Characteristics of Parent Respondents in the 

National Household Education Surveys 

Stacey Bielick 

Cameron McPhee 

American Institutes for Research 

1990 K Street, NW, Suite 500 

Washington, DC 20006 

sbielick@air.org 

cmcphee@air.org 

This conference paper is intended to promote the exchange of ideas among researchers. The views 

expressed in it are part of ongoing research and analysis and do not necessarily reflect the views of the U.S. 

Department of Education. 

Introduction

This paper presents the initial analysis for an ongoing research project. In this paper, we examine the demographic 

characteristics of parent respondents in the National Household Education Surveys (NHES), a system of surveys sponsored 

by the U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). We 

examine changes in parent respondent characteristics in each administration of the NHES from 1993 to the most recent 

survey in 2007. The results from the analysis are intended to inform future design work for the NHES program and provide 

general information about parent respondents for NCES and other statistical agencies and organizations that conduct survey 

research with parents about their children. 

The NHES has been conducted nine times (in 19911

, 1993, 1996, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007) as a list-assisted, 

landline, random-digit-dialed (RDD) telephone survey. NHES is the only regular household survey conducted by NCES. Its 

purpose is to measure children’s and families’ activities and behaviors that take place outside of schools or other educational 

institutions. Such activities include early childhood care and education, children’s readiness for school, parent involvement in 

education, school choice, and homeschooling. In each NHES administration, a screening survey was administered to an adult 

household respondent to determine household survey eligibility. Eligible children were sampled and the adult who had the 

most knowledge of the sample child’s care and education was selected as the respondent for the topical survey. 

Like other telephone surveys, response rates on the NHES have been declining and the decline has accelerated in recent 

years. The NHES screener response rate in 1993 was 80 percent while the screener response rate in 2007 was 53 percent. 

Also like other telephone surveys, the NHES faces undercoverage problems due to the increase use of mobile phones. The 

percentage of households without a landline telephone has decreased rapidly in recent years, with about 20 percent of 

households in 2008 having no landline telephone (Blumberg and Luke 2009). 

To address these concerns while still maintaining a household sampling frame, the NHES is undergoing a redesign. A switch 

to an address-based survey is being tested, with mail being the primary mode of contact. Address-telephone matching is also 

being used to test a multi-mode, mail/telephone design. A feasibility pilot will be conducted in the fall of 2009, followed by a 

large-scale field test in 2011. 

1 Differences in the information available for respondents in 1991 make comparisons with other years difficult and therefore analyses on 

the 1991 data are not yet available. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Unlike the telephone survey, where the respondent selection was through an interviewer-administered screener survey that

asked for the most knowledgeable respondent about a sampled child’s care and education, respondents in the mail survey will 

be self-selected. The survey currently contains only an instruction that a person in the household who is knowledgeable about 

the sampled child’s care and education should fill-out the survey. Because of such respondent selection differences, as well as 

other mode differences related to unit and item response, it is important to understand the characteristics of the telephone

respondents in order to provide a baseline for comparisons of characteristics of the mail survey and multi-mode respondents. 

In addition to establishing a comparison baseline for the mail and multi-mode survey, looking at trends and patterns of NHES 

respondents across time contributes to a broader understanding of the characteristics of parent responders. Recent work on 

response propensity has sought to establish characteristics of likely responders to specific surveys in order to tailor contact 

procedures and other survey design features, and provide information for post-survey weighting adjustments (Groves 2006, 

Abraham et al. 2006). The more we know about how to contact households and who to ask to respond, the better we can 

maximize response and reduce cost. Past research on responders has shown some characteristics of responders that are 

similar across studies. Groves (2006) provides a synthesis of some of the research on respondent demographic characteristics 

as follows: 

Males refuse more than females (Smith 1983). Urbanicity is a powerful indicator of response rates in all 

modes (de Leeuw and de Heer 2002). Adults who live alone tend to be refusals (Groves and Couper 1998); 

households with young children show higher response rates than others (Lievesley 1988). (p. 664). 

However, these studies examine the general population of adults or household responders, and not specifically parent 

responders. This paper examines three main research questions related specifically to parent responders: 

• What are the demographic characteristics of NHES parent respondents? 

• To what extent have these characteristics changed between 1991 and 2007? 

• To what extent do key survey items vary by parent respondent characteristics? 

Data and Methods

As mentioned above, the NHES has been conducted nine times as a list-assisted landline random digit dialed (RDD) 

telephone survey. We use data from multiple years and surveys of the NHES in the analysis. Below we describe the content, 

sample size, and response rates for the NHES surveys, and the statistical tests used in the report. 

Survey content. The RDD NHES had rotating topical surveys as well as some one-time topical surveys. This analysis is 

focused on the early childhood surveys and the school-age surveys (the proposed redesigned surveys are the Early Childhood 

Program Participation (ECPP) survey and the Parent and Family Involvement (PFI) survey). Below is a brief description of 

the surveys examined in the paper. The descriptions are from the 2007 NHES Data File User’s Manual (Hagedorn et al. 

2008). Table A shows the surveys conducted by year and their sample sizes. 

