Paperwork Reduction Act Submission Supporting Statement
Title II, Part D (Ed Tech) Evaluation Reports
Introduction
A major purpose of Title II, Part D, Subpart 1 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA) is to conduct rigorous evaluation of the effectiveness of Title II, Part D formula and competitive grant-funded activities in integrating technology into curricula and instruction and improving student achievement, and on the basis of those evaluations widely disseminate what has been learned about effective technology-infused practice to State and local education agencies (SEAs and LEAs).
This submission requests approval to require States to submit to the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) an annual written report on the process, measures and results of SEA evaluations of activities funded under Title II, Part D (Ed Tech), including activities funded under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA).
The report is due on September 30 of each year, beginning on September 30, 2010.
The State Ed Tech Evaluation Report includes evaluation of Ed Tech funded activities (including ARRA funded activities) that were initiated during school year (SY) 2009-2010 using fiscal year (FY) 2009 funds, and activities that were continued from prior year awards using FY 2009 funding. In general, the evaluation report will,
Detail the activities being evaluated,
Explain the process and measures used to evaluate the effectiveness of the activities,
Present findings and conclusions supported by evidence about the effectiveness of activities,
Propose concrete and usable recommendations for disseminating, replicating and scaling of effective projects, activities and practice, as appropriate, based on the evidence and lessons learned.
We are requesting this extension of this collection because approximately 28 SEAs have grants that remain open and will have activities on which to report.
A. Justification
Explain the circumstances that make the collection of information necessary. Identify any legal or administrative requirements that necessitate the collection.
A major purpose of Title II, D (Section 2402(a)(7) of the ESEA) is to support the rigorous evaluation of projects, activities and strategies funded under the program, particularly regarding the impact of such programs on student academic achievement; and from those evaluations identify effective practices that can be widely replicated by State educational agencies and by local educational agencies in the State and in other States.
To that end, section 2413(b)(4) of the ESEA requires that SEAs that receive Ed Tech funds establish a process and accountability measures to evaluate the extent to which activities funded under the program are effective in integrating technology into curricula and instruction.
This requested collection would require each SEA that receives Ed Tech funds to submit to the Department a report on the methods and results of the SEA’s evaluation of Ed Tech funded activities consistent with the requirements of the statute. Although no additional funds have been awarded for Ed-Tech in FY 2013; some States are still continuing activities with previous years’ funds. This report will collect information from those States.
Indicate how, by whom, and for what purpose the information is to be used.
The Department will use the information to: (1) assess the impact of Ed Tech-funded activities, particularly the impact on student achievement; (2) identify innovative strategies that infuse technology with curriculum and instruction that can be replicated by SEAs and LEAs in the State and in other States; (3) disseminate widely models of effective practice in technology integration; and (4) monitor the State’s compliance with Title II, Part D requirements and, as warranted, provide technical assistance to help States improve their evaluation processes and measures.
Except for a new collection, indicate the actual use the agency has made of the information received from the current collection.
We have used this collection to monitor States’ compliance with Title II, Part D requirements and provide recommendations to States for improving their programs.
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, e.g. permitting electronic submission of responses, and the basis for the decision of adopting this means of collection. Also describe any consideration of using information technology to reduce burden.
The Department will collect the reports electronically through e-mail. Electronic transmission through e-mail is consistent with the Federal paperless policies and allows for the transmission of both word and pdf signature files.
Describe efforts to identify duplication. Show specifically why any similar information already available cannot be used or modified for use of the purposes described in Item 2 above.
The Department has not collected evaluation reports or evaluation data from SEA-conducted evaluations of Ed Tech funded activities through any other collection. Previous studies conducted by the Department of the Ed Tech program have explored and described various components of the Ed Tech program. However, by design, these studies did not systematically assess the effectiveness of Ed Tech activities in meeting Title II, D goals in each State.
If the collection of information impacts small businesses or other small entities (Item 8b of IC Data Part 2), describe any methods used to minimize burden.
Neither small businesses nor small entities are affected by this collection.
Describe the consequences to Federal program or policy activities if the collection is not conducted or is conducted less frequently, as well as any technical or legal obstacles to reducing burden.
If the information is not collected through this reporting instrument, the Department will not have the means to identify and disseminate evidence-based models of technology-infused educational practices and therefore will have the means to achieve one of the primary purposes of the ESEA, Title II, Part D.
Explain any special circumstances affecting how the information will be collected.
No special circumstances exist that would cause the information collection to be conducted under any of the circumstance described above.
Describe efforts to consult with persons outside the agency to obtain their views on the availability of data, frequency of collection, the clarity of instruction and recordkeeping, disclosure, or reporting format (if any), and on the data elements to be recorded, disclosed, or reported.
