Change Memo

Memorandum United States Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

National Center for Education Statistics

DATE: May 31, 2021

TO: Robert Sivinski, OMB

THROUGH: Carrie Clarady, NCES

FROM: Elise Christopher, NCES

SUBJECT: High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09) Panel Maintenance 2018-2021 Change Memo (OMB# 1850-0852 v.29)

The High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:09), conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics in the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of Education, began with a cohort of ninth-grade students in the fall of 2009. The purpose of the study is to understand the high school experience and the school, community, family, and social aspects that influence student decision-making as they transition from middle school to high school, and from high school to postsecondary education, the military, and/or the workforce. Follow-ups have occurred in spring 2012, summer-fall 2013, spring 2016-January 2017, and a collection of administrative records (such as high school transcripts and postsecondary transcripts). The most recent panel maintenance activity for this cohort was conducted in 2018.

This change memo is to modify the approved plan for the 2021 panel maintenance. These modifications include collecting updated contact information from both students and parents and removing the intensive tracing efforts for this round of panel maintenance.

Part A

The following text has been modified:

A.1.a. Purpose of this submission (p. 1)

The enclosed here panel maintenance materials are based upon those approved in November 2017 (OMB# 1850-0852 v.27) and in November 2018 (v.28) for use in 2018.This request is to update the contact materials and adjust plans to conduct panel maintenance with both students and their parent.

A.12 Estimates of Response Burden

The total estimated burden time cost to individual survey respondents is $21,060 13,514 (778 burden hours at a $27.07 17.37 hourly rate¹).

Exhibit A-3. Estimated burden for HSLS:09 panel maintenance

Data collection activity	Sample	Expected response rate	Number of respondents	Number of responses	Average burden per response (minutes)	Total burden (hours)
Address data collection from individuals
Panel maintenance 2018	23,316	20%	4,663	4,663	5	389
Panel maintenance 2021
Students	23,316	20%	4,663	4,663	5	389
Parents	23,316	20%	4,663	4,663	5	389
Total Burden			9,326	9,326		778

Note: This request is for 2021 panel maintenance. The rows in grey were previously approved; the 2018 panel maintenance is ongoing and is being carried over in this request.

A.14 Costs to the Federal Government

Exhibit A-4. Costs to NCES for panel maintenance activities

Costs to NCES	Amount
Total HSLS:09 panel maintenance costs	$368,169 462,960
Salaries and expenses	$75,000
Contract costs	$293,139 387,960

A.15 Reasons for Changes in Response Burden and Costs

The apparent decrease in respondent burden is due to the fact that the last clearance was for HSLS:09 Second Follow-up Main Study and 2018 Panel Maintenance, while this submission is for the 2018 and 2021 Panel Maintenance only. There is no apparent increase in total respondent burden, as we are no longer carrying forward the burden of the 2018 panel maintenance activities. The increase in respondent burden for the 2021 panel maintenance activities is because we are now requesting the full burden for the 2021 panel maintenance activities, which will include contact with both the students and their parent. Otherwise, panel maintenance activities in 2021 are expected to be the same as panel maintenance activities in 2018.

A.16 Publication Plans and Project Schedule

The operational schedule for the 2021 HSLS:09 panel maintenance is shown in Exhibit A‑5. The 2018 HSLS:09 panel maintenance will end ended in late 2018.

Exhibit A-5. Operational schedule for HSLS:09 second follow-up

HSLS:09 activity	Start date	End date
2021 Panel maintenance
Panel Maintenance	57/1/2021	11/1/2021
Batch tracing	57/1/2021	57/30/2021
Mailings to sample member and contacts	68/1/2021	68/7/2021
Collect contact information update data	8/1/20216/7/2021	11/1/2021

Part B

The following text has been modified:

Introduction

Panel maintenance activities were approved through December of 2018 (OMB # 1850-0852 v.17-28 27). This request is to update the contact materials and adjust plans to conduct panel maintenance with both students and their parent extend this activity through November of 2021.

B.3.a Locating

1. Panel maintenance to maintain up-to-date contact information for sample members.²

2. Advance tracing includes batch database searches and contact information updates and intensive tracing that will be conducted prior to the start of data collection.

3. Prompting sample members with mail and e-mail contacts will maintain regular contact with sample members and encourage them to complete the survey.

4. Telephone locating and interviewing includes calling all available telephone numbers and following up on leads provided by parents and other contacts. Interviewers will take full advantage of the contacting information available for parents and other contacts (for this cohort, parent contact information is often more reliable than sample member contact information).

