On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) into law (Pub. L. 111-50). ARRA supports investments in innovative strategies that are intended to lead to improved results for students, long-term gains in school and local education agency (LEA) capacity for success, and increased productivity and effectiveness.
This evaluation will focus on answering three sets of policy/research questions:
 To what extent did ARRA funds go to the intended recipients?
 Is ARRA associated with the implementation of the key reform strategies it promoted?
 What implementation supports and challenges are associated with ARRA?
The integrated evaluation will draw on existing data, including ED data collections, ED ARRA program files, ARRA required reporting, and databases of achievement and other outcomes. The evaluation will also collect new information through surveys of (1) the 50 states and the District of Columbia, (2) a nationally representative sample of school districts, and (3) a nationally representative sample of schools within the sampled school districts. Surveys were conducted in spring 2011 and are planned for spring 2012.
A report will be prepared to describe the distribution of funding. A report and state tabulations will be prepared after each annual survey. The first report, based on the 2011 surveys, will focus on early ARRA implementation and strategies. The second report, based on the 2012 surveys, will expand upon strategies implemented under ARRA.
This evaluation will focus on answering four sets of research questions:
 Money: Which states/districts/schools get which program funds, when, and how much? What do they spend it on? How much overlap is there across ARRA funding streams in terms of who receives the funding or what grantees do with it?
 Strategies: What efforts and activities are underway as a result of each of the ARRA programs and overall? What state policies are changing or being enacted? What specific interventions are districts and schools implementing? How do the strategies line up with the four assurances or with the specific strategies promoted by the different programs?
 Implementation Process: How much coordination do states and districts report in the decision-making and planning for implementation across the various streams of funds? Are districts that receive funds directly (e.g., thru i3) employing strategies that are consistent with their state's policies and plans (e.g., under Race to the Top)? On an ongoing basis, what challenges do grantees face in enacting their plans and what successes have they had?
 Outcomes: Is receiving more ARRA funds or certain types of funds associated with improvement in student outcomes or other key measures (e.g., more equitable distribution of teacher quality)?
The integrated evaluation will draw on existing data, including ED data collections, ED ARRA program files, ARRA required reporting, and databases of achievement and other outcomes. The evaluation will also collect new information through surveys of (1) the 50 states and the District of Columbia, (2) a nationally representative sample of school districts, and (3) a nationally representative sample of schools within the sampled school districts. Surveys are planned for spring 2011, spring 2012, and spring 2013. Subsamples of school districts will also be drawn to receive a smaller set of questions (polls); these polls will be administered twice between 2011 and 2013.
A report will be prepared in the first year of the evaluation to describe the distribution of funding. A report and state tabulations will be prepared after each annual survey. The first report, based on the 2011 surveys, will focus on early ARRA implementation and strategies. The second report, based on the 2012 surveys, will expand upon strategies implemented under ARRA.
There is an overall reduction in burden hours of 1,792 for this third submission. The burden from the first and second submissions are complete now, so 6,831 burden hours are being deleted. The total burden for the 3 surveys covered in this collection totaled 5,039 burden hours. This results in a program change of -1,792 burden hours.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
1850-0877 v3 4754 ARRA Eval Letters 2-7-12.docx
School Official Survey - 2012