Change Memo

Memorandum United States Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

National Center for Education Statistics

DATE: May 28, 2020

TO: Robert Sivinski, OMB

THROUGH: Carrie Clarady, Avar Consulting, in contract to NCES

FROM: Maura Spiegelman, NCES

SUBJECT: 2020-21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS 2020-21) Item Revision Change Request (OMB# 1850-0598 v.32)

The National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), conducted every two to three years by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), is a system of related questionnaires that provides descriptive data on the context of elementary and secondary education. Redesigned from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS) with a focus on flexibility, timeliness, and integration with other ED data, the NTPS system allows for school, principal, and teacher characteristics to be analyzed in relation to one another. NTPS is an in-depth, nationally representative survey of first through twelfth grade public and private school teachers, principals, and schools. Kindergarten teachers in schools with at least a first grade are also surveyed. NTPS utilizes core content and a series of rotating modules to allow timely collection of important education trends as well as trend analysis. Topics covered include characteristics of teachers, principals, schools, teacher training opportunities, retention, retirement, hiring, and shortages.

The NTPS 2019-20 preliminary activities were approved in July 2019, with a change request approved in November 2019 (OMB# 1850-0598 v.26-27). OMB approved the main study for 2020-21 in March 2020 (OMB# 1850-0598 v.28-30). In December 2019, NCES received OMB approval (OMB#1850-0803 v. 259) for cognitive interviews to test new and revised items about virtual schools and online course offerings in the NTPS School Questionnaire. Questions about virtual schools and online course offerings were revised, based on the results of this cognitive testing. This testing occurred in the winter and spring of 2020. During the end of this testing window, in March 2020, it became clear that questions needed to distinguish between typical practices (the intent of these questions) and changes implemented by schools due to the coronavirus (COVID-19). Questions on virtual schools and online course offerings were added to all NTPS questionnaires (OMB# 1850-0598 v.31). This request makes minor corrections to the questionnaire items related to COVID-19. In addition, data collection procedures were simplified (including the postponement of a planned experiment involving a non-monetary incentive of shared food) under the assumption that schools may be open to school staff later in the 2020-21 school year than otherwise planned due to COVID-19, or that schools may be adapting to new logistics. The revisions made to the last approved NTPS 2020-21 clearance documents (OMB# 1850-0598 v.31) are reflected below. Black font demarks the text that remains unchanged from the last approved, while text in red font shows the revisions that were made.

Modifications to the Questionnaire (Part C and Appendix B)

Principal Questionnaire

1-5 (Public and Private) PRIOR to this school year, how many years did you serve as the principal of THIS school? (Appendix B, p.54 & p.70; Part C, p.6)

Do NOT include any years you served as ASSISTANT principal.

Count part of a year as 1 year.

Write ’0’ if this is your first year serving as principal of at THIS school.

3-1 (Public and Private) Did the COVID-19 pandemic affect how instruction was delivered in this school during the

2019-20 school year? (Appendix B, p.57 & p.73)

Yes

No -> GO TO item 3-3 below

3-3 (Public and Private) If you did not work at this school during the 2019-20 school year, you may consult staff who were employed during that time for assistance with the questions in this section, as needed.

BEFORE the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2019-20 school year, did this school assign a computer or digital device to each student? (Appendix B, p.57 & p.73; Part C, p.11)

Yes, at school only

Yes, that students are allowed to take home

No, we did not distribute any computers or digital devices to any students to take home

3-4 (Public and Private) During the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2019-20 school year, did you distribute computers or digital devices to students to take home? (Appendix B, p.57 & p.73; Part C, p.11)

Yes, we distributed computers or digital devices to all students to take home

Yes, we distributed computers or digital devices to students who did not have access to one at home

No, we did not distribute any computers or digital devices to any students to take home

3-5 (Public and Private) During the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2019-20 school year, how did this school help students who had no internet access at home? (Appendix B, p. 57 & p.73; Part C, p.11)

All of the students at this school already had internet access at home

We worked with internet providers to help students access the internet at home

We sent home hotspots or other devices to help students access the internet at home

We offered spaces where students could safely access free Wi-Fi internet (in the school parking lot, parked school buses with hot spots hotspots, etc.)

We did not take any steps to help students access the internet because of COVID-19

Other please specify

School Questionnaire

1-12 (Public and Private) During the 2019-20 school year, how did COVID-19 affect instruction in this school? (Appendix B, p. 89 & 116)

There was no change in how classes were taught because of COVID-19 – GO TO item 1-13 below

All or some of the classes normally taught in person at the school were canceled

All or some of the classes normally taught in person moved to a distance-learning format using online resources, either self-paced or real-time

All or some of the classes normally taught in person moved into a distance-learning format using paper materials home with students

All or some of the classes normally taught in person changed in some other way- Please specify

1-13. For classes that were moved into a distance-learning format, was there any real-time interaction between the teachers and students, such as live video conferences? (Appendix B, p. 89 & 116)

Yes

No

Not applicable, no classes were moved into a distance-learning format

Teacher Questionnaire

7-1 (Public and Private) During the 2019-20 school year, how did COVID-19 affect how you delivered instruction in this school? (Appendix B, p. 164 & 206)