The Early Childhood Program Participation (ECPP) and Early Childhood Education surveys (ECE) provide cross-sectional, 

national estimates of children’s participation in care by relatives and non-relatives in private homes and in center-based 

daycare or preschool programs (including Head Start and Early Head Start). Additional topics addressed in ECPP/ECE 

interviews have included family learning activities, out-of-pocket expenses for non-parental care, continuity of care, factors 

related to parental selection of care, parents’ perceptions of care quality, delayed kindergarten entry and grade retention, child 

health and disability, and child, parent, and household characteristics. 

The School Readiness (SR) surveys provide cross-sectional, national estimates of children’s developmental accomplishments 

and difficulties including emerging literacy and numeracy, center-based program participation, educational activities with 

family members, and health and nutrition. Parents of preschoolers were also asked about their perceptions of skills or 

knowledge required to start school. Parents of children in elementary school were also asked about their child’s adjustment to 

school, including feedback from teachers, and early school experiences. Information about family stability and other risk 

factors was collected along with parent/guardian and household characteristics 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

    

 

 

 

    

 

    

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The School Safety and Discipline Survey (SSD) provides national estimates related to the school learning environment, 

discipline policy, safety at school, victimization, availability and use of alcohol and drugs, and alcohol and drug education as 

reported by youth and their parents. Youth were also asked about peer norms for achievement and behavior in school and 

substance use. Child, parent/guardian and household characteristics were also collected. 

The Parent and Family Involvement in Education surveys (PFI) address specific ways that families are involved in their 

children’s school, school practices to involve and support families, involvement with children’s homework, and involvement 

in educational activities outside of school. Parents of homeschoolers were asked about their reasons for choosing 

homeschooling and resources they used in homeschooling. The interviews also included questions about child, parent, and 

household characteristics. 

The After-School Programs and Activities surveys (ASPA) provide information about children’s participation in care by 

relatives or nonrelatives in private homes, in school- or center-based programs, and in after-school activities. Parents were 

also asked about children’s self-care. Information about the specific activities in which children were engaged during the 

after-school hours was collected. In addition, parents were asked about continuity of care arrangements, parental perceptions 

of care quality, and reasons for choosing parental care. Information on child, parent/guardian, and household characteristics 

was collected. 

Table A. NHES early childhood and school-age survey topics by year of administration and sample size: 

1991 to 2007. 

NHES survey administration 

Survey topics 1991 1993 1995 1996 19991 2001 2003 2005 2007 

Early childhood education/program 

participation 13,298 14,064 6,939 6,749 7,209 

School readiness 10,888 3,631 2,633 

School safety and discipline 12,680 

Parent and family involvement in 

education 20,792 24,600 12,426 10,681 

After-school programs and 

activities 12,396 9,583 11,684 

1 NHES:1999 was a special end-of-decade administration that measured key indicators from the surveys fielded during the 1990s. 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Surveys Program 

(NHES), 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007. 

Sample size. The sample size for the NHES household screener was generally about 60,000 in each year, and typical sample 

sizes for the topical surveys were around 7,000 children for the early childhood surveys and around 12,000 children for the 

school-age surveys. The exact sample sizes per year are shown in table A by survey topic. In many NHES administrations, 

more than one child per household may be selected and reported about by the same parent. The child is the unit of analysis. 

Because the unit of analysis for this paper is the parent respondent, and not the child, in households with multiple children, 

one child per household was randomly selected to yield one respondent per household. Data on respondents are unweighted.2 

Response rates. Figure 1 shows the weighted screener response rates for each NHES survey from 1991 to 2007. 

2 The NHES oversamples for Black and Hispanic households and weights typically adjust for this design feature and others, such as 

oversamples of households with matched addresses. The unweighted data are not adjusted for the design. This should not substantially 

affect comparisons across the NHES because all surveys have the same basic sample design. It will, however, affect comparisons made to 

extant estimates and population totals. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Figure 1. NHES screener response rates: 1991-2007

100 

80 81 

72 

69 

73 

67 

62 

65 

53 

40 

60 

80 

Percent 

20 

0 

1991 1993 1995 1996 1999 2001 2003 2005 2007 

Year 

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, National Household Education Surveys 

Program (NHES), 1991, 1993, 1995, 1996, 1999, 2001, 2003, 2005, and 2007. 

Statistical tests. All comparisons have been tested using Student’s t-tests and differences reported are significant at the .05 

level unless otherwise noted. Standard error tables are available from the authors upon request. 

Results

First we discuss changes in respondent characteristics over time and by survey population. Then we discuss differences in 

key survey measures by respondent characteristics. Comparisons to population trends are presented in the discussion. Table 4 

shows population trends for selected characteristics and years. NHES results are presented in tables 1 through 3 and tables 5 

and 6. The parent characteristics examined are respondent sex, relationship to the sampled child, age, labor-force 

participation, educational attainment, marital status, interview language, and household poverty. Note that the NHES 

estimates are of parents and households with children, whereas population estimates are of all people or households. This 

allows for observation of broad differences between parent respondents and the adult population, and comparisons of trends 

over-time, but definitions of terms may vary somewhat. 

Characteristics of respondents over time and by survey population 

Table 1 shows the characteristics of parent respondents in the two most recent NHES surveys (2005 and 2007), by survey 

population. Tables 2 and 3 show characteristics of parent respondents, by each applicable survey year, for the early childhood 

population and school-age population. 

