English Teacher Letter

English Field Test Teacher

Fall 2009

Dear <TEACHER FIRST NAME LAST NAME>,

Welcome to the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011), an important new study sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences and conducted by Westat. This study is the third in a series of longitudinal studies about young children sponsored by NCES and is described in more detail in the brochure included in your study package. For more information, you can also visit the ECLS-K:2011 website at http://nces.ed.gov/ecls/MyECLSK2011.

Teachers are an essential component of the ECLS-K:2011. During this phase of the study, we are asking for your help in developing a student rating form that teachers will complete during the next phase of the study in 2010-11. As a teacher of kindergarten, first, or second grade students, we are asking you to help us in the following way:

• Complete five student rating forms to provide information about children’s science knowledge and skills. When completing these forms, please think of five children in your classes with different abilities and evaluate their academic skills. Please complete one form for a student with low achievement, one for a student with high achievement, and three for students with average achievement. The information you provide will not be linked to any particular child. A check for $25 is enclosed for completing these rating forms and helping us with this important study.

When you have completed the student rating forms, please return them to your ECLS-K:2011 school coordinator in advance of the date of your school’s scheduled ECLS-K:2011 assessment.

NCES is authorized to conduct this study under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (Public Law 107-279, Section 153). Under that law, the data you provide may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (Public Law 107-279, Section 183). The U.S. Office of Management and Budget has approved the data collection under OMB # 1850-0750.

Thank you for your support of the ECLS-K:2011. If you have questions about the study, please feel free to call Westat toll free at 1-888-204-4864 or send an email to [email protected].

S
incerely,

Karen Tourangeau

Project Director

Enclosures

FT/HC/{S_ID}

OMB 1850-0750; expires 03/31/2012