I was not a teacher at this school during the 2019-20 school year – GO TO item 7-5 on page 29

There was no change in how my classes were taught because of COVID-19

All or some of my classes normally taught in person at the school were canceled

All or some of my classes normally taught in person moved to a distance-learning format using online resources, either self-paced or real-time

All or some of my classes normally taught in person moved to a distance-learning format using paper materials sent home with students

All or some of my classes normally taught in person changed in some other way- Please specify

7-3 (Public and Private) During the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2019-20 school year, what kinds of real-time interactions, if any, did you have with your students at this school? (Appendix B, p. 164 & 206)

I had no real-time interactions with students during the COVID-19 pandemic in the 2019-20 school year – GO TO item 7-5 on page 29

I taught scheduled real-time lessons to classes who could ask questions during the lesson through a video or audio call

I held scheduled sessions with groups of students to provide support through a video or audio call

I held scheduled one-on-one sessions with individual students to teach lessons or provide support through a video or audio call

I held scheduled office hours where students could ask questions through a video or audio call

I had unscheduled sessions with students as needed through a video or audio call

7-4 (Public and Private) What percentage of your students at this school did you have any real-time interaction with during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the 2019-20 school year? (Appendix B, p. 164 & 206)

1-25%

26-50%

51-75%

76-100%

Modifications to the Data Collection Plan (Part A, Part B, and Appendix A)

• In order to support the changes chronicled in Part B.2 (Procedures for the Collection of Information), some of the framing text was edited for clarity. (Part B, p.9)

Section B.2.1 describes the operations operation for the already approved preliminary field activities for NTPS 2020-21, with Section B.2.1.1 describing special districts operation and Section B.2.1.2 the school pre-contact letter operation (OMB# 1850-0598 v. 26).. Section B.2.2 describes school-level data collection procedures for the school-level questionnaires (i.e., Teacher Listing Form, School Questionnaire, and Principal Questionnaire), with Section B.2.2.1 describing the procedures to be used for schools with acceptable vendor data and Section B.2.2.2 for schools without acceptable vendor data. Section B.2.3 describes data collection procedures for the Teacher Questionnaire.

• The data collection plan previously included a pre-contact letter to sample schools in the early summer of 2020. No action is requested in this letter; it primarily serves to identify addresses that may be inaccurate. Since staff may not be physically working at schools, and because this letter is a relatively lower priority than other, actionable, NTPS mailings, it is proposed for removal in this change request. In addition to the text change below, the data collection flow chart in Part B, p.14 was updated. Pre-Contact letters previously included in Appendix A were removed. (See pp.15-16 of this memo for the full text of these now-deleted letters.)

B.2.1.2 School Pre-Contact Letters

The school pre-contact letter is to verify school mailing addresses and to inform schools about the upcoming data collection. A letter is sent to each sampled school informing them of their selection for the study. About 1% of all school addresses get corrected by the U.S. Post Office in response to the pre-contact letter, saving time and effort during the actual data collection period.

• Previously, the data collection path was divided by whether or not reliable vendor data was available for a sampled school. Schools without vendor data followed a different path in order to prioritize schools for which teacher lists would only be available if a school completed the Teacher Listing Form directly, rather than editing vendor data or using vendor data as a last-resort teacher list. However, because schools may open later in the fall than otherwise planned or be less inclined to prioritize data collection at the start of the school year, these two data collection paths were consolidated. In addition to the updated flow chart in Part B, the following other changes were made to the text:

B.2.2 School-level Data Collection Procedures

School-level data collection procedures for NTPS 2020-21 are summarized in Exhibit 1 (p. 15 14).

In July 2020, all schools will receive an advance letter addressed to the principal at the school address. The letter includes instructions for completing a brief screener interview online using the NTPS Screener internet instrument. Around the same time, principals for whom we have an email address will also be invited to complete the screener interview via email. The purpose of the screener interview is to determine the school’s eligibility for the NTPS and establish a survey coordinator. The survey coordinator will be asked to facilitate the completion of NTPS questionnaires within their school, and materials will be mailed to him or her throughout data collection. A reminder email will be sent to non-responding school principals in early August 2020. Principals who do not self-screen will be contacted by telephone in mid to late August 2020.

After the advance letter and screener interview, the data collection path – specifically, the timing and level of effort put forth to collecting a TLF from the school, which is needed to draw a sample for the Teacher Questionnaire – for each school will depend on a number of predetermined criterion. The data collection methodology employed will depend primarily on whether the school has acceptable teacher roster data available from the vendor. Schools without acceptable vendor data available do not have the vendor provided teacher roster to fall back on for the purposes of selecting a teacher sample, therefore it is important to put forth additional targeted effort and resources to obtaining a TLF from these schools.

