Response to OMB Comments

Subject: 200809-1875-002: The Evaluation of the Implementation of the Rural and Low-Income Schools (RLIS) Program

Responses to Questions

November 24, 2008

1. The supporting statement indicates that one data source will be "documents collected from states and districts."

1. Were documents collected during the pretesting with the nine states?
   Yes, documents were collected during the pretesting with the nine states.

2. If so, what types of documents were submitted and did they match expectations?
   We obtained the following types of documents from the states, which were consistent with our expectations:

• Funding eligibility notices

• Funding application materials

• Budget materials

• Monitoring guides

• Guidance for district-level needs assessments, evaluations, etc.

• Technical Assistance and Training materials, e.g., PowerPoint presentations, manuals, links to online training materials

3. Will further documents be collected on the state level?
   We do not plan to collect further documents on the state level, although there is a possibility that district-level staff will provide us with state documents when we request documents from them during the interviews we will conduct with them.

4. Is there concern that documents from the 45 districts will vary?
   Although we expect that the exact nature of the documents we will obtain from the 45 districts will vary considerably, we are not concerned that there will be significant variation in the general types of documents we obtain.

5. If so, how will the evaluation deal with such variation?
   We do not expect this to be a concern.

2. Could the analysis of student achievement and district AYP status be completed prior to the district interviews? The interviews could then refer to the district's achievement levels, which would be useful in framing responses to questions concerning the progress of the district's goals, the perceived impact of RLIS funds, whether the funds were used optimally, etc.
   
   Although we will have completed the analysis from the first year prior to the district interviews, it will not be possible to complete the second year of the longitudinal analysis prior to that time. However, we hope to be able to analyze the survey responses relative to district achievement levels.

3. In the District Coordinator Interview Protocol, could the following questions be added?

1. Have the use of RLIS funds changed over time? What factor(s) prompted this change?
   
   Yes, we will add this question.