Sex and Relationship to child. A large majority of parent respondents were mothers in each survey year and in each survey 

population. Fathers were somewhat more present as respondents in the two school-age surveys of enrolled children (ASPA 

and PFI) compared to the surveys of the early childhood population. The survey population with the highest percentage of 

mother respondents was the homeschooling population (table 1). The percentage of fathers responding has increased over 

time for both the early childhood and school-age surveys (tables 2 and 3). The percentage of early childhood father 

respondents was 14 percent in 1993 and 17 percent in 2007. For school-age father respondents, their percentage was 16 

percent in 1993 and 21 percent in 2007. 

Grandparent respondents, mostly grandmothers, made-up about 3 to 4 percent of all respondents in each recent survey 

population (table 1), except homeschoolers, where they were about 2 percent. There was a slight increase in the percentage of 

grandmothers responding when comparing 1993 and 2007 (tables 2 and 3). In most cases if there was a parent and other 

adult(s) living in the household, the parent responded. The ECPP and SR had the highest percentage of non-parent responders 

when a parent lived in the household (2.3 percent, each). 
                                     

       

     

         

           

                       

                     

               

                      

   

             

             

  

       

             

                   

                   

             

                   

         

             

             

                   

   

  

         

         

  

             

   

                 

             

             

             

             

             

             

                 

  

       

                         

                         

                   

                     

  

   

                         

                       

                       

                 

                       

   

Table 1. Percentage of NHES parent respondents in recent NHES surveys and mean age, by survey population and respondent

characteristics: 2005 and 2007

Respondent characteristic

Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Sex

Male 18.86 19.98 17.59 21.99 12.12

Female 81.14 80.02 82.41 78.01 87.88

Relationship to child

Mother 77.43 75.14 78.50 73.11 84.51

Birth/adoptive mother 76.89 73.47 77.70 71.60 82.83

Other mother 0.54 1.67 0.80 1.51 1.68 !

Father 18.39 19.01 17.10 21.06 11.11

Birth/adoptive father 18.09 17.67 16.91 19.70 10.44

Other father 0.30 1.34 0.19 1.36 10.44

Grandmother 2.88 3.25 3.27 3.50 1.68 !

Grandfather 0.27 0.48 0.46 0.48 0.34 !

Other female respondent 0.83 1.63 0.65 1.40 1.68 !

Other male respondent 0.19 0.50 0.04 0.45 0.67 !

Parent in HH, but nonparent

respondent 2.32 1.78 2.32 1.56 0.34 !

Mean age 33.28 39.90 35.57 42.60 42.61

Age

under 20 1.15 0.16 0.27 0.17 0.34 !

20‐24 9.61 1.58 4.79 0.91 0.34 !

25‐29 20.54 6.99 15.31 4.55 4.04

30‐34 28.45 16.60 24.54 10.86 8.08

35‐39 22.31 23.57 28.95 18.95 22.22

40‐44 12.00 24.96 16.72 23.82 25.25

45‐50 3.71 18.05 5.89 25.23 26.94

over 50 2.22 8.09 3.53 15.50 12.79

Labor force participation1

35 hours or more per week 43.97 51.96 44.38 55.64 22.64

Less than 35 hours per week 18.96 19.53 19.68 18.75 23.65

Looking for work 5.85 4.51 3.97 3.95 2.03 !

Not in labor force 31.23 24.01 31.97 21.66 51.69

Educational attainment1

Less than a high school diploma 9.61 9.83 8.01 7.20 3.72

High school diploma or equivalent 24.76 27.50 19.60 22.02 17.57

Some college or associate's degree 27.54 29.29 27.77 30.03 40.54

Bachelor's degree 22.79 19.85 26.37 23.39 23.65

Graduate or professional school 15.29 13.54 18.24 17.36 14.53

ECPP:2005

Survey and population

ASPA:2005 SR:2007 PFI:2007 PFI:2007

Children ages

birth‐age 6

not in

kindergarten

Students ages

3‐15, in grades

K‐8, not

homeschooled

Children ages

3‐6, not yet in

kindergarten

Students ages

3‐20, in grades

K‐12, not

homeschooled

Students ages

5‐17,

homeschooled

– continued
                                     

           

     

         

           

                       

                     

               

  

   

             

   

   

             

             

                   

  

   

            

            

  

       

               

               

               

               

               

             

               

             

               

               

  

       

             

             

             

     

                         

                                 

                       

 

Table 1. Percentage of NHES parent respondents in recent NHES surveys and mean age, by survey population and respondent