Secondary data collection pathing will be made based upon the completion status and timing (if completed) of the school’s screener interview. Finally, Additionally, data collection pathing may be made based on a school’s “priority status”. Prior to the start of NTPS 2020-21 data collection, a propensity model will be run to identify “priority” schools. The propensity model is based on a model developed for the NTPS 2015-16 and 2017-18 data collections. These “priority” schools have characteristics of schools from which it has been historically difficult to collect data and which have a potentially high impact on weighting. The priority flag takes into account both the response propensity and the base weight of a school to create a measure of a school’s potential effect on nonresponse weighting adjustments and final estimates. Schools with either an extremely high weight or an extremely low response propensity have a large response influence, meaning their nonresponse will disproportionately affect the nonresponse adjustment cell in which they are located. Thus, additional efforts are sometimes made to target data collection operations in these school early during data collection.

In September, all schools regardless of data collection path will receive an initial school package addressed to the survey coordinator at the school address. If a survey coordinator was not established during the screener interview, the package will be addressed to the principal at the school address. The package will contain a letter to the survey coordinator or principal, and three individually sealed envelopes that contain login information for completing the TLF, Principal Questionnaire, and School Questionnaire. Principals and survey coordinators will also be contacted by email around the same time the initial packages are mailed to the sampled schools. The emails will contain the appropriate hyperlinks and User IDs to complete the NTPS questionnaires online.

The timing method of the mailout of this initial package will depend on whether the school has acceptable vendor data available, in combination with the priority status of the school. and, for those schools without vendor data available, the timing of the school’s completion of the screener to establish a survey coordinator. For all schools WITHOUT vendor data or if they are a priority school, and schools WITH vendor data who self-screened and established survey coordinator early (prior to the screener telephone operation), their this initial package will be mailed in early September via FedEX. These schools will be referred to as “early schools” throughout the remainder of this package. For the remaining schools WITH vendor data who did not self-screen early (late screeners or non-screeners), the initial package will be mailed approximately two weeks later via USPS. These schools will be referred to as “late schools” throughout the remainder of this package.

Following the initial mailout, all schools WITHOUT vendor data and ALL “priority schools” WITH vendor data will receive a telephone call from an interviewer whose goal is to alert the principal or coordinator that a package has been mailed, confirm the school’s receipt of the package, and answer any questions from the school. Non-priority schools with acceptable vendor data will not be included in this telephone operation.

About a month three weeks after the initial mailout, a second package will be mailed to nonresponding schools. The package will include a reminder letter to the survey coordinator or principal and replacement materials for completing the outstanding questionnaires online. Principal and survey coordinator email addresses will be used as means of reminding nonresponding school staff to complete their questionnaires.

B.2.2.1 Schools without Vendor Data Available

Following the second mailout, schools without vendor data available will receive a personal visit from a Census Bureau Field Representative (FR), with the main goal of obtaining a completed TLF from the school. The FR will also distribute sealed letters containing login information for the school and principal questionnaires, as needed. If the FR notes that the school has shown reluctance or initially refused to participate in the study, the Regional Office of the FR will send out a “letter of better understanding” to help encourage participation. This operation will take place from late October through Thanksgiving. be included in a telephone follow-up operation. The main goal of this operation will be to follow-up with survey coordinators and principals on the status of their TLF. Telephone interviewers will also check on the status of the PQ and SQ. This operation will take place in mid-November.

Schools for which the personal visit is unsuccessful will receive a third reminder package in early January. This package will be mailed to the principal at the school address and will include a reminder letter, paper versions of the TLF, principal and/or school questionnaire(s), and postage-paid addressed return envelopes. Principal and survey coordinator email addresses will be used as means of reminding nonresponding schools to complete their questionnaires.

Beginning in late January, schools that have not yet completed their TLF, principal, and/or school questionnaire(s) will be sent to a telephone reminder operation aimed at reminding the survey coordinator or school principal to complete their questionnaires. Data collection for the TLF concludes following this telephone operation. If outstanding school and/or principal questionnaire(s) remain after this final mailing, one more attempt by mail (fourth and final school package), email, and telephone will be made to remind the school to complete their outstanding questionnaire(s).

B.2.2.2 Schools with Vendor Data Available

Following the second mailout, schools with vendor data available will receive a third reminder package in early November. This package will be mailed to the principal at the school address and will include a reminder letter, paper versions of the TLF and principal and/or school questionnaire(s) as needed, and postage-paid addressed return envelopes. Principal and survey coordinator email addresses will be used as means of reminding nonresponding schools to complete their questionnaires. Note that, while the timing of the initial and second third school packages varies by early versus late schools down this path acceptable vendor data, the mailout schedule for the two groups converges starting with after the third mailout.

