September 22, 2014

U.S. Department of Education

PPSS TO 13. High School Reform Study

Information Collection

September 22, 2014

OMB Clearance Package

PPSS Task Order 13. High School Reform Study

Contract Number GS-10F-0554N, Order # ED-PEP-11-O-0090/TO13

SRI Project #P21496

Submitted to:

Joanne Bogart

Policy and Program Studies Service

U.S. Department of Education

400 Maryland Avenue, SW

Washington, DC 20202

Prepared by:

Christine Padilla, Ellen Schiller, and Rebecca Schmidt, SRI International

Deborah Herget, RTI International
HSRS OMB Package i
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SUPPORTING STATEMENT, PART A

PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION

A. Justification 

This request for OMB clearance is to collect data through a nationally representative survey of high 

schools during the 2014–15 school year. Data from the National High School Reform Study will inform a 

descriptive report on the strategies that high schools are using to help students graduate from high 

school, especially students at risk for dropping out and students in high schools with low graduation 

rates. Information from the survey will fill critical information gaps about the use and prevalence of high 

school reform strategies to support at-risk youth. SRI International (SRI) and Research Triangle Institute 

(RTI), under contract with the U.S. Department of Education (the Department), are conducting the 

research to prepare this report. Pending clearance, the research team will administer a survey to a 

nationally representative sample of approximately 2,000 public high school administrators.

Introduction

In 2010-11 the overall national graduation rate reached a record high of 80 percent. Although 

graduation rates have been improving over the past 10 years, a graduation gap persists between white 

and nonwhite students. Of particular concern are the high school graduation rates for minority students, 

which fall between 67 percent for Native Americans, 69 percent for Blacks, and 73 percent for Latinos

(Stetser & Stillwell, 2014). In addition, students living in poverty are approximately five times more likely 

to drop out of high school than high-income students (Rumberger, 2013). The impact of not earning a 

high school degree is far-reaching; high school dropouts are at a disadvantage economically and on 

other quality of life factors, such as health, life expectancy, and involvement in crime (Amos, 2008).

However, a high school diploma alone is no longer sufficient for achieving the American dream. The 

rapidly changing conditions in the global economy increasingly demand more education and training 

than secondary schools can provide, and this demand will increase over time (Carnevale, Smith, &

Strohl, 2010). Projections suggest that the economy will create 46.8 million job openings by 2018, and 

63 percent of the new and replacement jobs (positions vacated by those who have retired) will require 

some college or training. To be responsive to these concerns, the current Administration set a goal that 

every American should complete at least one year of postsecondary education or training. Meeting this 

goal requires a policy shift from aiming to keep at-risk youth in high school to helping at-risk youth

graduate high school and continue their education. 

This exploratory study is intended to inform policy related to high school reform and to inform the types 

of technical assistance and program priorities provided to grantees through the High School Graduation 

Initiative (HSGI). The HSGI awards discretionary grants to state educational agencies (SEAs) and local 

educational agencies (LEAs) to support the implementation of effective, sustainable, and coordinated 

dropout prevention and reentry programs in high schools with annual dropout rates that exceed their 

state average annual dropout rate. Funds also may be used to support activities at middle schools that 

feed into high schools which have high dropout rates . Recently President Obama proposed 

consolidating the HSGI and Advanced Placement programs into a new College Pathways high school 

program. The following presents an overview of the study design, including the research questions 

guiding the study, the data collection process, and plans for the final report. 

Research Questions

The National High School Reform Study is designed to answer the following questions: 
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1. What are the prevalence and characteristics of key high school reforms, especially dropout 

prevention strategies, operating in the nation’s public high schools?

2. What are the prevalence and characteristics of key high school reforms, especially dropout 

prevention strategies, in the nation’s public high schools with low graduation rates?

Taken together, these research questions aim to provide descriptions of how secondary schools can 

support at-risk students and potentially provide them with options for postsecondary attainment.

Survey

The Department requests OMB clearance for a survey of 2,088 nationally representative public high 

schools enrolling 12th-grade students in fall 2014. The study will use a stratified random sample to 

select high schools to recruit for participation in the survey. The survey will provide data on the 

prevalence and characteristics of key high school reforms designed to improve high school graduation 

rates.