characteristics: 2005 and 2007 – continued

Respondent characteristic

Survey and population

ECPP:2005

Children ages

3‐6, not yet in

kindergarten

ASPA:2005 SR:2007 PFI:2007

Students ages Children ages Students ages

3‐15, in grades birth‐age 6 3‐20, in grades

K‐8, not not in K‐12, not

homeschooled kindergarten homeschooled

PFI:2007

Students ages

5‐17,

homeschooled

Marital status1

Married

Partnered

Separated

Divorced

Widowed

Never been married

Interview language

English

Spanish

Interview language*Resp. language

English‐English

English‐Spanish

Spanish‐Spanish

English‐English/Spanish

Spanish‐English/Spanish

English‐Other

English‐English/Other

Spanish‐Other

Spanish‐English/Other

Spanish‐English

Household poverty level

Poor

Near‐poor

Nonpoor

77.98

7.19

2.80

3.08

0.39

8.56

89.09

10.91

81.64

2.15

10.14

1.11

0.38

3.16

1.05

0.02

0.00

0.36

19.79

21.58

58.64

73.06 82.42 76.26

4.45 5.76 4.06

3.74 2.53 2.99

10.03 3.70 9.51

1.65 0.39 1.96

7.07 5.21 5.22

91.42 89.63 92.59

8.58 10.37 7.41

85.42 80.93 86.07

1.98 2.28 2.09

7.89 9.84 7.01

1.24 1.67 1.33

0.48 0.34 0.26

1.64 3.31 2.01

1.06 1.44 1.09

0.03 0.00 0.03

0.01 0.04 0.00

0.25 0.15 0.11

16.88 15.65 12.10

20.85 19.76 16.62

62.28 64.59 71.27

87.16

1.69

2.36

5.41

1.35

2.03

97.64

2.36

93.60

0.34

2.36

0.67

0.00

2.02

1.01

0.00

0.00

0.00

10.77

25.59

63.64

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

— Not available.

! Interpret data with caution; coefficient of variation is 30 percent or more.

1

Labor force participation, educational attainment, and marital status were not reported for respondents in cases where the

respondent was not the parent if a parent resided in the household.
                                   

            

   

    

   

              

            

   

   

     

   

         

         

   

         

         

   

   

         

         

   

       

   

   

   

   

   

   

       

   

               

             

         

           

             

           

           

       

         

   

   

   

   

   

   

                                     

   

Table 2. Percentage of NHES early childhood parent respondents by survey year and respondent characteristics: 1993 to 2007

Early childhood survey year

Respondent characteristic 19933

1995 1999 2001 2005 20073

Total 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

Sex

Male 13.91 18.51 18.88 19.23 18.86 17.59

Female 86.09 81.49 81.12 80.77 81.14 82.41

Relationship to child

Mother 83.45 78.16 77.64 77.39 77.43 78.50

Birth/adoptive mother 83.05 77.73 77.22 76.99 76.89 77.70

Other mother 0.40 0.43 0.42 0.40 0.54 0.80

Father 13.65 17.96 18.41 18.74 18.39 17.10

Birth/adoptive father 13.36 17.61 17.83 18.32 18.09 16.91

Other father 0.28 0.35 0.58 0.42 0.30 0.19 !

Grandmother 2.05 2.45 2.64 2.47 2.88 3.27

Grandfather 0.21 ! 0.36 0.26 0.25 0.27 0.46

Other female respondent 0.59 0.88 0.84 0.91 0.83 0.65

Other male respondent 0.05 ! 0.19 0.21 0.24 0.19 0.04 !

Mean age 32.21 31.45 31.93 32.24 33.28 35.57

Age

under 20 0.54 2.82 2.26 1.78 1.15 0.27 !

20‐24 10.04 14.49 12.42 12.50 9.61 4.79

25‐29 24.49 23.28 24.23 22.96 20.54 15.31

30‐34 31.71 28.03 27.21 27.24 28.45 24.54

35‐39 21.68 19.93 20.69 20.91 22.31 28.95

40‐44 8.12 7.56 8.99 9.77 12.00 16.72

45‐50 2.20 2.23 2.90 3.03 3.71 5.89

over 50 1.23 1.67 1.29 1.80 2.22 3.53

Labor force participation1

35 hours or more per week 42.27 45.06 48.46 48.58 43.97 44.38

Less than 35 hours per week 18.54 15.88 18.17 17.11 18.96 19.68

Looking for work 5.91 6.74 5.05 4.64 5.85 3.97

Not in labor force 33.28 32.31 28.31 29.66 31.23 31.97

Educational attainment1

Less than a high school diploma 10.74 12.91 10.27 10.97 9.61 8.01

High school diploma or equivalent 36.20 33.54 28.16 29.15 24.76 19.60

Some college or associate's degree 31.08 29.26 32.26 29.70 27.54 27.77

Bachelor's degree 13.11 14.97 18.78 19.43 22.79 26.37

Graduate or professional school 8.88 9.33 10.52 10.75 15.29 18.24

Marital status1,2

Married — — — 75.22 77.98 82.42

Partnered — — — 7.65 7.19 5.76

Separated — — — 3.06 2.8 2.53

Divorced — — — 3.87 3.08 3.7

Widowed — — — 0.46 0.39 0.39 !

Never been married — — — 9.73 8.56 5.21

– continued
     

     

                           

       

                             

   

  

  

   

  

  

  

     

                         

                     

                       

                         

                             

             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 2. Percentage of NHES early childhood parent respondents by survey year and respondent characteristics: 1993 to

2007 – continued

Respondent characteristic

Interview language

English

Spanish

Household poverty level

Poor

Near‐poor

Nonpoor

Early childhood survey year

1993 1995 1999 2001 2005 2007

95.54 92.91 92.43 90.12 89.09 89.63

4.46 7.09 7.57 9.88 10.91 10.37

18.30 22.41 18.28 18.91 19.79 15.65

26.99 24.78 25.49 21.05 21.58 19.76

54.71 52.82 56.23 60.04 58.64 64.59

— Not available.

! Interpret data with caution; coefficient of variation is 30 percent or more.

1

Labor force participation, educational attainment, and marital status were not reported for respondents in cases where the

respondent was not the parent if a parent resided in the household.