Beginning in early December, schools that have not yet completed their TLF will be sent to a telephone reminder operation aimed at reminding the survey coordinator or school principal to complete their TLF and other outstanding school-level questionnaire(s). In early January, schools that have not provided or verified their TLF will have their teachers sampled from the vendor provided list of teachers. Beginning in late January, schools that have not yet completed their school and/or principal questionnaires will be sent to a telephone reminder operation aimed at reminding the survey coordinator or school principal to complete their questionnaires. If outstanding school-level forms remain after the telephone reminder operation, one more attempt by mail (fourth and final school package), email, telephone, and personal visit will be made to remind the school to complete their outstanding questionnaire(s). [Part B, p.11-13]

In addition, mail method (USPS versus FedEx) for the initial school package will be based upon school characteristic and screener outcome. As a reminder, “early schools” are those schools with no vendor data available and schools WITH vendor data available that self-screened early and established a coordinator. “Late schools” are those schools WITH vendor data that did not self-screen early (late screeners or non-screeners). All schools with no vendor data available (Early) and Late acceptable vendor data at that school. Non-priority schools with no vendor data available and all priority schools will be mailed via FedEx. Both of these categories of schools are the harder to reach or less likely to respond schools and, therefore, additional resources will be expended for the initial packages to stand out to school staff. All non-priority schools WITH vendor data available that self-screened and have a coordinator (Early) will be mailed via USPS; these schools are eager and likely to respond and, therefore, additional resources will not be expended to make the initial packages stand out. [Part B, p.23]

10. Telephone and field follow-up operations for late-sampled teachers. NTPS 2017-18 included two additional follow-up operations aimed at collecting completed questionnaires from nonresponding teachers sampled in the later data collection waves (17-20). In previous NTPS and SASS cycles, late-sampled teachers were not eligible for inclusion in telephone follow-up and/or field follow-up operations. During the phase 2 telephone follow-up operation for the NTPS 2017-18, telephone center staff made telephone calls to late-sampled teachers to remind them to complete their questionnaire and, whenever possible, collect the interview over the phone. During the phase 4 field operation, Field Representatives made personal visits to the schools to drop off the paper form(s) and schedule a time to pick up the completed forms. Additionally, both of these operations targeted domains with publishability risks (e.g. teachers in city and charter schools). The NTPS 2020-21 includes a planned Phase 2 Telephone Follow-up Operation for which most late sampled teachers will be eligible and a Phase 23 Field Follow-up Operation to ensure that all sampled teachers receive non-response follow-up by at least telephone or Field (or possibly both). [Part B, p.25]

• A school-level experiment was planned for the screener mailing, for which some public schools were randomly assigned to receive a data product. Due to concerns that schools may not have in-person staff present at school mailing addresses to open this mailing and the effect of this product on response rates would be difficult to measure due to school logistics, this experiment was removed.

In addition, a randomized experiment in NTPS 2020-21 will compare the effects of including a data product (a colorful data wheel that displays state-level NTPS data from the 2017-18 collection) in the Screener letters to public schools, at which time the principal is invited to complete the Screener online using the Screener internet instrument.

The Screener mail-out will include the cross between the data product experiment and the letter wording experiment, resulting in a randomized four-way panel design. Half of the traditional Screener letter mail-out will include the data product and half of the modified Screener letter mail-outs will include the data product. Each treatment group will include 2,650 schools and a statistically significant difference will be determined between any two treatments groups if the treatment groups’ response rates differ by 4.99%. [previously part B, p. 34, at the end of section B.4.2.1.2]

• The data collection plan previously included a non-monetary incentive experiment for schools, in which schools were to be sent branded tins with food to be shared amongst school staff. Due to concerns that September of 2020 may not be an appropriate time to evaluate the effectiveness of shared food (for example, schools may be closed to most or all staff, or staff may be reluctant to share even wrapped food due to concerns about COVID-19), this experiment was postponed and will be evaluated in a future NTPS collection. Descriptions of the experiment and how it interacted with other planned experiments have been removed from parts A and B. In Appendix A, the proposed tin design was removed from Appendix A, as was Version 3 of the Initial School Mailout Letter, a variation that existed solely for schools that would receive this non-monetary incentive. (The full text of one the Version 3 Letter is seen on page 10 of this memo.)

The NTPS 2020-21 will include an experiment for a subsample of public schools designed to examine the effectiveness of offering a non-monetary incentive to schools to boost overall NTPS response within the school. Schools assigned to the experimental treatment will receive a non-monetary incentive with the initial mailout package. This treatment will be evaluated against the control group, which will not receive any school-level incentive. [part A, p.11]

Further details about the use of incentives and the contingency plan are provided in sections B.2.3, and B.3.2, and B.4.2. of Supporting Statement Part B. [part A, p.12]

B.4.2.1 Testing at the School-level

Three Four experiments aimed at increasing school-level response rates are planned for the 2020-21 NTPS, namely (1) testing non-monetary incentives, (21) testing new package contents, (32) testing prepopulated TLFs, and ( 4 3) testing various question layouts on the school questionnaire internet instruments. Each of these experiments is described briefly below.

Following data collection, each experiment will be evaluated using a series of metrics calculated for the control group and each treatment group of the experiment separately. These metrics will include, but not be limited to:

• Response rate;

• Average number of contacts;

• Days to respond;

• Data collection costs.

The response rates will be calculated for each treatment group and selected demographic domains and compared using significance tests for differences. To account for confounding variables, a model-based approach will also be calculated to determine what effect the experimental treatment had on a case’s likelihood to response, given that case’s unique characteristics.

The average number of contacts and average days to respond across the experimental groups will be used as a proxy for timeliness of response. A reduction in the average number of contacts could be used to justify the use of a particular treatment. For example, if cases within the experimental group using non-monetary incentives respond in a more timely fashion, which could reduce the number of cases included in follow-up operations, allowing finite resources, such as field, to be spread across fewer cases.