A.1. Circumstances Requiring the Collection of Data

Approximately one million students drop out of high school each year, and dropout rates are higher 

among minority males and students living in poverty. Current high school reform strategies to prevent 

dropout are diverse in type of program, services offered, frequency, intensity, and duration of contact 

with target students. Unfortunately, there is a paucity of information on the prevalence of various high 

school reform strategies and their characteristics. This task order is intended to address this significant 

knowledge gap. The research literature suggests that it is the combined efforts of strategies at the 

secondary level that culminate in students’ persistence and completion of high school. As a result, the 

survey can make an important contribution by capturing information on the complete array of strategies 

being implemented within a national sample of high schools.

The Department contracted with SRI and RTI to carry out the national High School Reform Study (HSRS). 

The goals of the study are to identify what key high school reforms are in the field, especially in schools 

with higher than average dropout rates.

The proposed data collection is authorized under Title I-Part H of the Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as reauthorized by the No Child Left Behind Act (Public Law 107-110),

2001.

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A.2. Purposes and Use of Data

The Department will use the study results to inform policy related to high school reform, HSGI program 

priorities, and technical assistance provided to HSGI grantees.

A.3. Use of Information Technology to Reduce Burden

The research team will use information technology to reduce burden on schools in several different 

ways. School administrators will be asked to complete their surveys via the Internet. An online survey

platform allows for automated branching and skip patterns so respondents see only items that are 

relevant to them based on their preceding responses.

Contractors will follow up with school administrators who do not complete the web-based survey to 

offer an opportunity to complete the survey via a computer-assisted telephone interview (CATI). 

Computer-controlled interviewing offers accurate and efficient management of survey activities, 

including case management, call scheduling, generation of reports on sample disposition, data quality 

 

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http://www2.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/pg15.html#sec1802
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monitoring, interviewer performance, and flow of information between telephone interviewers and 

other data collection operations.

A.4. Efforts to Identify and Avoid Duplication

The Department will make all efforts to avoid duplicating other federally-funded projects. The 

leadership team for this study brings past experience producing reports on high school reform 

strategies. The team has reviewed prior nationally representative surveys in this area and spoken with 

experts in the field familiar with the extant body of research. The survey will probe into areas of high 

school reform that have been understudied and will update prior survey research findings.

A.5. Efforts to Minimize Burden on Small Businesses or Other Entities 

The research team anticipates no burden on small businesses, as data collection will be limited to public 

high schools.

A.6. Consequence if the Information Is Not Collected or Collected Less Frequently 

If the proposed information is not collected, the federal government will miss the opportunity to 

provide timely and practical information to school, district, state, and federal personnel on the 

prevalence and characteristics of key high school reform strategies. Approximately 23,000 schools meet 

the sampling frame for this study (public high schools serving 12th-graders), which is more than 20 

percent of schools listed in the Common Core of Data (CCD). Gathering, synthesizing, and sharing

information about high school reform strategies will inform future policy and federal programs that 

affect these schools.

A.7. Special Circumstances

No special circumstances are anticipated. The data collection will comply with 5 CFR 1320.6.

A.8. Federal Register Comments and Persons Consulted Outside of Agency

a. Consultation Outside the Agency. Seven experts (four researchers and three practitioners) 

have agreed to serve on an expert panel to guide this study. They are listed in Exhibit 1. 

These experts are providing valuable input on survey content. 

Exhibit 1. Expert Panel Members

Name Professional Affiliation

Marisa de la Torre Consortium on Chicago School Research, University of Chicago

Nettie Legters Center for Social Organization of Schools, Johns Hopkins University

Sonia Dinnal Hartford Public Schools, CT, Project Director for HSGI grant

Mindee O’Cummings American Institutes for Research

Becky Youngman School District of Palm Beach, FL, Manager of College Readiness

Debra Sacks Riverside County Office of Education, CA

Melinda Mechur Karp Community College Research Center, Teachers College
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A.9. Payment to Respondents

No payment to respondents will be offered.

A.10. Assurances of Confidentiality

The research team has established a set of standards and procedures to safeguard the privacy of 

participants and the confidentiality of data as they are collected, processed, stored, and reported. The 

following provisions will apply on this project: 

 Responses to this data collection will be summarized in an aggregate manner (across groups of 

schools) or will be used to provide examples of program implementation in a manner that does not 

associate responses with a specific site or individual. 