2 Marital status of the parent respondent was not collected prior to 2001.

3

In 1993 and 2007 the early childhood survey did not include children ages 0‐2.

Age. The mean age for parent respondents was 33 in ECPP and in 36 in SR. For ASPA and PFI, the mean age was around 40 

(table 1). Parent respondents were older in 2007 compared to 1993 for both the early childhood and school-age survey 

populations. The mean age was 32 in 1993 and 36 in 2007 for early childhood respondents, and 38 and 43, respectively, for 

school-age respondents (tables 2 and 3). There is a clear trend toward older parent respondents for the school-age population. 

Labor-force participation. Labor-force participation was lowest in the homeschooled population, where half of the 

respondents were not in the labor-force, followed by ECPP and SR where about a third were not in the labor force. Laborforce participation was highest for the two school-age enrolled surveys where 20 to 25 percent of respondents were not in the 

labor-force (table 1). There were no measurable changes in respondents’ labor-force participation over time. 

Educational attainment. Educational attainment did not vary much among the survey populations and most respondents had 

at least some college education. However, over time, there appears to be a decline of in the percentage of respondents whose 

highest level of educational attainment was a high school diploma or equivalent for both the early childhood and school-age 

populations (tables 2 and 3). Between 1993 and 2007 the relative decline was 46 and 36 percent respectively. The decrease is 

concurrent with a sharp increase in respondents with Bachelor’s degrees. Between 1993 and 2007 there was a 50 and 36 

percent increase, respectively, in the percentage of respondents whose highest level of educational attainment was a 

Bachelor’s degree. 

Marital status. Marital status varied by population, but not over time. The percentage of respondents who were married was 

highest in the homeschooled population, followed by ECPP and SR, and lowest in the school-age enrolled populations. When 

we look at married or partnered together, the same pattern holds. Concurrently, the percentage of divorced respondents is 

higher in the school-age enrolled populations at about 10 percent, compared to all other populations (table 1). 
                                   

            

   

              

                      

   

             

             

       

             

                   

                   

             

                   

                   

               

             

                   

           

  

       

             

   

                 

             

           

             

             

             

             

                 

       

                         

                         

                   

                     

   

                         

                       

                       

                 

                     

   

             

             

   

             

             

                                  

   

Table 3. Percentage of NHES K‐12 school‐age parent respondents by survey year and respondent characteristics: 1993 to 2007

Respondent characteristic

Total

Sex

Male

Female

Relationship to child

Mother

Birth/adoptive mother

Other mother

Father

Birth/adoptive father

Other father

Grandmother

Grandfather

Other female respondent

Other male respondent

Mean age

Age

under 20

20‐24

25‐29

30‐34

35‐39

40‐44

45‐50

over 50

Labor force participation1

35 hours or more per week

Less than 35 hours per week

Looking for work

Not in labor force

Educational attainment1

Less than a high school diploma

High school diploma or equivalent

Some college or associate's degree

Bachelor's degree

Graduate or professional school

Marital status1,2

Married

Partnered

Separated

Divorced

Widowed

Never been married

K‐12 survey year

1993 1996 1999 2003 2007

100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00 100.00

16.95 21.83 20.30 19.89 21.70

83.05 78.17 79.70 80.11 78.30

79.17 73.65 75.39 75.91 73.44

78.68 72.14 73.73 74.27 71.93

0.49 1.51 1.66 1.64 1.51

16.26 20.61 19.31 18.93 20.77

15.96 18.94 17.70 17.82 19.43

0.29 1.67 1.61 1.12 1.33

2.15 2.37 2.42 2.54 3.45

0.12 0.26 0.31 0.28 0.48

1.73 2.15 1.89 1.66 1.41

0.57 0.97 0.68 0.67 0.45

38.28 39.14 39.48 40.65 42.60

0.20 0.59 0.35 0.20 0.18

1.66 1.76 2.03 1.59 0.89

9.11 7.43 8.55 6.75 4.53

20.95 17.91 15.57 14.76 10.78

26.72 25.68 24.67 21.73 19.04

23.12 24.02 23.74 24.35 23.86

12.82 15.71 17.44 20.07 25.27

5.42 6.90 7.65 10.55 15.45

55.84 59.49 58.85 55.45 54.68

17.32 17.12 16.45 16.98 18.88

4.60 3.76 3.55 5.02 3.89

22.24 19.64 21.15 22.55 22.54

10.76 9.76 10.02 10.01 7.10

36.69 34.09 30.07 27.90 21.90

31.71 30.34 31.89 30.96 30.34

11.03 15.06 15.57 18.66 23.39

9.82 10.75 12.45 12.47 17.27

— — — 73.12 76.55

— — — 4.50 3.99

— — — 4.16 2.97

— — — 10.23 9.41

— — — 1.79 1.95

— — — 6.19 5.13

– continued
   

  

     

     

                           

     

                        

   

  

  

  

   

  

   

         

  

  

     

                 

                         

                       

             

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 3. Percentage of NHES K‐12 school‐age parent respondents by survey year and respondent characteristics: 1993 to

2007 – continued

Respondent characteristic

Interview language

English

Spanish

Household poverty level

Poor

Near‐poor

Nonpoor

K‐12 survey year

1993 1996 1999 2003 2007

96.04 95.76 94.00 91.85 92.74

3.96 4.24 6.00 8.15 7.26

15.28 13.93 14.69 15.19 12.07

23.48 22.45 23.15 20.75 16.87

61.24 63.62 62.16 64.06 71.06

— Not available.