Using data collection costs associated with each mailout, any additional costs associated with a particular treatment group, and estimates for interviewer costs, an average cost-per-case can be determined within each experimental group. A reduction in cost-per-case could justify the use of a particular treatment to reduce the overall survey cost. Particular treatments may lead to more initial costs, such as the use of incentives, but if cases within a particular treatment group respond in a fewer number of contacts – specifically more costly contacts such as personal visits – this could lead to a reduction in overall cost at the end of data collection.

1. Testing non-monetary incentives at the school level (1S). The NTPS 2020-21 will include an experiment for a subsample of public and private schools designed to examine the effectiveness of offering a non-monetary incentive to schools to boost overall NTPS response within the school. Schools assigned to the experimental treatment will receive a non-monetary incentive with the initial mailout package. This package will be addressed to the survey coordinator at the school address. If a survey coordinator was not established during the screener interview, the package will be addressed to the principal at the school address. The package will contain the non-monetary incentive, along with a letter to the survey coordinator or principal, and three individually sealed envelopes that contain login information for completing the TLF, Principal Questionnaire, and School Questionnaire. The critical features of the non-monetary incentive item are that the item is: (1) sharable amongst school staff, (2) raise awareness about the survey within the school, leading to conversations about the NTPS among school staff, and (3) customizable, in that the item can be NTPS or education-branded and possibly include select national-level data points from previous cycles of the survey.

The details of the non-monetary incentive are still being worked out and are pending the acquisition process and the receipt of prototypes, however, the current plan is to send large (6.5 gallon), sealed metal tins of individually-wrapped candy to schools in the non-monetary incentive treatment group. The tin design will be wrapped around the tin so that it is clearly visible to school staff (rather than printed only on the lid). This design is included in Appendix A (p. 109).

The minimal detectable difference in response rate between the control group and the treatment group that would be necessary to determine a statistically significant effect associated with the treatment, was calculated as follows:

where

• Z_1-α = 1.96 for a 95-percent confidence-level, per NCES standards

• Z_β = .845 for a standard power-level of .8

• σ₁ and σ₂ are maximized to .5, to provide the most conservative estimate

• n₁ and n₂ are the sample sizes for the control and treatment groups

• D = 1.68, the design effect observed in the recent administrations of NTPS

Given that the treatment group will include 1,000 public schools and 250 private schools, a statistically significant difference will be determined if the control and treatment group’s response rates differ by 6.41% and 12.80% for public and private schools, respectively.

The average number of contacts and average days to respond across the experimental groups will be used as a proxy for timeliness of response. A reduction in the average number of contacts could be used to justify the use of a particular treatment. For example, if cases within the experimental group using non-monetary incentives new mailed package contents respond in a more timely fashion, which could reduce the number of cases included in follow-up operations, allowing finite resources, such as field, to be spread across fewer cases. [part B, p.32]

Schools sampled for NTPS 2020-21 that receive the school non-monetary incentive are ineligible for this experiment on package contents. [footnote, Part B, p.33]

A subset of the NTPS 2020-21 schools with acceptable vendor data will be offered their prepopulated TLF via the portal, while the remaining schools with acceptable vendor data will only be offered the traditional Excel upload and manual entry options. This test will only be conducted on the schools not already designated to receive the non-monetary incentive. [part B, p.33]

All teachers within the same school will receive the same incentive treatment; there will not be “mixed schools” where some teachers receive the prepaid cash monetary incentive while others receive the non-monetary tote bag incentive, and teachers in both schools that received the non-monetary school-level incentive and schools that did not receive this incentive will be eligible to receive a teacher incentive. [part B, p.36]

NTPS-11.3LP – Base principal letter modified to reflect the inclusion of the non-monetary incentive (candy tin) (1S; p. 34 of Part B). [Appendix A, p.31 – the School and Teacher Letters and E-mails Summary Table]

NTPS-11.3LC – Base coordinator letter modified to reflect the inclusion of the non-monetary incentive (candy tin) (1S; p. 34 of Part B). [Appendix A, p.31 – the School and Teacher Letters and E-mails Summary Table]

Initial School Mailout Letter to Coordinator or Principal – Version 3

NTPS-11.3LP//11.3LC (P = Principal letter; C = Coordinator letter) (Includes School Mailout FAQs)

<Date>

<Principal or Coordinator Name>

<School Name>

<Mailing Address>

<City, State ZIP Code>

Dear <Principal or Coordinator Name>,

Your school has been selected to participate in the 2020–21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS). [C: The principal at your school has identified you as the survey coordinator for your school.] Your school’s participation is important for the success of this survey. Each response is vital to ensure reliable, nationally representative data, and we need your help to make this happen. We have included a tin of candy for you to share with your school’s staff to show our appreciation for your school’s participation in the NTPS.

The NTPS is a nationwide sample survey of elementary and secondary schools and the principals and teachers who staff them. The survey is a primary source of information about what is happening in K–12 schools across the United States. The survey is administered by the U.S. Census Bureau on behalf of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical agency within the U.S. Department of Education.

