OMB Supporting Statement B Speak Up_Final_revised_07-07-14

SUPPORTING STATEMENT – PART B

B.  COLLECTIONS OF INFORMATION EMPLOYING STATISTICAL METHODS

1.  Description of the Activity

The potential respondent universe for DoDEA is comprised of all students in grades K-12 and all parents of students in grades PK-12. Parents with multiple children in a DoDEA school will only be asked to complete the instrument only once. As this is a new information collection for DoD, response rates on previous administrations are not available. However, based on other student and parent surveys sponsored by DoDEA, an overall response rate of 80% is anticipated.

2.  Procedures for the Collection of Information

Describe any of the following if they are used in the collection of information:

1. Statistical methodologies for stratification and sample selection;

No stratification or sampling will be performed as this will be a census and will be administered to the entire population of eligible respondents.

2. Estimation procedures;

Not applicable

c.  Degree of accuracy needed for the Purpose discussed in the justification;

d.  Unusual problems requiring specialized sampling procedures; and

Not applicable

e.  Use of periodic or cyclical data collections to reduce respondent burden.

The world of technology, both what is available and the use demonstrated by potential respondents, is a rapidly changing environment. Data regarding student access, learning trends, and parent input changes very quickly. This fact, coupled with the mobility of military families, means that collections less frequently than annually would eliminate many potential respondents and would also not provide the currency of information that is needed to accurately inform the agency. Additionally, Speak Up is given nationwide annually for the same reasons, and DoDEA’s inability to give it with the same frequency would limit the ability to compare DoDEA data to the national trend.

3.  Maximization of Response Rates, Non-response, and Reliability

Time for students to participate will be provided during the school day to increase response rates and non-response. Principals of each school will be charged with getting the word out to parents via their local communication channels (school based email, newsletters, PTA meetings, etc.).

4.  Tests of Procedures

The developers have tested and revised the instrument over the life of the project. Prior to use, all questions are tested and validated with partner groups, such as members of school principals’ associations and teacher’s associations.

5.  Statistical Consultation and Information Analysis

a.  Julie Evans, CEO, Project Tomorrow, [email protected] (949) 609 4660

b.  Provide name and organization of person(s) who will actually collect and analyze the collected information. Julie Evans, CEO, Project Tomorrow, [email protected] (949) 609 4660

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