1

Labor force participation, educational attainment, and marital status were not reported for respondents in cases where

the respondent was not the parent if a parent resided in the household.

2 Marital status of the parent respondent was not collected prior to 2001.

Interview language. There has been an increase in the percentage of interviews conducted in Spanish3

, particularly for the 

early childhood population. The percentage of Spanish interviews in the early childhood population was about 5 percent in 

1993 and was about twice that, at 10 percent, in 2007 (table 2). In households where English and Spanish were both spoken, 

more interviews were conducted in English than in Spanish (table 1). 

Household poverty. We present household poverty as poor (below the poverty threshold), near-poor (between 100% and 

200% poverty), and nonpoor (at or above 200% poverty). The percentage of parent respondents in households below the 

poverty level has decreased in recent years and appears unrelated to survey population of interest (tables 1, 2, and 3). 

3 NHES is conducted in English and Spanish only. 
           

                            

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

   

         

           

   

           

     

       

   

       

  

  

     

  

                           

                         

                       

                 

               

           

 

         

       

       

Table 4. Population characteristics, selected years.

Population characteristic 1990/1993 1995 1999 2000/2001 2005/2007

Sex

Male 48.9 48.9 49.0 49.1 49.2

Female 51.1 51.1 51.0 50.9 50.8

Age

15‐24 14.0 13.8 13.9 14.0 14.2

25‐34 16.4 15.8 14.4 14.0 13.4

35‐44 15.7 16.0 16.2 15.8 14.6

45‐54 11.1 11.8 13.1 13.7 14.5

55+ 20.7 20.7 21.0 21.3 23.2

Labor force participation

In labor force 66.3 66.6 67.1 66.8 64.7

Not in labor force 33.7 33.4 32.9 33.2 35.3

Educational attainment

Bachelor's degree or higher 21.9 23.0 25.2 26.2 27.0

Household marital status

Married households 56.0 54.4 52.9 52.3 49.8

Other 44.0 45.6 47.1 47.7 50.2

Language spoken at home

English 92.5 — — 82.1 80.5

Spanish 7.5 — — 10.7 12.1

Household poverty level

Poor 12.3 10.8 9.3 9.2 9.8

Nonpoor 87.7 89.2 90.7 90.8 90.2

Source: Statistical Abstract of the United States: 2009; U.S. Census Bureau American Factfinder (Census 1990 and 2000 and

American Community Survey 2005/2007); U.S. Bureau of the Census, Current Population Survey, Annual Social and Economic

Supplements; Language Use and Linguistic Isolation: Historical Data and Methodological Issues by Paul Siegel, Elizabeth Martin,

and Rosalind Bruno. U. S. Census Bureau, 2001.

— Not reported or not available.
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Key variables by respondent characteristics 

Tables 5 and 6 show parent respondents’ reports of key survey variables for the early childhood and school-age populations. 

These data are from the 2007 NHES survey administration. Variables for which there are measureable differences based on 

respondent characteristics are discussed below. Some differences are expected given the associations between the key 

variables and some of the characteristics. These instances are noted. 

Early childhood key variables (table 5). Overall, there are more differences in reporting on key early childhood variables 

than there are on key school-age variables. Male respondents report higher percentages of children’s center-based care 

participation compared to female respondents and report lower percentages of children’s Head Start participation. Lower 

percentages of grandmothers report reading to the child and that the child can write his or her first name, but higher 

percentages report the child ever attended Head Start and the family received TANF. The latter two differences are likely due 

to associations between grandmother households and socio-economic status that affect child care and public welfare receipt. 

Similarly, lower percentages of respondents who are looking for work report reading to the child and that the child can write 

his or her first name compared to respondents in other labor-force categories and higher percentages report the child ever 

attended Head Start and the family received TANF. The latter differences are also likely due to real differences in the 

population. All differences related to educational attainment are in the direction expected and are likely due to real 

differences in the population. A higher percentage of respondents who are married report reading to the child and that the 

child can write his or her name and lower percentages report Head Start and family receipt of TANF. Interview language and 

household poverty show a difference in reporting for all variables and in the direction expected in the population. 

School-age key variables (table 6). There were few differences in reporting for respondents to the school-age surveys. A 

greater percentage of males than females expected their child to graduate from college. Higher percentages of grandmother 

respondents reported their child attended public school and lower percentages reported they attended a parent-teacher 

conference, expect their child to graduate from college, and reported visiting a library. Young respondents (under age 20) had 

similar reporting patterns to grandmothers. For both of these groups, these differences are in the direction expected. A lower 

percentage of respondents who are looking for work expect their child to graduate from college compared to other groups. 

Interview language and household poverty show a difference in reporting for all variables and in the direction expected in the 

population. 
                                 

