Supporting Statement, Part A

U.S. Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

Supporting Statement For Common Core
of Teacher Compensation Survey

October 2007

2/5/2021 12:25:19 PM

Frank Johnson

National Center for
Education Statistics

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Contents

Introduction

Part A. Justification

Appendix A. Legislation and Notice Supporting CCD Collections A1

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List of Tables

Table 1. Average public school teacher salaries by locale grouping and number of years of experience, school year 2006-07

Table 2. Average number of years of experience by locale grouping and state, school year 2006-07.

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Supporting Statement For Common Core Of Data Survey System

Introduction

This is a request for review and approval of the Common Core of Data (CCD) / Teacher Compensation Survey (TCS). The supporting statement for Standard Form 83, “Request for OMB Review,” was prepared by the Elementary/Secondary Cooperative System and Institutional Studies Program of the

Elementary/Secondary and Longitudinal Surveys Division within the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). NCES is requesting a 3-year clearance for the CCD/TCS through January 2011. This clearance would apply to the collections for school years 2006–07 through 2008-2009.

The CCD/TCS is a new annual collection of some basic information about public school teachers. The information is drawn from the state education agencies’ administrative records systems; no additional data are collected from schools or districts. We are requesting clearance for this data collection under the cognitive, pilot and field test studies clearance as this is a developmental effort with the states using their administrative records. If after the initial three years in which we will study the information that we have been able to collect we determine that it is possible for states to report comparable information about teacher compensation, then this data collection will become a part of the Common Core of Data (CCD) data collection.

We are requesting clearance for the CCD/TCS by January 31, 2008 in order to initiate the 2006–07 collection on February 1, 2008.

Common Core of Data (CCD) Data Collection

Five surveys now comprise the CCD survey system. These are:

• State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary and Secondary Education;

• Public Elementary/Secondary Local Education Agency Universe;

• Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe;

• National Public Education Financial Survey (NPEFS);

• Local Education Agency Financial Survey.

The first three of these - - The State Nonfiscal Survey of Public Elementary and Secondary Education, Public Elementary/Secondary Local Education Agency Universe, and Public Elementary/Secondary School Universe data will be collected by EDEN.

The Local Education Agency Financial Survey is co-sponsored by the U.S. Census Bureau, Governments Division, which is responsible for securing clearance for that survey. It is discussed in this request only as it relates to the National Public Education Financial Survey.

The clearance for the National Public Education Financial Survey (NPEFS) will be handled in a separate request.

The TCS is a new survey. If after the three-year trial period it is determined to provide reliable and comparable data, it would become the 6^th of the CCD surveys.

Part A of this supporting statement presents the justification for the information collection and an

explanation of any statistical methods employed. Part B addresses the collection of information

employing statistical methods. Part C describes the TCS survey. Appendix A is legislation supporting CCD collections in general. Appendix B is the TCS glossary.

Part A. Justification

A.1. Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Include identification of any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection. Attach a copy of the appropriate section of each statute and regulation mandating or authorizing the collection of information.

Legislative Authorization. The TCS is the first attempt to collect salary, benefits, teaching experience, and other data on each public school teacher. Its authorization to collect this information is encompassed by NCES’s duty to “collect, report, analyze, and disseminate statistical data related to education in the United States” (P.L. 107-279, Part C, Sec 153). Appendix A includes a copy of this legislation.

Regulations and Program Requirements. Participation in the TCS is voluntary, and we expect fewer than 15 states to be able to report data in the first collection.

A.2. Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used. Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.

The TCS is designed to collect a small amount of information on each public school teacher. The data from this survey can be used by researchers to study the distribution of teachers across schools. Researchers can also make comparisons of teacher salary and benefits. Administrators can use this data to get a more complete picture of teacher compensation in various jurisdictions as well as information such as the experience and training of teachers, their age, race/ethnicity, and gender. The data can also be used to calculate average teacher salaries at the school and district levels, and for calculating the average total compensation teachers receive.

A.3. Describe whether, and to what extent, the collection of information involves the use of

automated, electronic, mechanical or other technological collection techniques or forms of

information technology.

