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REQUEST FOR CLEARANCE OF PROPOSED STUDY

SUPPORTING STATEMENT FOR PAPERWORK REDUCTION ACT SUBMISSION

Survey on Use of Funds Under Title II, Part A 

B. COLLECTION OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

1. Respondent Universe

We will draw a sample of 800 LEAs for this study from the 2013-2014 NCES CCD Public Elementary and Secondary 

Agency Universe File. Specifically, we will draw the sample from the over 16,500 agencies overall in this data file, 

of which almost 15,000 (or 90%) are classified as regular school districts. 

Multiple factors, such as respondent burden, data quality and cost implications, were taken into account when 

determining the design for this study. Using a nationally representative sample of 800 LEAs minimizes the 

respondent burden but still allows the Department to perform the analyses needed for the GPRA indicators.

This study is expecting a response rate among LEAs of at least 80 percent. During the last data collection (2012-13), 

a response rate of 80.3 percent was achieved.

2. Sample Design

A stratified sample of 800 LEAs will be selected for the survey. To select the sample, we propose to stratify the 

LEAs in the frame by size and poverty status. The most recent district-level poverty estimates will be used to stratify 

the LEAs by level of school district poverty. 

There are 8 LEA size categories and 5 poverty status categories (5 instead of 4 because, for a few LEAs, such as 

charters, poverty status was missing), yielding 40 cells. Proportional allocation of the 800 would have yielded very 

few large LEAs and (to a lesser extent) high poverty LEAs. The Department is interested in both of these groups, so 

100 LEAs per size category will be sampled. This, in effect, oversamples the large LEAs and high poverty LEAs. 

Since it is more difficult to get the large LEAs and high poverty LEAs to respond to the survey, these LEAs will not

be overrepresented in the final analyses.

The sample has been stratified by size and poverty status because the Department wants to disaggregate the survey 

results by these categories. Poverty quartiles, in particular, were used because they mirror the CSPR data collection 

and for cost reasons. Urban/rural sampling and a state representative sample were originally explored, but there was a 

tight budget and additional sampling was not cost effective. The categorization of urban/rural LEAs is likely 

correlated with size, since large LEAs tend to be urban and small LEAs tend to be rural.

In addition to estimates of the percentage of LEAs having specified characteristics, some of the key statistics 

produced from the survey include aggregate measures, such as total dollar amounts allocated for allowable activities 

under Title II, Part A and total numbers of teachers participating in various professional development activities. In the 

2012-13 survey, the relative standard errors (RSEs) of the measures have ranged roughly from 5 to 20 percent 

depending on the statistic. Although explicit precision requirements for this study have not been specified, we believe 

that the achieved levels of precision from past surveys can serve as a reasonable goal to aim for in future studies. 

Thus, we expect the current design to yield similar levels of precision.

There are no unusual problems requiring specialized sampling procedures. This data collection will be annual.
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3. Methods for Maximizing the Response Rate

A letter (Appendix C) will be sent to each LEA along with the survey, reiterating the reasons for selection and 

requesting cooperation. LEAs will be given the option of responding through an online system, by mail, by fax, or by 

e-mail, whichever they find easiest. The online system will be developed for the 2014-15 data collection; during the 

2014-15 data collection period districts will be offered the option of submitting responses through any of the methods 

listed previously. In subsequent years, districts may be required to submit the data via the online system only. If the 

completed survey is not received by the expected date, a reminder card will be sent to the LEA. Following the 

reminder card, contractor personnel will re-send the data collection instrument to non-respondents and continue to 

attempt to obtain completed surveys for 3 months after the initial mail out of the data collection instruments. The 

contractor for this study has a long history of achieving high response rates through repeated mail and telephone 

follow-ups. This study will yield reliable data that can be generalized to the universe. 

The contractor, Westat, will conduct non-responses bias analyses if the response rate is below 85 percent and will 

model these on the procedures used for NAEP. With NAEP, this was interpreted to mean 85 percent for various 

subgroups, not just overall. Westat will look at the response rates (weighted) for the survey for the 8 LEA size 

categories and the 4 poverty quartiles and see if any of them are under 85 percent. If not, Westat does not anticipate 

the need for non-response bias analyses. If some are under 85 percent, Westat will model the non-response bias 

analyses after NAEP. Westat will examine the weighted distributions of respondents before and after non-response 

adjustment for certain key frame characteristics that are related to the survey responses.

4. Tests of Procedures and Methods

For the original Title II, Part A study, the Department consulted with several SEAs and LEAs to determine the 

feasibility of the data collection. Additionally, we conducted a pilot test of the revised 2004-05 data collection 

instrument with five LEAs. In selecting the LEAs to participate in the pilot test, we sought to include LEAs of varying 

size and location. The purpose of the test was to (1) verify that LEAs will be able to provide information for all of the 

data items on the data collection instrument and (2) ensure that the burden estimates used in this clearance package are 

accurate. As a result of this effort, we made several revisions to the wording on the data collection instrument and 

determined that we had somewhat underestimated the respondent burden. This OMB clearance request has been 

modified to accommodate the changes made to the LEA survey for the 2014-15 data collection. 

5. Consultations on Statistical Aspects of the Design

All sample design development will be provided by Hyunshik Lee, Senior Statistician in Westat's Statistical Support 

Group (301-610-5112). Westat will collect and analyze the information for the Department.