   

         

   

   

    

   

   

    

   

    

   

         

                      

   

       

               

             

       

             

                   

                         

               

                     

                             

               

                 

                     

                   

   

                         

             

             

               

               

               

               

                   

       

                         

                           

                     

                     

   

                         

                       

                        

                   

                       

   

             

               

   

               

                   

                         

Table 5. Percentage of NHES early childhood parent respondents by key survey items and respondent characteristics: 2007

Respondent characteristic

Early childhood key survey items

Child is

read to

everyday

Child

Child can participates in Child ever

write first center‐based attended

name care Head Start

Family

receives

TANF

Total

Sex

Male

Female

Relationship to child

Mother

Birth/adoptive mother

Other mother

Father

Birth/adoptive father

Other father

Grandmother

Grandfather

Other female respondent

Other male respondent

Age

under 20

20‐24

25‐29

30‐34

35‐39

40‐44

45‐50

over 50

Labor force participation1

35 hours or more per week

Less than 35 hours per week

Looking for work

Not in labor force

Educational attainment1

Less than a high school diploma

High school diploma or equivalent

Some college or associate's degree

Bachelor's degree

Graduate or professional school

Marital status1

Married

Partnered

Separated

Divorced

Widowed

Never been married

59.88

59.61

59.94

60.55

60.98

19.05

59.56

59.78

40.00

48.84

58.33

41.18

100.00

28.57

42.06

52.85

61.15

62.73

66.59

61.29

50.54

57.41

66.40

49.02

61.31

33.98

46.43

55.88

71.53

76.12

64.23

36.49

35.39

52.63

20.00

41.05

!

!

!

!

64.89 66.79 10.64

67.39 70.84 7.78

64.36 65.93 11.25

64.57 66.07 10.75

64.50 66.11 10.76

71.43 61.91 9.52

67.78 70.67 7.56

67.87 71.01 7.19

60.00 ! 40.00 ! 40.00

58.14 63.95 18.61

50.00 75.00 16.67

70.59 58.82 35.29

100.00 100.00 0.00

42.86 ! 42.86 ! 28.57

45.24 44.44 22.22

60.30 57.82 14.14

64.86 65.48 10.22

69.82 71.39 7.48

67.96 75.23 8.86

62.58 67.10 8.39

62.37 68.82 19.36

68.80 74.23 9.29

67.59 71.54 10.28

45.10 54.90 21.57

61.44 55.84 10.95

49.03 35.44 17.96

55.75 56.75 18.45

65.55 64.15 13.45

71.39 75.37 4.57

73.35 84.44 2.77

66.87 68.10 8.12

52.03 50.68 16.89

60.00 67.69 24.62

65.26 71.58 21.05

60.00 80.00 40.00

57.46 64.18 24.63

!

!

!

!

!

!

2.62

1.08

2.95

2.52

2.45

9.52

1.11

0.90

20.00

13.95

0.00

0.00

0.00

0.00

6.35

5.71

1.86

1.31

1.36

2.58

6.45

1.84

1.19

5.88

3.41

6.31

4.17

2.80

0.59

0.64

1.18

4.73

3.08

7.37

10.00

14.18

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

!

– continued
                                   

         

             

               

                              

  

   

              

                

  

       

              

              

                           

                         

                                   

                       

Table 5. Percentage of NHES early childhood parent respondents by key survey items and respondent characteristics: 2007 –

continued

Respondent characteristic

Child is read

to everyday

Child can

write first

name

Early childhood key survey items

Child

participates in Child ever

center‐based attended

care Head Start

Family

receives

TANF

Interview language

English

Spanish

63.76

26.37

66.77

48.72

70.16

37.73

9.58

19.78

2.71

1.83 !

Household poverty level

Poor

Near‐poor

Nonpoor

40.78

52.31

66.82

51.94

56.92

70.47

50.24

53.46

74.88

26.70

15.19

5.35

10.19

2.50

0.82

! Interpret data with caution; coefficient of variation is 30 percent or more.

1

Labor force participation, educational attainment, and marital status were not reported for respondents in cases where the

respondent was not the parent if a parent resided in the household.
                                     

   

       

   

   

   

   

   

    

   

    

   

   

   

   

   

      

                      

   

             

             

       

             

                   

                   

             

                   

                   

             

               

                   

   

   

                     

             

             

             

             

             

             

                 

       

                         

                         

                   

                     

   

                         

                       

                       

                 

                     

   

             

   

             

             

             

                                

   

Table 6. Percentage of NHES K‐12 parent respondents1by key survey items and respondent characteristics: 2007

Respondent characteristic

K‐12 key survey items

Child attends

public, chosen

school

Family

member went School

to a parent‐ emailed or

teacher called

conference about child

Expect

child to

graduate

from

college3

Visited a

library with

child in

past

month

Total

Sex

Male

Female

Relationship to child

Mother

Birth/adoptive mother

Other mother

Father

Birth/adoptive father

Other father

Grandmother

Grandfather

Other female respondent

Other male respondent

Age

under 20

20‐24

25‐29

30‐34

35‐39

40‐44

45‐50

over 50

Labor force participation2

35 hours or more per week

Less than 35 hours per week

Looking for work

Not in labor force

Educational attainment2

Less than a high school diploma

High school diploma or equivalent

Some college or associate's degree

Bachelor's degree

Graduate or professional school

Marital status2

Married

Partnered

Separated

Divorced

Widowed

Never been married

15.65

15.28

15.75

15.48

15.58

10.90

15.17

15.23

14.29

21.05

12.00 !

16.55

23.91

33.33 !