 The study team may refer to the generic title of an individual (e.g., "school principal”), but no 

district, school, or individual name will be used. The contractor will not provide information that 

associates responses or findings with a respondent to anyone outside the study team. In reporting, 

the study will not disaggregate data to such a degree that it would be possible to identify individual 

schools or other entities. 

 The initial page of the survey will inform participants of the data collection purposes and the 

potential uses of the data collected. The risks and benefits of participating in this study, which are 

expected to be nominal, are presented on the cover page of the survey as well (Appendix A).

 The research team will maintain a tracking database with names and contact information for 

respondents separate from the survey responses. The tracking database will be used for survey 

administration and follow-up. The research team will assign a unique identification number to each 

school to be used for raw data, printout listings that display the data, and analysis files. The survey 

response file will not contain names or addresses, just the unique identification number. The 

research team will not provide information that associates responses or findings with a subject or 

school to anyone outside the study team.

As the lead in the data collection for the study, RTI International will have its Institutional Review Board 

(IRB) review and approve all research protocols and data collection materials. In RTI’s Office for 

Research Protection, RTI’s IRB is responsible for ensuring that all research protocols are scientifically 

sound and worthwhile, risks are minimized to the extent possible, subjects are selected in an equitable 

manner, informed consent is required, privacy and confidentiality are protected, and the study is 

adequately monitored. The IRB will ensure that this research meets legal and ethical standards and 

protects the rights of human subjects of research. All invitation letters sent to sample members will 

include a telephone number to directly contact RTI’s Office for Research Protection. Letters will also 

include the following statement about the voluntary nature of the survey and assurance of 

confidentiality:

All responses will be protected from disclosure. No schools or individuals will be identified by name. 

Participation is voluntary. The data collected will be used in analyses to understand what services 

and supports are available through schools, what services and supports are most prevalent across 

the country, and the nature of participation in these services and supports. Information collected 

from school administrators will help to inform and shape efforts to improve the quality of the high 

school experience, especially for those students at risk for not graduating high school.
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A.11. Justification for Questions of a Sensitive Nature

The survey does not include sensitive questions and focuses primarily on descriptions of programs and 

services offered at a school.

A.12. Estimate of Information Collection Burden

This request relates to a sample of approximately 2,088 surveys of high schools. The research team 

estimates that the survey will take approximately 30 minutes to complete. With an estimated 2,088

schools in the sample and a 80 percent participation rate (see B.2), the estimated total burden across all 

respondents is 835 hours for 1,670 respondents.

Using an hourly rate of $52.12 for school principals (based on Bureau of Labor Statistics data from May 

2010), the estimated cost per respondent is $26.06. With 1,670 respondents (based on an 80 percent 

response rate), the total estimated cost of respondents’ time is $43,520.

A.13. Estimate of Cost Burden to Respondents

There is no capital or start-up cost component to these data collection activities, nor is there any total 

operation, maintenance, or purchase cost associated with the study.

A.14. Estimate of Annualized Costs

The estimated annualized cost to the federal government for data collection activities is $603,353. This 

is based on the total contract costs of $1,960,898 amortized over a 39-month period. This estimate 

includes costs already invoiced, plus budgeted future costs that will be charged to the government for 

the study design, sample selection, and data collection activities.

A.15. Change in Annual Reporting Burden

This is a new study/data collection.

A.16. Plans for Tabulation and Publication of Results

The data collection period will begin on December 1, 2014, pending OMB approval. 

Survey sampling will occur before December 1, 2014, so the research team can be ready to launch the 

survey upon receiving final OMB approval. Letters to the randomly selected sample of 2,088 schools for 

the survey will be sent out immediately upon receipt of OMB approval. The district letter will include a 

toll-free phone number that district staff can call to alert project staff if there are requirements to be 

met prior to contacting schools. One week after the district letters are sent, a letter and study fact sheet 

will be mailed to the school principal that includes the URL, user ID, and password to access the online 

survey. The survey will remain open through June 1, 2015. The research team will create a clean data file 

and dictionary.

Topical reports will be prepared to summarize the current state of high school reform strategies. The 

reports will include a synthesis of relevant key findings and data tabulations from the survey. These

easily accessible written reports will be posted on the Department’s website. The planned release date 

for the topical reports will be prior to January 2016.
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A.17. Expiration Date Omission Approval

Not applicable. All data collection instruments will include the OMB data control number and data 

collection expiration date.

A.18. Exceptions

Not applicable. No exceptions are requested.