The TCS data are collected electronically from state education agencies. A record layout is sent to states, which create a file and then upload the file through a secure web site. Passwords are used to limit access to the data. The Census Bureau maintains a crosswalk of state teacher IDs and NCES Teacher IDs. Census assigns the NCES teacher ID based on the state teacher ID. The state teacher ID is considered sensitive information in some states.

A.4. Describe efforts to identify duplication.

There are no other surveys collecting data on teacher salaries for every teacher. Salary data are included in the CCD School District Finance Survey and National Public Education Financial Survey, but they are totals at the district and state levels, and do not include benefits data. The NCES Schools and Staffing Survey collect similar data for a sample of teachers every 3 or 4 years. The Bureau of Labor Statistics collects salary and benefits data on teachers at the state and labor market area. They do not differentiate between public school teachers and private school teachers. The most commonly reported teacher salary data come from the National Education Association. The NEA data are at the state level only.

A-5. If the collection of information involves small businesses or other small entities, describe the methods used to minimize burden.

All of the TCS data are reported to NCES by state education agencies. NCES does not specify how these data are collected. The responding agencies draw upon their existing administrative records to provide the data. No small businesses or other small entities are surveyed in the TCS collection.

A.6. Describe the consequences to Federal program or policy activities if the collections not conducted, or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.

Consequences if not collected. The elimination of the TCS survey would not have any direct consequences on current Federal programs or policy activities. This is a developmental effort. The lack of information about teacher compensation and the associated experience, education, demographic and teaching assignment characteristics hampers research and policy development in the area of teacher qualifications compensation, and supply and demand.

The state administrative record systems that supply this data collect the information annually or more often for the states’ own purposes. There would therefore be minimal reduction in burden if the TCS were not an annual collection.

A.7. Explain any special circumstances that require the collection to be collected in a manner (list of conditions follows).

There are no circumstances that would require the TCS survey to be reported in a way that would occasion one of the listed conditions.

A.8. If applicable, provide a copy and identify the date and page number of publications in the Federal Register… describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, the clarity of instructions and record keeping, disclosure or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.

Demand for teacher salary data at the district and state levels has been growing over the past several years. In June 2006, representatives from 10 states, the teacher unions and other organizations met in Washington to discuss the collection of teacher level data. Over the summer of 2006 Common Core of Data coordinators were asked about the availability of teacher salary, benefits and demographic data. Through meetings with the Education Information Advisory Committee and the National Forum on Education Statistics, the TCS data items and definitions were finalized. Only a small number of states will be able to participate in this survey in the beginning years, but it is hoped that more states will make adjustments in their data collections over time, and that more states will be able to participate with comparable data.

A.9. Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.

No payments or gifts are offered.

A.10. Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis of the assurance in statute, regulation, or agency policy.

In most cases these data are public records of state governments. However, in any case in which data are not public record, they fall under NCES’s legislation forbidding the disclosure of any individual.

In addition, we say in the survey instructions, and in presentations that NCES will take steps to assure that the data are treated as confidential and that the data we release to the public meet NCES confidentiality guidelines to assure that no individuals can be identified from the data. Detailed, teacher-level data will only be made available to licensed users through a restricted-use data file. NCES does plan to release district-level summaries of the data, unless the number of teachers in the district is so small that it might be possible to identify an individual.

A.11. Provide additional justification for any questions of a sensitive nature, such as sexual behavior and attitudes, religious beliefs, and other matters that are commonly considered private.

The TCS will not collect any data of a sensitive nature. Some state education agencies make these data available to the public, but many do not. Regardless of how other government agencies treat the data, NCES will treat the data as confidential.

A.12. Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information.

The information reported on the TCS survey has already been collected by the reporting agencies for the state’s own uses. The added burden for the CCD is limited to the state education agency’s effort taken in extracting data from files, transferring them to NCES, and responding to edit reports.

Method for estimating costs. The estimated hours of burden to the states are based upon estimates provided by the state education agency in a pilot collection of TCS data from 7 states, in June-July of 2007.

The costs were in turn derived from information about the actual cost of employing an SEA staff person to work with NCES testing programs. These staff persons are comparable in knowledge and experience to the technical staff who report the CCD data. Across 51 states, the average hourly rate estimated for technical staff reporting CCD data is estimated to be $39.63. It was decided, arbitrarily, that 20 percent of the time spent with the CCD collections is contributed by managers, who are estimated to be paid at double the rate of technicians, or $79.26 per hour.