21.28

18.09

17.74

16.56

14.59

14.97

14.55

15.73

14.48

14.93

16.08

15.44

17.22

15.72

14.68

17.22

14.73

18.16

16.12

14.89

17.09

25.61

77.36 58.71

79.26 59.14

76.83 58.60

76.98 58.39

77.01 58.44

75.64 55.77

79.82 59.26

79.71 59.12

81.43 61.43

76.18 62.88

72.00 58.00

70.34 58.62

60.87 54.35

44.44 55.56

78.72 64.89

88.30 71.28

86.27 66.40

82.22 61.11

78.74 56.75

72.14 55.33

68.64 54.90

77.37 59.18

76.76 56.30

82.59 67.41

76.70 57.45

70.63 61.07

73.02 57.79

77.53 57.94

79.44 57.15

82.32 61.64

78.52 57.40

77.24 61.74

70.39 65.13

70.01 60.60

69.85 53.77

79.85 67.98

73.26

78.49

71.70

73.21

73.73

54.05

79.31

79.65

74.39

44.50

57.14

60.95

62.16

53.85

82.76

67.86

70.16

65.30

73.84

77.55

72.03

75.60

74.73

59.39

67.82

51.30

55.50

70.79

89.44

90.58

77.08

53.89

67.58

67.13

60.00

55.60

39.92

41.70

39.42

39.76

39.86

34.62

41.98

41.87

43.57

36.01

40.00

30.34

30.43

33.33 !

37.23

38.51

44.03

44.71

42.48

35.65

34.85

39.07

41.13

43.28

40.69

32.65

33.50

38.52

43.94

48.39

40.82

35.84

42.43

34.23

32.66

42.56

– continued
                                   

   

       

   

   

   

   

     

    

   

    

   

    

   

   

     

    

  

  

   

  

  

   

  

   

         

  

                           

                         

                     

                       

                       

                         

   

   

       

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Table 6. Percentage of NHES K‐12 parent respondents by key survey items and respondent characteristics: 2007 – continued

Respondent characteristic

K‐12 key survey items

Child attends

public, chosen

school

Family member

went to a

parent‐teacher

conference

School

emailed or

called

about child

Expect

child to

graduate

from

college

Visited a

library with

child in past

month

Interview language

English

Spanish

Household poverty level

Poor

Near‐poor

Nonpoor

15.64

15.69

17.52

17.41

14.92

77.13

80.26

77.20

76.53

77.58

58.51

61.31

62.64

61.44

57.41

73.69

66.47

52.79

61.45

78.83

40.43

33.59

38.24

40.77

40.01

! Interpret data with caution; coefficient of variation is 30 percent or more.

1

Children homeschooled in 2007 are not represented in this table.

2

Labor force participation, educational attainment, and marital status were not reported for respondents in cases where the

respondent was not the parent if a parent resided in the household.

3

Expected educational attainment was only asked of respondents reporting on students in grades 6‐12.

Discussion

Overall, there is little variation in the characteristics of NHES parent respondents over time. NHES parent respondents are 

overwhelmingly female and mothers, although we see an increase in male and father respondents in more recent years. Parent 

respondents are different by survey population, in expected ways, such as age, and unexpected ways, such as the percentage 

of fathers responding. Homeschooling parent responders are particularly unique. 

Most of the changes in the NHES respondents, such as the increase in Spanish interviews, are similar to what we might 

expect from general population change in the United States (table 4). It is important to note that the NHES estimates are of 

parents and households with children, while population totals are of people and families, and definitions of variables may 

vary somewhat between the NHES and the population data sources. The increase over-time in respondents with higher levels 

of education mirrors population trends, but is sharper than may be expected. Changes in poverty status somewhat reflect what 

we might expect from general population changes, with household poverty declining between 1993 and 2007, but sharper 

decreases in the percentage of parent respondents below poverty suggest that NHES may somewhat under-represent poor 

households in recent years, particularly for households with school-age children. However, differences between population 

totals and survey totals have been shown to be corrected in the NHES with post-survey statistical adjustments. 

Relationships between parent respondent characteristics and key survey variables are mostly as expected. One difference of 

concern is the difference in reporting by demographic characteristics (particularly males and females) about child care 

participation. Because the NHES would likely continue to measure child care participation under any new survey design, and 

because the within household respondent selection criteria is likely to be less rigorous than in the telephone design, this 

difference should be explored further. 

It is also important to note this preliminary conference paper contains only the initial analysis for an ongoing project. Here 

we examine the demographic characteristics of NHES parent respondents, however, we intend to examine other aspects of 

parent response to the NHES: We also intend to examine differences in respondent characteristics between the initial screener 

and the topical interview; differences in response rates to the topical interview when the screener and topical respondent are 

different, and; make comparisons to population estimates of parents or households with children. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

References

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Survey, July - December 2008. National Center for Health Statistics. Available from 

http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/nhis/earlyrelease/wireless200905.htm. September 9, 2009. 

de Leeuw, Edith, and Wim de Heer. (2002). “Trends in Household Survey Nonresponse: A Longitudinal and International 

Comparison.” In Survey Nonresponse, ed. Robert M. Groves, Don A. Dillman, John L. Eltinge, and Roderick J. A. 

Little, pp. 41–54. New York: Wiley. 

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Program of 2007: Data File User’s Manual, Volume I. (NCES 2008-046). National Center for Education Statistics, 

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Series A 146:394–403.