[C: As survey coordinator, we//P: We] request your assistance with the following tasks:

1. Complete, or ensure the online completion of, the Teacher Listing Form (TLF) using the enclosure labeled “Instructions for completing the Teacher Listing Form.”

You can complete the TLF or give it to the staff member who can best provide information about the teachers at your school, including each teacher’s name, e-mail address, and subject matter taught.

2. Complete, or ensure the online completion of, the School Questionnaire using the enclosure labeled “Instructions for completing the School Questionnaire.”

You can complete the School Questionnaire or give it to the staff member who can best answer questions about enrollment, staffing, and programs and services offered at your school.

3. [C: Give the enclosure labeled “Instructions for completing the Principal Questionnaire” to the principal or administrator at your school. //P: Use the enclosure labeled “Instructions for completing the Principal Questionnaire” to go online and complete the Principal Questionnaire within two weeks.]

Please ensure that the Teacher Listing Form, School Questionnaire, and Principal Questionnaire are completed within two weeks. Thank you in advance for your help to ensure your school is represented in this important survey.

Sincerely,

James L. Woodworth, Ph.D.

Commissioner

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

U.S. Department of Education

NCES is authorized to conduct this survey by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543). All of the information you provide may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151). Reports of the findings from the survey will not identify participating districts, schools, or staff. Individual responses will be combined with those from other participants to produce summary statistics and reports.

(Design on Non-Monetary Incentive (Candy Tin)

• In the process of making the changes to Part A described above, other small errors in Part A were discovered and corrected. Further, the citations of recent First Look reports that use NTPS data were reflected to include the release of the results of the 2017-18 NTPS Teacher collection. These changes are collected below:

NTPS builds upon and extends the series of SASS data collections that occurred seven times over the period between 1987 and 2012. Many questions from SASS continue to be asked in the NTPS questionnaires, allowing researchers to examine trends on these topics over time. In addition, the linkages of NTPS/SASS with TFS and PFS create a small longitudinal component. A subset of teachers who respond to NTPS are surveyed during the following school year, as part of TFS, including teachers who changed schools, left the teaching profession, and teachers who stayed at the same school over the two school years. TFS allows researchers to study the antecedents of teacher attrition. TFS was most recently conducted in 2012-13 and will be conducted again in 2021-21 22, following the 2020-21 NTPS. [Part A, pp. 7-8]

The results of each NTPS collection are used to create First Look reports that are released to the public on the NCES website and which introduce new data from each NTPS collection through statistical tables containing descriptive information. The selected findings chosen for these reports demonstrate the range of information available on the NTPS restricted use data files. The most recent First Look reports available for the NTPS are as follows: Characteristics of Public Elementary and Secondary Schools in the United States: Results From the 2017-18 National Teacher and Principal Survey First Look (NCES 2019-140); Characteristics of Public Elementary and Secondary School Principals in the United States: Results From the 2017-18 National Teacher and Principal Survey First Look (NCES 2019-141); and Characteristics of Public and Private Elementary and Secondary School Teachers in the United States: Results From the 2015-16 2017-18 National Teacher and Principal Survey First Look (NCES 2017-072 2020-142). [Part A, p. 8]

Due to the favorable results from the teacher incentives for the NTPS 2017-18, the NTPS 2020-21 will include the use of incentives, once again, with the goal of maximizing overall teacher response. Two types of incentives will be offered in an experimental manner – a prepaid cash monetary incentive and a non-monetary incentive. Teachers in the experimental treatment will receive a canvas tote bag at the first contact by mail. The tote bag will be NTPS or education-branded and. The treatment will be further separated into two groups – one where each of the teachers and the survey coordinator receive a tote bag, and the other where only each of the teachers receives a tote bag. The thought is that, since the survey coordinator is tasked with distributing the teacher packages, (s)he may benefit from receiving the item, as well, given that it is going to be apparent that there is something other than a letter in each envelope. The treatments will be evaluated against one another and the control group, which will not receive any incentive. [part A, p.11]

• Several pieces of communication in Appendix A were updated to (1) remove mention of the non-monetary incentive for schools and (2) acknowledge challenges that schools may be facing related to COVID-19:

Screener Letter- Version 1 (Appendix A, p.42)

The NTPS is a nationwide sample survey of the teaching and working conditions in schools across the United States, as well as characteristics of the teachers and principals who staff them. The NTPS will provide critical data to policymakers and researchers on school organization, decision-making, teacher recruitment, and other important education topics.

These are unprecedented times, and we are aware of the strain COVID-19 has put on schools. We understand that you may be facing challenges in adjusting your school’s plans to deliver meaningful learning experiences to students during the upcoming school year. We hope you will still find time to participate, as the NTPS will provide critical data to policymakers and researchers on school organization, decision-making, teacher recruitment, and other important education topics, including how COVID-19 impacted schools, school staff, and the delivery of instruction to students last spring.

Screener Letter- Version 1 (Appendix A, p.43)

This is your school’s opportunity to inform education policies. These are unprecedented times, and we are aware of the strain COVID-19 has put on schools. We understand that you may be facing challenges in adjusting your school’s plans to deliver meaningful learning experiences to students during the upcoming school year. We hope you will still find time to participate, as this is your school’s opportunity to inform education policies and provide information on the impact of COVID-19 on your school, school staff, and the delivery of instruction to students last spring.

