2015-16 

NATIONAL TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL SURVEY (NTPS)

PRELIMINARY FIELD ACTIVITIES

OMB SUPPORTING STATEMENT

PART B

OMB# 1850-0598 v.10

September 2014

National Center For Education Statistics (NCES)

TABLE OF CONTENTS

B. Collection of information employing statistical methods

1. Respondent Universe 1

2. Statistical Procedures for Collecting Information 1

3. Methods for Maximizing Response Rates 2

4. Tests of Procedures and Methods 3

5. Reviewing Statisticians 3
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B. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

The purpose of this submission is to request clearance to contact and seek research approval from “special 

contact districts” and to send pre-contact letters to schools selected for the 2015-2016 NTPS sample. The

special contact districts are those known to require completion of a research application before they will 

allow schools under their jurisdiction to participate in a study. Based on an initial assessment of previous 

SASS data collections, we estimate that 320 special contact districts will be in the sample. The school precontact letter is to verify school mailing addresses and to inform schools about the upcoming data 

collection. About 4% of all school addresses get corrected by the U.S. Post Office in response to the precontact letter, saving time and effort during the actual data collection period.

1. Respondent Universe

The respondent universe for the 2015-16 NTPS consists of approximately 95,750 public schools in the 50 

U.S. states and the District of Columbia (DC) that offer instruction in any of grades K-12. To be eligible 

for inclusion in the sample, schools must provide instruction to students, have one or more teachers to 

provide instruction, serve students in at least one of grades 1-12 or the ungraded equivalent, must be 

located in one or more buildings, and must be located in the U.S. and not in the outlying areas or U.S. 

territories. NCES’ 2012-13 Common Core of Data (CCD) will be used to construct the public school 

sampling frame unless a more recent CCD file becomes available.

2. Statistical Procedures for Collecting Information

2.1. Sampling

In the first year of the study, approximately 7,800 public schools will be sampled from a school frame 

developed from the 2012-13 Common Core of Data Public School Universe file. The target number of 

cooperative, eligible schools is 5,300 (assuming an eligibility rate of 94% and a response rate of 70%). 

The school sample is a stratified, probability proportionate to size sample, with measure of size equal to 

the square root of school FTE (full-time equivalent teachers). A teacher roster will be collected from the 

cooperating, eligible schools, and a sample of approximately 40,500 teachers will be drawn from these 

teacher rosters. The target number of teacher interviews is 27,000: a mean value of 5 teachers per school

(assuming an eligibility rate of 96% and a response rate of 70% for teachers). The mean number of 

sampled teachers per sampled school is 7.5. The teacher sample sizes are proportional to the square root 

of school FTE, and teachers are sampled from the school teacher rosters in a stratified, equal probability

sample. Charter schools and teachers, combined schools and teachers, and ‘town’ schools and teachers are 

oversampled to achieve domain precision targets. The resultant school and teacher samples are nationally

representative probability samples. Final sample sizes and selection procedures will be included in the 

data collection package submission. 

2.2 Response Rates

Approximately 94% of the special districts contacted in the 2011-12 SASS responded to a request for 

external research. These responses were either: unconditional approval (39.8%), conditional approval 

(7.3%), or refusal (47.2%). The Census Bureau has identified districts that have refused multiple rounds 

of SASS for special outreach. We plan to engage senior NCES staff and others with personal contacts at 

these districts in our efforts to gain approval for NTPS this cycle.

2.3 Procedures for Collection of Information

The special district contact operations for the 2015-16 NTPS will be based on those used in the 2011-
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2012 data collection. Districts are identified as ‘special districts’ prior to data collection because they

were flagged as such during previous cycles of SASS or other NCES studies, or identified during 

updating district information based on what is found in online sources. The application process for each 

individual district is obtained either through direct contact via phone or e-mail or through the district 

website. Most districts require that the following documents be provided in the research request packet:

 Study proposal with a timeline of the study

 Study Abstract and/or Executive Summary

 IRB approval (NTPS is exempt from seeking IRB approval)

 Consent form 

 Project Director’s resume

 Copy of any communications that would be sent to participants

 Copy of questionnaires

Some districts require a processing fee (approximately $50-$200) before the research proposal can be 

evaluated.