Estimated Annual Burden and Cost in Reporting CCD / TCS Data

Survey	Average Hours	Respondents	Total Hours	Total Cost
2008 Collection
Technician ($41.61)	56	15	840	$34,954
Manager ($83.22)	14	15	210	$17,477
Total	70	30	1,050	$52,430
2009 Collection
Technician ($43.69)	56	20	1,120	$48,935
Manager ($87.38)	14	20	280	$24,468
Total	70	40	1,400	$73,403
2010 Collection
Technician ($45.88)	56	25	1,400	$64,227
Manager ($91.75)	14	25	350	$32,114
Total	70	50	1,750	$96,341
Total			4,200	$222,174

Estimated cost to state respondents. Burden hours are estimated to be 70 hours per state. The burden for the 15 states we expect to participate in the 2008 collection would total 1,050 hours. If 20 states participate in the data collection of 2009, the total burden is expected to be 1,400 hours. If 25 states participate in the data collection of 2010, the total burden is expected to be 1,750 hours. Hourly wages are estimated from previous data. The hourly wage for technicians for 2008 is estimated as $41.61. The hourly wage for managers is estimated as $83.22. Wages are estimated to increase 5 percent each year. The total estimated cost to all state respondents is $222,174.

A.13. Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to the respondents or record keepers resulting from the collection of information. (Do not include the cost of any hour burden shown in items 12 and 14.)

There are no additional record keeping costs to the responding state education agencies. All information collected on the TCS is from administrative record systems and is already collected by the state for its own purposes.

A.14. Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost.

Method for estimating costs. Annual costs are based on current costs for the CCD. The costs include a 22 percent load on salaries for Department of Education staff. Contractor hours are also loaded costs.

Estimated Annual Cost of CCD to Federal Government

Cost Type	2008
Dept ED Staff	$119,568
Census (IAD)	$730,000
Contracted Staff	$118,519
Training	$169,785
Total	$1,212,697

Cost. Department of Education staff assigned to this project consists of 60% of one FTE GS/14 staff. One-sixth FTE of the program manager’s time is included; this person is a GS/15. One full-time research assistant is employed through the Education Statistical Services Institute, a contractor to NCES.

Costs reported for the Bureau of the Census include staffing and other charges. The cost is the full amount estimated from the Interagency Agreement for the 2008 TCS data collection. The cost includes the full cost of salary, benefits, overhead, and fee.

Training costs reflect the cost of general training and professional development for all CCD Fiscal Coordinators at NCES’s Summer Data Conference and the cost of the Management Information Systems Conference. These costs also include all-day training sessions at NCES for new TCS Coordinators. Training is separate for each group, and each group averages 10 new Coordinators a year.

A.15. Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in items 13 or 14 of OMB 83-1.

Burden to respondents. This is a new data collection.

A.16. For collections of information whose results will be published, outline plans for tabulation and publication. Address any complex analytical techniques that will be used. Provide the time schedule for the entire project, including beginning and ending dates of the collection of information, completion of reports, publication dates, and other actions.

Products. Section C presents tables that illustrate how the TCS data will be presented as simple cross-tabulations.

NCES’s web application, Build-a-Table, allows users to create their own lists, counts or cross-tabulations. TCS data aggregated to the district will be available on the Build-a-Table site.

TCS data are published through web applications, as noted above, and short reports that typically include 7 to 10 tables of data presented by state and for the Nation.

Complex analytical techniques are not used with the TCS.

Timeline. The TCS is planned as an annual collection, and the schedule is shown below. Note that the files cannot be closed until the last state is able to report all requested data.

TCS Survey Collection, Processing, Publication

February Mail instructions to respondents, open website to receive data.

March First reporting date. Training for new TCS Coordinators.

September Close TCS file on Tuesday following Labor Day.

March NCES review of files, file documentation, short reports.

May Files become public. NCES web database updated July Training for all CCD and TCS Coordinators.

A.17. If seeking approval not to display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.

NCES displays the OMB expiration date on the instruction manual sent to the state CCD Coordinators and on the data collection web site.

A.18. Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in Item 19, “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions,” of OMB Form 83-1.

There are no exceptions to the items in that certification.