This information collection requests
clearance approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)
for the collection of data under the Evaluation of the
Effectiveness of the Scholarships for Opportunity and Results
(SOAR) Act Program. The foundation of this evaluation is a
randomized control trial (RCT) comparing outcomes of eligible
applicants (students and their parents) assigned by lottery to
receive or not receive a scholarship. This design is consistent
with the requirement for a rigorous evaluation as well as the need
to fairly allocate the scholarships if the program is
oversubscribed. Because the law also specified other kinds of
comparisons and analyses, the planned evaluation study includes
both quantitative and qualitative components. In order for the
evaluation to have sufficient statistical power to detect policy
relevant impacts, the sample consists of 1,771 eligible program
applicants in spring 2012 (cohort 1; n=536), spring 2013 (cohort 2;
n=718), and in spring 2014 (cohort 3, n=517. This is an extension
of an approved information collection. The extension is requested
to cover follow up data collection for cohort 2 as well as the
addition of cohort 3 needed to obtain the sample size needed for
the evaluation. There are no changes to the study design, data
collection plans and instruments from what is approved by OMB in
the current collection #1850-0800. Evaluation data will be
collected for the three cohorts of program applicants from a
variety of sources listed below. Each cohort will have baseline
data as well as three years of follow up (post-lottery) data
collection; 2013-2015 for cohort 1, 2014-2016 for cohort 2, and
2015-2017 for cohort 3. In addition to estimating program impact,
we will use this experimental study to conducted research about
interim outcomes. Data sources include: --Student assessments: The
Terra Nova assessment will be administered each spring following
the lotteries for 3 years (spring 2013-2015 for the 2012 cohort,
spring 2014-2016 for the 2013 cohort, and spring 2015-2017 for the
2014 cohort). The follow up assessments will be administered in
students’ school and will provide the primary outcome measure for
the impact evaluation. School records Administrative records will
be collected from DCPS, the District of Columbia Public Charter
School Board and participating private schools in the fall of each
year to obtain data on prior year attendance, persistence,
disciplinary actions, and grades for members of the treatment and
control groups. --Parent surveys: Annual surveys of evaluation
sample members’ parents in each follow up year. These surveys will
examine such issues as reasons for continued participation or
withdrawal, involvement in school, satisfaction with school
choices, and perceptions of school safety, leadership, and
offerings. The survey will be mixed mode. (Web with phone or paper
follow up). Student surveys: The surveys will be administered to
each evaluation sample student in grades four and above in each of
the follow up years at the same time (and place) as the student
assessments. --Principal surveys: Surveys to be administered to
principals in the DC traditional public school, charter school, and
private school systems in 2013-2017. Data from principals of
students in the treatment and control groups will provide
information about school organization and offerings for descriptive
analyses of students’ school environments and for use as mediators
in the impact analysis. The web-based principal surveys will also
be used to examine how aware public and private schools are of the
DC Opportunity Scholarship Program and whether they are making any
changes in response to it.
PL:
Pub.L. 112 - 10 309 Name of Law: Scholarships for Opportunity
and Results Act (SOAR) Program
This is an extension of a
currrent collection. All of the forms and documents are the same as
the currently approved collection. However, there are changes to
the number of responses and burden hours due to a third cohort
being added to the data collection in order to obtain the sample
size needed to carry out this evaluation.
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.
1850-0800 Appendix K OSP Consent Form.pdf
1850-0800 Appendix N_Confidentiality Agreement.docx
1850-0800 revOMB Part A (2-17-16).doc
Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Scholarships For Opportunity and Results (SOAR) Program