**[Recruiter]**

**[Title, O rganization]**  [Date] [ RTT/ELC
- MPRID ] [Contact Name] [Title] [Address] [Additional contact(s) if appropriate.] Dear [Dr./Mr./Ms.] [Contact(s)]: Thank you for speaking with me about the Race to the Top

— Early Learning Challenge: Descriptive Study of Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement Systems in Nine Round 1 S tates . As you know, the evaluation is sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and is being conducted b y Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (Mathematica). The purpose of this letter is to summarize our communication thus far and to describe the responsibilities of both the Mathematica research team and [ District] [(abbreviation if appropriate)] over the course of the study
. If you feel that any aspect of the plan described in this letter is inconsistent with your understanding of the study, please contact me at [recruiter phone] or [recruiter email] to explore possible revisions. **Study Background.**  The Race to the Top

—Earl y Learning Challenge (RTT
- ELC) grant s program is a joint effort by

the U.S. Departments of Education (ED) and Health and Human Services (HHS) to strengthen the quality of earl y learning and development programs, and to increase access to high quality programs for all children, particularly l ow - income and disadvantaged children
. The states that were awarded RTT - ELC grants were required to commit to integrating resources and aligning policies across the various state agencies that administer public funds related to earl y learning and development. RTT - ELC seeks to improve earl y learning and development programs by supporting reform s in five areas: (1) integrating state earl y care and education systems; (2) increasing access to high
- quality, accountable programs; (3) promoting earl y learning and development outcomes through statewide standards and comprehensive assessment systems ; (4) developing and supporting the earl y childhood workforce; and (5) building earl y learning data systems to measure child outcomes and progress
. A key aspect of the RT T - ELC program is the development and implementation of tiered quality rating and improvement system s (TQRIS) under the second reform area noted above (that is, increasing access to high quality, accountable programs). Through TQRIS, state s use a set of standards to evaluate the quality o f e arl y l earning and development program s and promote program improvement. TQRI S aim to improve program quality and child outcomes by promulgating rigorous standards, rating providers based on those standards, and publicizing the ratings of individual providers
.LETTER TO: [District contact(s)]

FROM: [Recruiter] DATE: [D ate] PAGE: 2 To better understand the TQRI S that RTT - ELC grantees are developing, ED’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) has launched a descriptive study o f the TQRI S funded under RTT - ELC. This study

will collect information from Round 1 RTT
- ELC grantee states to examine the structure and characteristics of TQRI S. The study is also examining the relationship between characteristics of center-based earl y care and education programs, as captured in TQRI S ratings, and child outc ome measures at kindergarten entry in select states . The study ’s primary research questions are:
 How are TQRI S ratings defined, collected, and generated in the nine Round 1 RTT ELC states and how might the structure and implementation of the rating system influence the reliability

and validity

of the ratings ?  What is the relationship between TQRIS ratings and kindergarten readiness outcomes for programs that serve preschool
- age children in select RTT
- ELC states ? **Data Collection.**  To answer the first study research question , Mathematica interviewed state representatives and conducted a targeted review of publicly available documents
. To answer the second research question, Mathematica will collect and analyze TQRI S and kindergarten entry assessment (KEA) administrative data. This agreement outlines district activities only
. Specificall y, the study will collect the following data from [ District] :
 **Administrative data.**  To examine the relationship between TQRI S ratings and kindergarten readiness outcomes, the research team will electronically collect administrative data on TQRI S ratings for school ye ar 2014
- 2015 and kindergarten entry assessment test scores for all kindergarten students for school ye ar 201 5

–201 6
. The team will also collect data for all previous ye ars during which the TQRI S and KEA being used were identical to those used in 201 5

–201 6
. Specifically, we are requesting data for [years]. We will obtain relevant administrative data from [State Education Agency] , where possible
. [District] will provide only those data elements which the state is unable to provide
. Before collecting data , Mathematica will provide [ District] with a complete list of required data elements
. Administrative data files should be sent to Mathematica in electronic format. Prior to construction of these files, Mathematica staff will provide the appropriate contact person at [ District] with detailed directions on formatting and procedures for secure ly transmitting the files
.LETTER TO: [District contact(s)]