3. Methods for Maximizing Response Rates

A variety of procedures will be employed to ensure high response rates at both the level of the responding 

unit (i.e., sample member) and at the level of the individual survey items in each survey questionnaire. A 

pilot test to look at optimal contact strategies was approved in July 2014 (OMB# 1850-0803 v.105) and 

will begin in October 2014. The final NTPS design will be based on results from this study.

The entire survey process, starting with securing research cooperation from key public school groups and 

individual sample members and continuing throughout the distribution and collection of individual 

questionnaires, is designed to increase survey response rates. In addition, we believe that the following 

elements of the data collection plan, in particular, will contribute to overall success of the survey and will 

enhance the survey response rates.

(1) Visible support from top-level Federal, State, and local education officials. Without the support of 

high-level officials in the U.S. Department of Education, State Education Agencies, and the 

sampled local school districts, surveys of public school principals and teachers cannot be 

successfully implemented. Obtaining endorsements from these officials is a critical factor in the 

success of the data collection procedures. Top-level Education Department officials will need to 

fully support the data collection by endorsing the survey in writing and sending advance letters 

and notices to sampled districts' Superintendents, and individual survey participants (principals 

and teachers) to encourage participation.

(2) Endorsements from key public school groups. The level of interest and cooperation demonstrated 

by key groups can often greatly influence the degree of participation of survey respondents. 

Endorsements are viewed as a critical factor in soliciting cooperation from state and local 

education officials. The NTPS is seeking endorsement by the following organizations or agencies:

American Association of School Administrators

Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development

American Federation of Teachers

American Counseling Association

Association for Middle Level Education

National Science Foundation
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Council of Chief State School Officers

Council of the Great City Schools

National Association of Elementary School Principals

National Association of Secondary School Principals

National Education Association

(3) Stressing the importance of the survey and the respondents' participation. Official letters (advance 

notification, inside the questionnaire, and follow-up) from the NCES Commissioner of Education 

Statistics will be used to motivate respondents to return surveys. The additional personalization of 

survey materials (cover letters and survey packets with teachers' names) is also expected to have 

positive effects on the response rates.

(4) Minimize the survey burden on school-level authorities. The procedures for the surveys are 

designed to minimize the survey burden on schools and sampled individuals (principals and 

teachers) and the survey instruments have been designed to be completed as quickly and easily as 

possible.

Good questionnaire design techniques have been employed to minimize item nonresponse. All 

completed questionnaires from the 2011-12 SASS have been carefully analyzed to determine 

which items had the highest levels of item nonresponse. This information guided NCES in 

reviewing the clarity of item wording, definitions, and instructions. Items that were not considered 

to be effective or useful were deleted so as to streamline the questionnaires and ease the response 

burden.

NTPS also plans to provide links to or incorporate data from other NCES collections such as 

EDfacts and the Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) into final datasets to allow researchers and 

policymakers to include additional data in their analyses. This will further reduce the need to 

collect data from schools that have already been collected at the state or district level.

(5) Seeking the recruitment of a school coordinator. An important procedural measure for helping to 

maximize response rates is the plan to establish a school-based "survey coordinator" to serve as a 

primary point of contact for NTPS staff. The use of a school coordinator is expected to help keep 

response rates high, provide some minimal data quality checks, and simplify the follow-up process 

by having one point of contact.

4. Tests Of Procedures And Methods

As noted previously, the 2015-16 NTPS is built on the experience of previous rounds of SASS. Results 

from the pilot test that will start in October 2014 will be implemented in the final NTPS design. These 

results and the final design will be described in the 2015-16 NTPS OMB data collection clearance 

package to be submitted in early 2015.

5. Reviewing Statisticians

The following statisticians are contributing to the NTPS sample design

Randall Parmer, U.S. Census Bureau, Suitland, MD

Edward Mulrow, NORC, Bethesda, MD

Kirk Wolter, NORC, Chicago, IL

David Marker, Westat, Rockville, MD

Lou Rizzo, Westat, Bethesda, MD

Sharon Lohr, Westat, Bethesda, MD

Andrew Zukerberg, NCES, Washington, DC

Marilyn Seastrom, NCES, Washington, DC