National Indian Education Study (NIES) 2011 Reports Focus Group Studies

National Center for Education Statistics

National Assessment of Educational Progress

Appendices F-G

National Indian Education Study (NIES) 2011 Reports

Focus Groups

OMB# 1880-0542

April 10, 2015

Contents

Appendix F DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY 1

Appendix G FOCUS GROUP PROTOCOL 2

I. Introduction 2

II. Focus Group Script and Guide 2

III. Conclusion and Compensation 4

IV. Handling of Data 4

Appendix F DEMOGRAPHIC SURVEY

Please answer the following questions by checking the corresponding answer or by filling in the appropriate blanks. [Indicate that participants may opt out of the demographic survey, if desired.]

1	Please indicate your gender:  – Male  – Female
2	What is the month and year of your birth? __­­­­­­_______________ MONTH ­_____________ YEAR
3	Are you Hispanic or Latino? Circle one or more as appropriate. – No, I am not Hispanic or Latino. – Yes, I am Mexican, Mexican American, or Chicano. – Yes, I am Puerto Rican or Puerto Rican American. – Yes, I am Cuban or Cuban American. – Yes, I am from another Hispanic or Latino background.
4	Which of the following best describes you? Circle one or more as appropriate. – White – Black or African American – Asian – American Indian or Alaska Native (Tribal affiliations(s)): ___________________________________ ­­­­­­­­­­– Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander
5	What is your current position? – Primary or Secondary School Educator – Primary or Secondary School Administrator – Tribal Policy Maker – Other (specify: ______________________________________________________)
6	How long have you been in this position? _________ years/months
7	Which of the following classifications best represents your institution? – Public school – BIE school – College or university – Other (specify: _______________________________________________________)
8	Are you the parent or guardian of an American Indian or Alaska Native child who currently attends one of the above- mentioned schools? – Yes – No

Appendix G FOCUS GROUP PROTOCOL

1. Introduction

All information pertinent to the background and purpose of this study, the recruitment, contact, and consent processes, and the logistics of the focus groups are provided in the Volume 1 of this submission. The Focus Group Protocol contains the scripts and guides for the two focus groups covering the 2011 National Indian Education Study Report.

2. Focus Group Script and Guide

II.a. Introduction Script

Hello. My name is [insert name], from Kauffman and Associates, Inc. Kauffman & Associates, Inc., is an American Indian, woman-owned company based in Spokane, WA, and we have been contracted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) to conduct a focus group with potential users and/or readers of the National Indian Education Study 2011 report.

The purpose of today’s focus group is to help determine the utility of the report in terms of accessibility and functionality of language, layout, and clarity of presentation, and ease of accessing relevant information. The goal of this project is to provide feedback to NCES on the content, presentation, and usability of the report for end users in order to improve future similar publications.

We have invited you here today because of your interest in American Indian/Alaska Native education. We value your opinions and encourage your honest and complete feedback on the National Indian Education Study (NIES) 2011 report and are thankful that you’ve agreed to come to this group to share your thoughts and perspectives. While we encourage your full participation to help inform and improve upon the utility of the NIES publication, there will be no negative consequences for choosing not to respond to any questions during the course of this group.

We want to remind you that everything you tell us will be used only for research purposes and will not be disclosed or used, in identifiable form, for any other purpose except as required by law [if needed: Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002) 20 U.S.C., § 9573]. What is said here today will be aggregated based on the themes and topics we will be addressing. No names or identifying information will be associated with responses or appear on any presentation or report on this focus group. We will be using a recording device to ensure that we preserve a complete rendering of what is shared in this group. However, if there are any objections to recording this group we will rely on note-taking exclusively. Are there any questions? [Respond to any questions.]

II.b. Informed Consent Script

You all received the Informed Consent form along with the study report when you registered. We invite you to ask any questions you have regarding the Informed Consent process at this time.

[Moderator answers any questions].

If there are no other questions, then to express your written consent to participate in this focus group, we ask that you sign the form if you haven’t already, and place it in this manila envelope. You will receive a copy of this statement for your records, which contains within it the contact information for the persons responsible for this project, should any questions arise after we leave here today.