FROM: [Recruiter] DATE: [D ate] PAGE: 3 **Study Timeline.**  Mathematica plans to collect administrative data beginning in fall 201 5 . Specific dates will be determined by Mathematica and the district once we coordinate calendars. **Data Confidentiality.**  Any student
- level data provided to the study team will be kept strictl y confidential, except as may b e required by

l aw, and will be used onl y for research purposes. The research team shall, as appropriate, compl y with: The Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, P art E, Section 183; The Privacy Act of 1974, P.L . 93
- 579, 5 USC 552 a; the ‘Buckley Amendment,’ Family

E ducational and Privacy Act of 1974, 20 USC 1232 g; and related regulations, including but not limited to: 41 CFR Part 1
- 1 and 45 CFR Part 5b. Any student identifiers will be stripped from the data and replaced with randomly g enerated numbers prior to anal yz ing the data . In addition to these data safeguards, the study team will ensure that no students, schools , or districts are identified in publicl y available reports or findings, and if necessary, the study team will mask distinguishing characteristics. Staff working on this project will securel y maintain all data files and access to data files will be tightly restricted to onl y those project staff who are specifically authorized to view the data. A restricted
-use dataset will be produced as part of this study to provide external researchers access to data analyzed by this study
. The restricted
-use dataset will not include any student, school, or district names . The data fi le submitted to National Center for Education Statistics (NCES ) will be made up of the data files submitted to the study team by the state or district and any i dentifiable information will be removed from the file , per agreements with states or districts. Further, access to these data is limited to only those researchers licensed by the NCES to use the data for research purposes only
. NCES loans restricted
-use data only to qualified organizations in the United States. Individual researchers must apply through an organization (e.g., a university, a research institution, or company). To qualify, an organization must provide a justification for access to the restricted
-use data, submit the required legal documents, agree to keep the data safe from unauthorized disclosures at all times, and to participate fully in unannounced, unscheduled inspections of the researcher’s office to ensure compliance with the terms of the License and the Security P lan form. Li censed researchers are subject to NCES standards for cond ucting research and protecting data confidentiality
. Specifically, the use of these data is protected by F ederal statutes and regulations; authorized researchers are subject to the laws, regulations, and penalties that apply to use of confidential data hel d by the Institute of Education Sciences (IES, an office of ED). Researchers who utilize the data in ways contrary to these statutes and regulations, such as attempting to identify

respondents, face penalties of fines and jail terms.LETTER TO: [District contact(s)]

FROM: [Recruiter] DATE: [D ate] PAGE: 4 **Research Approval.**  Mathematica will comply with all federal and state requirements for participation in research. Mathematica’s study protocols have been submitted to the U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and New England Institutional Review Board (NE IRB) for approval
. **Communication.** I will be your primary c ontact on the study

team. Please do not hesitate to contact me by

phone or e -mail if you have any questions about the evaluation. The [ District] has named [contact person] as the primary contact for the evaluation. [Recruiter name] [Title] [Organization] [Address Line 1] [Address Line 2] [Phone] [Fax] [Email] [ District Contact] [Title] [Organization] [Address Line 1] [Address Line 2] [Phone] [Fax] [Email]LETTER TO: [District contact(s)]

FROM: [Recruiter] DATE: [D ate] PAGE: 5 **Agreement to**  **Proceed.** If the plan described in this letter is acceptable to you and consistent with your understanding of your district’s participation in the study, please sign the bottom of this letter, keep one cop y for your files, and E -mail one signed PDF cop y of the letter to me at [Recruiter E mail] or fax it to me at [Recruiter fax]. We appreciate your assistance with this important study, and we look forward to working with you. Sincerel y, [Recruiter name] [Title, Organization] **Signed:** The plan described in this letter accurately describes our plan for including [ District] in the Race to the Top — Early Learning Challenge: Descriptive Study of Tiered Quality Rating and Improvement Systems in Nine Round 1 States . [Contact Name] [Title] [ District] [Additional contact name] [Title] [ District] [Delete if unnecessary .]
Irm a Perez - Johnson Project Director Mathematica Policy

Research, Inc. Julius Clark

Deputy Director of Contracts Mathematica Policy

Research, Inc.