Screener Email- Version 1 (Appendix A, p.45)

The NTPS is a nationwide sample survey of the teaching and working conditions in schools across the United States, as well as characteristics of the teachers and principals who staff them. TheThese are unprecedented times, and we are aware of the strain COVID-19 has put on schools. We understand that you may be facing challenges in adjusting your school’s plans to deliver meaningful learning experiences to students during the upcoming school year. We hope you will still find time to participate, as the NTPS will provide critical data to policymakers and researchers on school organization, decision-making, teacher recruitment, and other important education topics, including the delivery of instructions to students last spring.

Screener Email- Version 1 (Appendix A, p.46)

This is your school’s opportunity to inform education policies. These are unprecedented times, and we are aware of the strain COVID-19 has put on schools. We understand that you may be facing challenges in adjusting your school’s plans to deliver meaningful learning experiences to students during the upcoming school year. We hope you will still find time to participate, as this is your school’s opportunity to inform education policies and provide information on the impact of COVID-19 on your school, school staff, and the delivery of instruction to students last spring.

Screener Reminder Email (Appendix A, p.47)

The NTPS is a nationwide sample survey of the teaching and working conditions in schools across the United States, as well as characteristics of the teachers and principals who staff them. This is your school’s opportunity to inform education policies. The NTPS will provide critical data to policymakers and researchers on school organization, decision-making, teacher recruitment, and other important education topics, including the delivery of instruction to students during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Initial School Mailout Letter to Coordinator or Principal- Version 1 (Appendix A, p.48)

The NTPS is a nationwide sample survey of elementary and secondary schools and the principals and teachers who staff them. We are aware of the strain that COVID-19 has put on schools. The survey is a primary source of information about what is happening in K–12 schools across the United States, and we have added questions to address how the pandemic has impacted instruction. The survey is administered by the U.S. Census Bureau on behalf of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical agency within the U.S. Department of Education.

Initial School Mailout Letter to Coordinator or Principal- Version 2 (Appendix A, p.49)

We understand that you may be facing challenges in adjusting your day-to-day operations to deliver meaningful learning experiences to students during the COVID-19 pandemic. With your participation, we can provide data on how schools and teachers adjusted their instruction during the pandemic, in addition to the data we regularly provide on the characteristics and conditions of America's schools and the professionals who work in them.

Initial School Mailout Letter- SQ (Appendix A, p. 53)

The 2020–21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) is your school’s opportunity to tell policymakers about your school’s enrollment, staffing, and the programs and services offered to your students, and how your school modified instruction during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. You have been identified by your [school’s designated survey coordinator, <Coordinator Name>,/school’s principal] as the staff member who is most knowledgeable about your school and can provide the required information on the NTPS School Questionnaire.

Initial School Mailout Letter- PQ (Appendix A, p.54)

We are aware of the strain COVID-19 has put on schools, and we understand that you may be facing challenges in adjusting your school’s day-to-day operations to deliver meaningful learning experiences to students. The success of this national survey depends on your participation. Only a small percentage of schools and principals are selected to participate. We cannot substitute another school principal for you. With your participation, we can provide national and state-representative data on how schools adjusted their instruction during the current pandemic, in addition to the data we regularly provide on the characteristics and conditions of America's schools and the professionals who work in them.

Initial School Mailout E-mail- SQ (Appendix A, p.56)

Last week, we sent you a package of materials at your school address inviting your school’s participation in the National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS). The 2020–21 NTPS is your school’s opportunity to tell policymakers about your school’s enrollment, staffing, and the programs and services offered to your students, and how your school modified instruction during the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Initial School Mailout E-mail- PQ (Appendix A, p.57)

The 2020–21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) is your opportunity to tell policymakers about your school and your experiences as a principal. We are aware of the strain COVID-19 has put on schools, and we understand that you may be facing challenges in adjusting your school’s day-to-day operations to deliver meaningful learning experiences to students. The success of this national survey depends on your participation. Only a small percentage of schools and principals are selected to participate. We cannot substitute another school principal for you. With your participation, we can provide national and state-representative data on how schools adjusted their instruction during the current pandemic, in addition to the data we regularly provide on the characteristics and conditions of America's schools and the professionals who work in them.

Initial Teacher Mailout Letter to Survey Coordinator (Appendix A, p.78)

We greatly appreciate your assistance so far with the 2020–21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS). Now, we need your help to ensure the NTPS Teacher Questionnaire invitations are distributed and the questionnaires are completed in a timely manner. The survey gives teachers an opportunity to tell policymakers about their experiences in the teaching profession. Each selected teacher’s participation is critical to obtain an accurate view of the teaching profession, including teachers’ professional backgrounds, teaching fields, workloads, and working conditions across the country. We are aware of the strain COVID-19 has put on schools and teachers, and have added questions to the Teacher Questionnaire to address how the pandemic impacted the delivery of instruction to students.

