 432 2.1 2.6 2.4

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 500) 356 2.1 2.7 2.4

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.
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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 2009-10 PSS frame by school size and private school typology. To select the sample of 

private schools, stratification by instructional level (elementary, secondary, and combined), private school typology

(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 2009-10 PSS private school frame by school size and private school 

typology 

Private school typology

School size Total Catholic Other religious Nonsectarian

Less than 50 students 15,127 368 8,006 6,753

50-149 students 8,229 1,675 4,280 2,274

150-299 students 5,600 2,802 1,953 845

300-499 students 2,570 1,342 800 427

500-749 students 1,105 594 330 181

750 or more students 736 333 248 154

Total 33,367 7,114 15,617 10,634

Note: Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding or missing values.

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

instructional level and private school typology

Estimated percentage equal to:

Subset of sample Expected sample size* 80% 50% 30%

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

Private school typology

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, 

about 14,000 regular public school districts are included in the 2011-12 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.
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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. Number of regular public school districts in the 2011-12 NCES CCD LEA Universe Survey by 

enrollment size class

Enrollment size class Number of districts†

Less than 1,000 6,455

1,000 to 2,499 3,224

2,500 to 9,999 3,027

10,000 to 24,999 600

25,000 or more 282

TOTAL 13,588

†Includes district types 1 (local school district not part of a supervisory union) and 2 (local school district component of a supervisory union). Counts 

of districts with 0 or missing enrollment as reported in the CCD universe file are included in the less than 1,000 category.

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 of sample Expected sample size* Estimated percentage equal to:

80% 50% 30%

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, the current contractor to ED for FRSS and PEQIS surveys, 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 

Public Library Survey (PLS) universe file (the PLS is now conducted by the Institute of Museum and Library 

Services). 

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 approximately 1,650 2- and 4-year public 

and private institutions. The sampling frame for the PEQIS panel was constructed from the 2009-10 Integrated 

Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) Institutional Characteristics file. Institutions eligible for the PEQIS 

frame included 2-year and 4-year (including graduate-level) institutions that are both Title IV eligible and degree 
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granting, and are located in the 50 states and the District of Columbia: a total of 4,485 institutions. The 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 1,647 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 PEQIS universe counts and sample sizes by 

level and type of control.

Table 7. Distribution of institutions in the postsecondary (PEQIS) universe and panel by level and type of 

control

Level Control

Number of institutions in PEQIS 

frame

Number of institutions in PEQIS 

panel

4-year Public 672 442

Private, not-for-profit 1,537 435

Private, for profit 562 128

2-year Public 999 544

Private, not-for-profit 85 11

Private, for profit 630 87

Total 4,485 1,647

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.

Sampling weights reflecting the overall probabilities of selection under the design employed for a FRSS or PEQIS 

study will be computed and assigned to each sampled unit. Nonresponse weight adjustments will be used to correct 

for unit (whole questionnaire) nonresponse in the survey. Item imputation techniques such as “hot deck” or

regression methods will be used to estimate missing values of individual survey items as required. To estimate 

levels of precison, sampling variances will be computed using the jackknife or other appropriate replication 

method. Estimates of population characteristcs produced from FRSS and PEQIS surveys have generally achieved 

coefficients of variation (CVs) in the range of 2 to 4 percent for most national estimates, with somewhat higher 

CVs for subgroup estimates. .

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 most of the quick 

response surveys with single-stage samples completed to date through FRSS ranged from 85 to 99 percent, with 

most surveys above 90 percent, and on PEQIS ranged from 90 to 96 percent. Similar response rates are anticipated 
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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), feasibility calls and a pretest (for which OMB clearance is requested under 

the NCES system clearance for Cognitive, Pilot, and Field Test Studies, OMB #1850-0803) are conducted for each 

survey prior to OMB review under this QRIS generic clearance (1850-0733). The purpose of the feasibility calls 

and pretest is 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

QRIS surveys are conducted by NCES. NCES contracted Westat to carry out developmental studies; mail the 

questionnaires; collect data by Web, mail, and telephone; edit, code, key, and verify the data; and produce 

tabulations and survey reports. Adam Chu, Senior Statistician at Westat, was consulted about the statistical aspects 

of the PEQIS panel design and the FRSS samples. Chris Chapman, the Associate Commissioner of the Sample 

Surveys Division withing NCES, is the Contracting Officer’s Representative for QRIS, and supervises staff 

working on QRIS surveys.