Change Summary

The High School and Beyond 2021 (HS&B:21) (OMB #1850-0944 v.7)

60-day to 30-day Change Summary

The High School and Beyond 2021 study (HS&B:21) will be the sixth in a series of longitudinal studies at the high school level conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education. HS&B:21 will follow a nationally representative sample of ninth grade students from the start of high school in the fall of 2021 to the spring of 2024 when most will be in twelfth grade. A field test will be conducted one year prior to the full-scale study. The study sample will be freshened in 2024 to create a nationally representative sample of twelfth-grade students. A high school transcript collection and additional follow-up data collections beyond high school are also planned.

In preparation for the HS&B:21 Base-Year Full-Scale study (BYFS), scheduled to take place in the fall of 2021, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) approved (OMB# 1850-0944 v.1-5) a request to conduct the HS&B:21 Base-Year Field Test (BYFT) and the BYFS sampling and state, school district, school, and parent recruitment activities, both of which began in the fall of 2019. These activities include collecting student rosters and selecting the BYFS sample. BYFT activities ended in December 2019.

This submission is to request approval for the Fall 2021 BYFS study data collection. The study initially planned to conduct its BYFS data collection in the fall of 2020. A 60-day review of an earlier version of this package was completed between February and April 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided to postpone this collection for one year. OMB provided approval to adjust the schedule in June 2020 (OMB# 1850-0944 v.6).

The 30-day public comment and review period, which will take place in September 2020, presents edited versions of the documents that completed the 60-day review earlier in 2020, edited to reflect the delay due to the coronavirus pandemic and other small changes that arose in the interim. This document summarizes the changes made to all documents between the 60-day and 30-day periods and is presented as a guide to readers to assist in their read of the package materials.

Globally:

• All references to the High School and Beyond Longitudinal Study of 2020 (HS&B:20) were updated to High School and Beyond Longitudinal Study of 2021 (HS&B:21). Study dates were updated to reflect a fall 2021 base year data collection with a follow-up in spring 2025.

• References to field test or 12^th grade were removed

• Email address updated from [email protected] to [email protected]

• IES logo was updated to current IES logo

• Text referring to the website and study video was streamlined throughout.

Part A:

• A.1 The change in the study timeline was explained and text was adapted to reflect the current ask.

• A.2 A minor text deletion was made to reflect the current content of the instruments.

• A.9. School incentives were updated to include the school-level reports and webinars for school staff. Incentives were also updated to reflect a choice between check, gift card, or cash, as applicable by respondent.

• A.11 Minor additions and deletions were made in the text to reflect the current content of the instruments.

• A.12. Burden estimates were updated as follows:

  • Student survey 20 minutes to 25 minutes

  • Student math assessment 40 minutes to 30 minutes

  • Student hearing and vision assessments 10 minutes to 5 minutes.

• A.16. The schedule was updated to reflect the one-year delay in data collection activities.

Part B:

• B.2 Text and Table 3 were added regarding the release of the remaining reserve sample

• B.3 Text was added as follows:

  • Field test references were changed to past tense throughout this section.

  • Added text about the webinars to be delivered after data collection is completed.

  • Added information about school reports to be delivered to schools after initial data release.

  • Updated enclosure information for district and diocesan notification and recruitment mailings.

  • Reference to the reading assessment not being included in the out of school administration has been removed.

Part C:

• Updated justifications to reflect revisions to the content of the surveys.

Appendix A:

• A2a. State Notification Letter. A new letter was created to reflect the reboot of recruitment

• A3. District Notification and Recruitment Letter (previously approved- now modified). Simplified language, added webinar incentive, updated the list of enclosures, added HS&B Snapshot box in lieu of call out boxes

• A3a. HS&B:21 District Notification Letter – District Post-Delay Recontact Letter (New)

• A4a. School Recruitment Letter . Simplified language and added HS&B Snapshot in lieu of call out boxes.

• A4b. School Coordinator Overview. SC checklist moved to this appendix from appendix A4b1, but the content has not changed.

• A4c, School Thank You Letter. Made minor text changes

• A4d. School Participation Reminder Emails. Updated content, resources, and links

• A4e. HS&B:21 School Recruitment Letter – School Post-Delay Recontact Letter (New)

• A5. Parent permission letters. Reformatted each of the letters to look more like a flyer and streamlined language.

• A6a. Study Information Sheet . Simplified language, added content

• A6b. Frequently Asked Questions.

  • Updated the layout of the document

  • Revised ‘why is HS&B:21’ important to use more plain language

  • Added question ‘why did my school get selected’

  • Updated benefits of participation to include the school-level report and opportunity for an interactive webinar

  • Added ‘how do you select the students’ to include a statement that all students will have a chance to be selected regardless of race, gender, disability, or ELL status.

• A7a. Recruitment text website. Added a section to list endorsing organizations

• A8b4. Participation postcard for out of school data collection (NEW)

• A8b5. Sorry I missed you card (NEW)

• A9a-A9g. Assessment and Survey summaries. Updated to reflect changes made between the field test and the main study.

• A10- Student Rostering Materials

  • Added IEP/504 Plan to the list of data elements requested

  • Added detailed upload instructions

• A11.1a. Reminder postcard for parent data collection (New)

• A11.1b. Postcard for abbreviated parent survey (New)

• A12a-12c.3 Staff Data Collection Letters and reminder emails. Incentive reference changed to generic language

• A14 Information Materials (New)

  • Lead Postcards

  • Information materials

  • Virtual PPT slides

Appendix B:

• B1. Student Roster Template. Added IEP/504 status column

• B2. Student instrument. Changed student instrument time estimate from 20 minutes to 25 minutes.

• B2-B8.

  • Note to OMB Reviewers. We added a guide to reading the content summaries that precede each instrument.

  • Introductory text (i.e., Respondent Identity Verification screens, Welcome/Welcome Back message, Inactivity Warning and Timeout messages) was revised and updated with correct Spanish translations for both student and parent respondents

  • Removed the former Instrument Language Selection specifications

  • Changes tables were updated for all instruments to demonstrate comprehensive, substantive changes in the survey instruments from BYFT to BYFS

  • Survey instrument specifications were replaced with most-recent versions