An Examination of Trends in Algebra II Enrollment and Completion in Texas Public High Schools

Attachment A-1. District Staff Survey

Dear District Superintendent or Curriculum and Instruction Director,

The Regional Education Lab Southwest (REL Southwest) is studying changes in student mathematics course-taking and course failures, as well as changes in district mathematics course offerings and diploma plan placement, that occur after implementation of Texas House Bill 5 (HB 5)—the Foundation High School Program. One aspect of this study focuses on how districts are responding to the provisions of House Bill 5. We greatly appreciate your participation. Please have the person who is most knowledgeable about how your district is responding to the new Texas high school graduation requirements with regard to endorsements offered, courses added, and information dissemination to parents complete this survey.

The questionnaire for this study will take approximately 15 minutes to complete. Its focus is on the new high school graduation plans, including the establishment of courses to meet the new endorsement requirements.

This survey is voluntary. You may decide to not take part without penalty or loss of any benefits you are otherwise entitled to. All responses will be confidential; no individual or district will be identified. Only aggregated results will be reported.

Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, Part E, Section 183, prohibits disclosure of individually identifiable information as well as making the publishing or communicating of individually identifiable information by employees or staff a felony. Per the policies and procedures required by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, Part E, Section 183, responses to this data collection will be used only for statistical purposes. The reports prepared for this study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific school, district, or individual. Any willful disclosure of such information for nonstatistical purposes, except as required by law, is a class E felony.

If you are interested in reading a summary of the results from districts around the state, please let us know and we will be happy to send you a report at the end of the project.

To participate in the survey, go to the following site:

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If you are unable to complete the questionnaire, please forward this email to the appropriate person at the district who might be able to answer these questions.

Your responses are very much appreciated.

If you have any comments or concerns about this study, please contact Deborah Van Kummer, Research Assistant, at deborah.vankummer@sedl.org. If you have questions or concerns about your rights as a survey participant, or to offer your input, you may contact Ethical & Independent Review Services, the Institutional Review Board (IRB), who reviewed this study for your rights, at 8100-472-3241 or by email at [email protected].

You may want to print a copy of this to keep for your records.

Thank you for your contribution to this important effort.

Sincerely,

^{REL Southwest}

Thank you for agreeing to participate in the survey!

Complete the questionnaire by marking your responses as indicated on the web page. When you are done, simply click “submit” on the last page. You will have to complete the survey in one sitting; there is no option to save and return at a later time. By completing this survey, you agree to participate in the research study.

______________________________________________________________________________

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number.  The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1850-xxxx.  Public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated to average 15 minutes/hours per response, including time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information.  The obligation to respond to this collection is voluntary.  If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, application or survey, please contact (Chris Boccanfuso at [email protected] directly. [Note: Please do not return the completed instrument, form, application or survey to this address.]

1. Please indicate which high school graduation endorsements will be offered in your district. (Select in all that apply)

⃝	Arts & Humanities
⃝	Business & Industry
⃝	Public Service
⃝	STEM
⃝	Multidisciplinary

2. Fill in the number of schools in your district in which each endorsement will be offered.

Endorsement	Number
Arts & Humanities
Business & Industry
Public Service
STEM
Multidisciplinary

3. Which, if any, of the new graduation plans are students in your district being automatically placed in? (Select one)

⃝	Foundation
⃝	Foundation Plus Endorsement
⃝	Distinguished
⃝	None

3a. If students are being automatically placed into a graduation plan, what is the first point at which they can formally choose a different graduation plan? (Select one)

⃝	Freshman year
⃝	Sophomore year
⃝	Junior year
⃝	Senior year

4. Please list the advanced mathematics courses being offered by the schools in your district. An advanced mathematics course is a mathematics course that fulfills the third and fourth mathematics course requirements under the new Foundation High School Program (HB 5 graduation requirements).

Please write the PEIMS service codes, course titles, and the number of schools in your district in which each advanced mathematics course will be offered on the lines below.

PEIMS Service Code	Advanced Mathematics Course Title	Number of schools

5. How are you communicating with parents about the new high school graduation requirements? (Select all that apply)

⃝	Brochure/Flyer
⃝	Webinar
⃝	District webpage
⃝	Parent meetings
⃝	Student handbook
⃝	TEA Graduation Toolkit
⃝	Video
⃝	Counselors
⃝	Teachers
⃝	Site-based decision making committee
⃝	Other (please describe):____________________________________

6. Later this year we will be recruiting high schools to participate in a study looking at changes to the mathematics course requirements for high school graduation being implemented under Texas House Bill 5. Participating schools will be asked to distribute informational materials describing the changes to the high school graduation mathematics requirements next year (late February 2016). Do you think high schools in your district would be interested in participating in our study?

⃝	Yes
⃝	No

7. Is there anything else that you would like to share with us about how your district is responding to the new graduation requirements enacted under House Bill 5? (Please write your comments in the box below)

Thank you!