State Informed Consent form

Equitable Distribution of Effective Teachers
Informed Consent: State Administrator Interview

Purpose

The Policy and Program Studies Service (PPSS) of the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has contracted the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to conduct a study that requires your assistance. The purpose of the study is to document state and district efforts to (a) measure teacher quality, (b) examine data on the distribution of teacher quality, and (c) act to improve teacher quality for disadvantaged students. This study will provide valuable information about implementation issues for state and local officials.

To assist with the evaluation, we are asking state officials to participate in interviews. You will be interviewed about your data on teacher quality, efforts to develop new teacher quality measures, actions the state is taking to improve teacher quality for disadvantaged students, concomitant challenges, and the contributions of federal programs to your activities. The interviews are designed to last no more than one hour and forty-five minutes.

Risks and Discomfort

There are no anticipated or known risks in participating in this study.

Benefits

Your participation in the evaluation will contribute to an understanding of how states are analyzing differences in teacher quality and working to ensure teacher quality for disadvantaged students.

Confidentiality

We will treat the information that you supply in a confidential manner. Only selected research staff will have access to data. Our state-level data collections, by their very nature, focus on policy topics that are in the public domain. Moreover, it would not be difficult to identify Title II-A directors and other informants in each state and thus determine the identity of our state-level respondents. Having acknowledged that, we will endeavor to protect your privacy, and, as with district-level respondents, we will avoid using your name in reports and attributing any quotes to specific individuals.

More Information

If you would like more information about this study, you may contact the Project Director, Andrew Wayne, at the American Institutes for Research at 202-403-5483 or at [email protected]. For questions regarding your rights as a subject participating in this research, please contact the IRB at [email protected] or toll free at 1-800-634-0797.

Informed Consent

I have read the above information. I have had an opportunity to ask questions and received satisfactory answers. I consent to participate in the study.

Signature: ________________________________ Date: ________________________

Print Name: ______________________________ Position: _____________________

State: ____________________________________