The program office consults extensively with State officials, including SEA leadership and educational technology program directors. Consultations occur through ongoing program monitoring and technical assistance activities, State educational directors’ meetings, professional association meetings and conferences, and Webinars and teleconferences. These activities have enabled the Department to ascertain the SEAs’ evaluation capacity, the current status of evaluation activity in each SEA, and the capacity of SEAs to meet the specific reporting requirements of this collection.
In addition, the information collection was published in the Federal Register for a 60-and-30-day comment period; the Department did not receive any comments.
Explain any decision to provide any payment or gift to respondents, other than remuneration of contractors or grantees.
No payment or gift of any kind will be provided to respondents.
Describe any assurance of confidentiality provided to respondents and the basis for the assurance in statute, regulations, or agency policy.
There are no assurances of confidentiality. As a matter of policy, the Department provides that in reporting data to the public, no n-size will be reported that can readily identify individuals. The number used for each State is the n-size that the State provided to the Department in its accountability workbooks. State accountability workbooks can be found on the Department’s Web site at: http://www.ed.gov/admins/lead/account/stateplans03/index.html
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. This justification should include the reason why the agency considers the questions necessary; the specific uses to be made of the information, the explanation to be given to persons from whom the information is requested, and any steps to be taken to obtain their consent.
The information collection does not include questions of a sensitive nature.
Provide estimates of the hour burden of the collection of information and the annualized cost to respondents of the hour burdens for collections of information, identifying and using appropriate wage rate categories.
The total annual reporting and recordkeeping burden for the collection is estimated to be 840 hours. Burden hours for this collection are calculated on the assumption that the information for this collection is collected and compiled by the SEA as a part of the SEA’s required evaluation of Ed Tech-funded activities and that States already have in place evaluation processes (including data collection methods and instruments) and measures to conduct the evaluations. The burden for this collection covers the burden associated with analyzing and reporting information consistent with the detailed report instructions for this collection. The annual burden to each of the remaining 28 SEA respondents for this Evaluation Report collection is estimated to be 30 hours for a total of 840 burden hours.
SEA Burden hours |
Evaluation Report |
Approximate # of agencies |
28 |
Average burden per agency |
30 hours |
Total for Evaluation Report |
840 |
The average hourly rate for staff in each of the SEAs to prepare the responses to this information full collection, including proposed amendments is estimated to be $40.00.1 Therefore, the total cost of the collection is estimated as $33,600.00, which is equivalent to 1560 X $40.00.
Provide an estimate of the total annual cost burden to respondents or record keepers for capital expenses resulting from the collection of information.
This information collection does not require the use of any capital equipment, start-up costs or record keeping not included in the response to question # 12.
Provide estimates of annualized cost to the Federal government. Also, provide a description of the method used to estimate cost, which should include quantification of hours, operational expenses (such as equipment, overhead, printing, and support staff), and any other expense that would not have been incurred without this collection of information. Agencies also may aggregate cost estimates from Items 12, 13, and 14 in a single table.
The annual cost to the Federal government for data collection, analysis, and dissemination is estimated at $25,000 program staff time [.5 FTE at $50,000 per FTE], including related technical assistance to States.
Explain the reasons for any program changes or adjustments reported in Items 16 of IC Data Part 1.
There is an adjustment of -750 hours as there are 28 remaining SEAs of the 53 SEAs to provide evaluation reports, taking 30 hours each to complete, leaving a total of 840 annual burden hours. There are no changes to the data collection.
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 report, publication dates, and other actions.
The State reports on the evaluation of Ed Tech-funded activities are due on September 30 of each year. States will report on Ed Tech-activities funded during the previous school year.
After State submissions are received, the Department will review reports, consult with States as needed for clarifications, identify from reported evaluation results effective models of practice compile the information obtained into meaningful categorizations of practice; produce and disseminate summary products, including compendiums of promising practices and lessons learned.
The Department will post State-submitted evaluation reports and Department- produced summary products on the Ed Tech home page of www.ed.gov.
If seeking approval to not display the expiration date for OMB approval of the information collection, explain the reasons that display would be inappropriate.
Approval to not display expiration date has not been requested.
Explain each exception to the certification statement identified in the “Certification for Paperwork Reduction Act Submissions.”
No exceptions were identified.
B. Collections of Information Employing Statistical Methods
There are no statistical methods being use in this collection.
1 $40 is the equivalent pay of a GS-14 in the federal government.
| File Type | application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document |
| File Title | Supporting Statement for Paperwork Reduction Act Submission |
| Author | kenneth.taylor |
| File Modified | 0000-00-00 |
| File Created | 2021-01-29 |