5. Pre-intensive batch tracing consists of the Premium Phone searches that will be conducted between the telephone locating and interviewing stage and the intensive tracing stage.

6. Intensive tracing consists of tracers checking all telephone numbers and conducting credit bureau database searches after all current telephone numbers have been exhausted.

7. Other locating activities will take place as needed and include additional tracing resources (e.g., matches to Department of Education financial aid data sources) that are not part of the previous stages.

B.5 Reviewing Statisticians and Individuals Responsible for Study Design

The following RTI staff work on the statistical aspects of the study design: Mr. Daniel Pratt Ms. Melissa Cominole and Dr. David Wilson Dr. Steven Ingels, Dr. Emilia Peytcheva, Dr. Andy Peytchev, and Dr. Jeff Rosen. The following RTI staff led other HSLS:09 activities: Ms. Colleen Spagnardi, Ms. Debbie Herget, Ms. Laura Fritch, Mr. Saju Joshua, Ms. Tiffany Mattox, Dr. Alexandria Radford, Mr. Jim Rogers, Mr. Ethan Ritchie, and Ms. Jacquie Goeking and Ms. Jamie Wescott.

Appendices A - C

No changes.

Appendix D

The following text has been modified:

Panel Maintenance Address Update Paper Form - Example

By updating our records, we will be better able to notify [you/him/her] when it is time for the next round of HSLS:09 for future rounds of HSLS:09.

1. [SAMPLE MEMBERS ONLY] May we send you a text message reminder when for future data collections begins?

• Yes -> Please enter your cell provider here: ________

• No

5. Please provide the name and address of the college, trade school, or other higher education institution that [you/CaseName] attend. Please do not use abbreviated school names (e.g., use Arizona State University, rather than ASU).

	School Name:
	School City and State:

Panel Maintenance Address Update Web Form - Example

By updating our records, we will be better able to notify [you/him/her] when it is time for the next round of HSLS:09 for future rounds of HSLS:09.

1. [SAMPLE MEMBERS ONLY] May we send you a text message reminder when for future data collections begins?

• Yes -> Please enter your cell provider here: ________

• No

5. Please provide the name and address of the college, trade school, or other higher education institution that [you/CaseName] attend. Please do not use abbreviated school names (e.g., use Arizona State University, rather than ASU).

	School Name:
	School City and State:

Panel Maintenance Letter - Example

As we prepare for the next future phases of HSLS:09, which will begin in <date>, we are updating our contact information for study participants. Please update [your/CaseName’s] contact information and current educational status. The success of this national longitudinal study depends on having the most up-to-date contact information for all of the young adults involved in HSLS:09.

Please visit our website and use the study ID provided above to complete this information. If you prefer, you may fill out the enclosed address update form and send it back in the return envelope provided or call us at <tollfreephone>. The update should take approximately 5 minutes to complete. <If panel maintenance incentive: We will send you $<inc-amt> as a token of appreciation for updating your contact information.>

As in prior rounds of HSLS:09, we will ask [you/CaseName] to complete a questionnaire, and [your/his/her] ongoing participation in HSLS:09 is critically important to the study’s success. If you have any questions about HSLS:09 or about updating [your/CaseName’s] contact information, please call the HSLS:09 help desk at RTI, toll-free, at <tollfreephone>.

Panel Maintenance Letter - Example

<If panel maintenance incentive: As a token of our appreciation, we will send you $<inc-amt> for updating your contact information.>

Panel Maintenance Reminder Postcard – Sample Member/Parent

May we send a text message reminder to your mobile phone? If yes, please provide your mobile service provider.

1 The hourly rate was obtained by taking the average of the median weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers among high school graduates with no college and individuals with some college or an associate’s degree; per Table 5 - Quartiles and selected deciles of usual weekly earnings of full-time wage and salary workers by selected characteristics, 1^st quarter 2018 averages, not seasonally adjusted. http://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/wkyeng.pdf. The average hourly earnings derived from May 2020 Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) Occupation Employment and Wage Statistics is $27.07.Source: BLS Occupation Employment Statistics, http://data.bls.gov/oes/ datatype: Occupation codes: All occupations (00-0000).

22018 panel maintenance activities for the main study were approved as part of OMB #1850-0852 v.17-21 and are underway completed. Approval to conduct the subsequent round of panel maintenance in 2021 is being requested as part of this submission.