Initial Teacher Mailout Letter to Survey Coordinator (Appendix A, p.80)

The survey gives teachers an opportunity to tell policymakers about their experiences in the teaching profession. Each selected teacher’s participation is critical to obtain an accurate view of the teaching profession, including teachers’ professional backgrounds, teaching fields, workloads, and working conditions across the country. We are aware of the strain COVID-19 has put on schools and teachers, and have added questions to the Teacher Questionnaire to address how the pandemic impacted the delivery of instruction to students.

Initial Teacher Mailout Letter (Appendix A, p.81)

We are aware of the strain COVID-19 has put on schools and teachers, and we understand that you may be facing challenges in adjusting your instruction to deliver meaningful learning experiences to students. As such, we have added questions to address how COVID-19 impacted your teaching during the beginning of the pandemic. The success of this national survey depends on your participation. Only a small percentage of schools and teachers are selected to participate. We cannot substitute another teacher for you. [M: Please accept the enclosed $5 as a token of our appreciation for your participation in the NTPS.//NM: Please accept the enclosed tote bag as a token of our appreciation for your participation in the NTPS.]

Initial Teacher Mailout E-mail (Appendix A, p.82)

This is your opportunity to tell policymakers about your experiences and express your opinions as a teacher in your school. We are aware of the strain COVID-19 has put on schools and teachers, and we understand that you may be facing challenges in adjusting your instruction to deliver meaningful learning experiences to students. As such, we have added questions to address how COVID-19 impacted your teaching during the beginning of the pandemic. The success of this national survey depends on your participation. Only a small percentage of schools and teachers are selected to participate. We cannot substitute another teacher for you. Your responses to the survey questions will not be shared with your school administration.

NTPS Public School Pre-contact Letter

<Date>

<School Name>

<Mailing Address>

<City, State, ZIP Code>

Dear Principal:

Your school has been selected for the 2020-21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS). Data from the 2015–16 NTPS show that:

• A majority of public school principals held a master’s degree (61 percent) as their highest degree, compared to an education specialist/professional diploma at least one year beyond the master’s level (27 percent), a doctorate/first professional degree (10 percent), or a bachelor’s degree or less (2 percent).

• Nationwide, about 21 percent of public schools offered at least one course entirely online, and among schools offering online courses, relatively more public charter schools offered all of their classes online (14 percent) than traditional public schools (5 percent).

• On average, regular full-time teachers in public schools spent 53 hours per week on all school-related activities. That includes 27 hours that they were paid to deliver instruction to students during a typical full week. Public school teachers were required to work an average of 38 hours per week to receive their base pay.

These statistics are just a few of the results that the NTPS provides to help researchers and policymakers learn about our nation’s schools, principals, and teachers. The NTPS is administered every other year by the U.S. Census Bureau on behalf of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical agency within the U.S. Department of Education, and is the only national survey that provides this kind of information. All schools and students ultimately benefit when good data help legislators and administrators make good decisions. In addition, NTPS data allows you to compare your school with other schools <in State/across the country>.

The NTPS has been endorsed by several organizations, including <prominent local and/or national endorser(s)>. You can find additional information about NTPS and results from prior NTPS administrations at https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps.

There is nothing to do right now but we will be in contact with your school later this summer. We look forward to your school’s participation in this important survey.

Sincerely,

James L. Woodworth, Ph.D.

Commissioner

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

U.S. Department of Education

NTPS Private School Pre-contact Letter

( 2=Private schools that are not Amish or Mennonite; 2A = Amish and Mennonite schools)

<Date>

<School Name>

<Mailing Address>

<City, State, ZIP Code>

Dear Principal:

Your school has been selected for the 2020-21 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS). Data from the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), the predecessor of the NTPS, show that:

• More private school principals held a master’s degree (50 percent) as their highest degree, compared to those with a bachelor’s degree or less (31 percent), an education specialist/professional diploma (10 percent), or a doctorate/first professional degree (10 percent).

• Among private schools, 39 percent overall, 51 percent of city schools, 44 percent of suburban schools, 23 percent of town schools, and 25 percent of rural schools had teachers or staff with specialist or coaching assignments.

• On average, regular full-time teachers in both public and private schools spent 52 hours per week on all school-related activities. That includes 31 hours that they were paid to deliver instruction to students during a typical full week. Both groups of teachers were required to work 38 hours per week to receive their base pay.

These statistics are just a few of the results that the NTPS provides to help researchers and policymakers learn about our nation’s schools, principals, and teachers. The NTPS is administered every other year by the U.S. Census Bureau on behalf of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the statistical agency within the U.S. Department of Education, and is the only national survey that provides this kind of information. All schools and students ultimately benefit when good data help legislators and administrators make good decisions. [2: In addition, NTPS data allows you to compare your school with other schools <in State/across the country>.]

The NTPS has been endorsed by several organizations, including <prominent local and/or national endorser(s)>. [2: You can find additional information about NTPS and results from prior NTPS administrations at https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps.]

There is nothing to do right now but we will be in contact with your school later this summer. We look forward to your school’s participation in this important survey.

Sincerely,

James L. Woodworth, Ph.D.

Commissioner

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

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