The main objective of the Evaluation of Preschool Special Education Practices, Phase I study is to assess the feasibility of conducting a large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) evaluation of one or more curricula or interventions that are used with preschool children with disabilities to promote their learning of language, literacy, social-emotional skills, and/or appropriate behavioral skills for school. The feasibility assessment will consider the core features of an evaluation design, including the following: (1) Curricula and/or interventions to be evaluated; (2) Study context and participants; and (3) Key design elements, such as the counterfactual condition, unit of assignment, target minimum detectable effects (MDEs), sample size, and data collection plans.
Data to inform the feasibility assessment will be obtained through surveys of school district preschool special education coordinators and state Section 619 coordinators, the subject of the current submission. Preschool special education coordinators in school districts and state Section 619 coordinators will provide information to address the study's overarching research question -- whether there are promising curricula and interventions for preschool children with disabilities for which a large-scale effectiveness trial would be feasible and add value to the field. The district survey will be administered in a nationally representative sample of 1,200 school districts serving preschool children with disabilities as a 30-minute web survey. The state survey will be administered in all 50 states and the District of Columbia as a 10-minute editable PDF survey. Data collection for each survey will begin in April 2015.
The feasibility assessment will also be informed by use of extant data and conduct of an evidence review. In addition to collected survey data, extant data will provide information about preschool special education programs, the curricula and interventions that are available and supported by these programs, and the context in which curricula and interventions are delivered to inform decisions about key design elements. The evidence review will identify promising curricula and interventions for preschool children with disabilities and features about their implementation in schools.
Information obtained as part of the data collection for Phase I will be used to develop a publicly available report to provide educators and policymakers with nationally representative descriptive information about current preschool special education programs. If the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) decides to sponsor an RCT following the feasibility assessment, a separate OMB package will be submitted that request clearance for data collection activities for the RCT.
PL:
Pub.L. 108 - 446 664b
Name of Law: Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), Subpart 2, Pa
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.
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