[Moderator collects consent forms].

II.c. Demographic Survey Script

To begin, we are going to ask each of you to complete this short 8-item demographic survey. This survey contains only general demographic information that will be compiled to help us to characterize the responses shared. We will not be matching your demographic information or personal characteristics to responses you may give to focus group questions.

[Distribute NIES Focus Group Demographic Survey. When participants have completed them, they will place them in a large manila envelope that will be sealed immediately.]

II.d. Focus Group Questions Script

To get us started, we would like to have you briefly introduce yourself. I will begin. [Moderator will once again give her/his name. After the moderator has completed her/his introduction, (s) he will gesture to the person to her/his immediate left who will then be asked to introduce herself or himself. When introductions have been completed, the note taker will turn on the recorder and the moderator will begin the focus group.]

1. After reading the 2011 report, what type of information were you expecting to read that was not captured?

[Prompts will be used to help participants clarify their responses, to encourage further depth, and to ensure that participants touch on all of the salient points addressed by the question. To reduce the burden on the respondent, if they have already addressed issues covered by the prompts, those prompts will not be asked. Select from the following prompts as needed].

• What would you like to walk away with, understanding this report about AI/AN education?

• Do you think it is important to understand how AI/AN students compare to AI/AN students in other states with a reportable AI/AN population?

• Do you think it is important to understand how AI/AN students in states with a reportable AI/AN population compare to their AI/AN students nationally?

2. NCES is planning on eliminating paper-based reporting and transitioning to online reports. What type of impact do you think this will have on the AI/AN community’s ability to access these reports?

• Do you think the hard copy or online version of the report are more accessible?—in what ways?

• Keeping in mind that the AI/AN community are the main focus of these reports, what do you think about the decision to move the reports to being primarily internet-based?

• How likely would you be to share/read/discuss the results of this report based on accessibility being limited to either hardcopy or internet based?

• How interested are you in comparing AI/AN students to global students?

• Is there anything else about the report, whether hardcopy or electronic, that you feel could help increase its reach within the AI/AN community? (In terms of vocab, technicality, detail, etc.)

3. What did you enjoy about the 2011 report?

• What is one thing from the 2011 report that you definitely want included in the 2015 report?

• What is one thing you think should be eliminated from the reports for the next iteration?

• Is there information we could include or discuss differently that would enhance your ability to use this information for the work you do with/in/for the AI/AN community?

• What are your thoughts on the images and pictures included in the report?

• How do you feel about the accessibility of the language used in the report?

• What do you think are the most important parts of the report to highlight

4. Please describe in any way you choose, how this report makes you feel about how American Indian and Alaska Native academic achievement is portrayed and understood.

• How effective do you think the report is in presenting its findings?

• In what ways did the presentation of the report help the reader hone in on areas of interest? (colors, charts, boxes, etc…)

• How did you feel about the manner in which the data were analyzed?

• Please share your thoughts on the presentation of the data in relation to being culturally responsive.

• Describe the level of sophistication of the analysis and its appropriateness for academic planning at American Indian and Alaska Native serving educational institutions.

• Please describe a couple of ways educators could share the results of this report.

5. Is there anything else about the 2011 NIES Report, including its content, presentation, and conclusions, that we have not discussed that you feel should be addressed?

3. Conclusion and Compensation

At the conclusion of the focus group session, participants will be thanked and will receive a $50 gift card for their time and effort.

Conclusion and Compensation Script

This concludes our questions. We are very thankful for your time and your thoughtful responses. As an expression of our gratitude, we have a thank you gift card for each of you, and we ask that you sign that you have received it as you are leaving.

[The names of each participant who receives a gift card are recorded, and participants sign to indicate their receipt.]

4. Handling of Data

Focus group data, once transcribed, will be scrubbed of identifiers. All data will ultimately be electronically entered and password protected with limited access. Viewing of the raw data will be limited to the following personnel: moderator, Project Director, and transcriber.