ISMS charter survey v7_for OMB 30 day_to IES_102320_CLEAN

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OMB Expiration Date: xx/xx/xxxx

National Survey of Charter School Admissions

Welcome to the National Survey of Charter School Admissions! This questionnaire is part of a national evaluation of school choice being conducted for the U.S. Department of Education by Mathematica. The questionnaire asks about your school’s applications and student admissions, including the use of an admissions lottery, if applicable. Your responses will help us better understand how school choice and admissions systems are working in charter schools and inform potential research studies.

We want you to know that:

• This survey is voluntary. You may skip any questions you do not wish to answer; however, we ask that you answer all of the questions that you can.

• If you complete the survey by [Date 3 weeks post-launch], you will receive a $50 gift card as a thank you for your time; if you complete the survey after [Date 3 weeks post-launch] you will receive a $25 gift card.

• The survey is estimated to take 20 minutes to complete. You can complete the survey in one session or, you may complete it in multiple, shorter sessions. To close out of the survey and return to it at a later time, simply close the window. Your responses will be saved and when you reenter the survey, you will be taken to where you left off in the previous session.

• Mathematica Policy Research follows the confidentiality and data protection requirements of the Institute of Education Sciences at the Department of Education (Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, Part E, Section 183). Responses to this data collection will be used only for research purposes. The reports prepared for the study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific district, school, or individual. We will not provide information that identifies respondents to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

• If you have any questions about the survey, please contact [INSERT PROJECT EMAIL AND TOLL-FREE NUMBER]

• Participation in this survey will not impose any risks to you as a respondent. If you have any questions about your rights as a study participant, please contact Health Media Lab Institutional Review Board at [email protected] or (202) 753-5040.

Thank you for your help with this important survey.

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 1850-0943. We estimate that it will take about 20 minutes to read the instructions, gather the facts, and answer the questions. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimates or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, D.C. 20202-4651. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, 550 12th Street, SW, Washington, D.C. 20202

To begin the survey, please click “Begin Survey” below.

S. INTRODUCTION

S1. Do you agree to take part in this survey?

SELECT ONE ONLY

 Yes, I agree to take part in this survey 1

 No, I do not agree to take part in this survey 0 END

S2. Is your school a charter school?

Select one only

1  Yes

0  No - GO TO S5

S3. Is your school part of a district or local education agency (LEA) that includes other charter or non-charter schools?

Select one only

1  Yes, my school is part of a district or LEA that includes non-charter schools (traditional public schools or magnet schools)

2  Yes, my school is part of a district or LEA with charter schools only

0  No, my school is not part of a district or LEA with other schools

S4. Is your school part of a charter school network or charter management organization?

Select one only

1  Yes

0  No

RESPONDENTS INDICATING their SCHOOL IS NOT A CHARTER SCHOOL [S2=0]

S5. Please confirm whether your school is a charter school:

Select one only

1  My school IS a charter school – GO TO S3

0  My school is NOT a charter school – GO TO EXIT SURVEY TEXT

EXIT SURVEY TEXT: YOU DO NOT NEED TO COMPLETE THIS SURVEY. THANK YOU FOR YOUR TIME.

A. APPLICATION AND ADMISSIONS PROCESS

ALL RESPONDENTS

A1. We want to understand how students applied for admission to your school for this school year (2020-21). Which of the following options best describes how students applied for admission to attend your school for the 2020-21 school year?

Select one only

1  Some or all students could apply to our school using a common application also accepted by other local schools [HOVER TEXT: “Local schools” may include other charter schools, “traditional” public schools, or other district-run schools (including magnet schools) located within your public school district or the public school district in which your school is geographically located.]

2  Students had to submit a separate, specific application to attend our school GO TO A3

Schools that use a common application [A1=1]

A2. Which types of local schools [HOVER TEXT: “Local schools” may include other charter schools, “traditional” public schools, or other district-run schools (including magnet schools) located within your public school district or the public school district in which your school is geographically located.] accepted the same common application as your school for admission to attend in 2020-21? Select “Yes” if ANY schools of that type used the same common application as your school.

	SELECT ONE PER ROW
	Yes	No	Not sure
a. Other charter schools within our network or charter management organization	1 	0 	2 
b. Other charter schools outside our network or charter management organization	1 	0 	2 
c. Traditional public schools or other district-run schools (including magnet schools)	1 	0 	2 

Schools that use a common application that includes any traditional public or other district-run schools [A2c=1]

A2a. About how many local [HOVER TEXT: “Local schools” may include other charter schools, “traditional” public schools, or other district-run schools (including magnet schools) located within your public school district or the public school district in which your school is geographically located.] traditional public or other district-run schools accepted the same common application as your school for admission to attend in 2020-21?

Select one only

1  0-9 schools

2  10-19 schools

3  20 or more schools

4  Not sure

ALL RESPONDENTS

A3. Did your school use a lottery (or other randomized admissions process) for ANY student applicants to determine admission to attend in 2020-21?

Select one only

1  Yes

2  No, because a lottery was not necessary this year. Our school would have used a lottery if there wasn’t enough space to serve all the students who applied.

3  No, because our school never uses a lottery. Our school uses some other (non-randomized) process to determine which students are admitted. GO TO B1

schools that used a lottery for 2020-21 [A3=1]

A4. Which of the following options best describes the lottery to determine admission to attend your school for the 2020-21 school year?

Select one only

1  The lottery was part of a common or unified lottery that determined admission to attend our charter school as well as other schools

2  The lottery only affected admission to attend our charter school

schools that did not use a lottery in 2020-21 but would have if needed [A3=2]

A5. Which of the following options best describes the lottery you would use, if needed, to determine admission to your school?

Select one only

1  The lottery would be part of a common or unified lottery that determines admission to our charter school as well as other schools

2  The lottery would only affect admission to our charter school

schools that were part of a unified lottery in 2020-21 [A4=1]

A6. Which types of local schools were included in the same unified lottery for admission to attend in 2020-21 as your school? Select “Yes” if ANY schools of that type were included in the same unified lottery as your school.

	SELECT ONE PER ROW
School Type	Yes	No	Not sure
a. Other charter schools within our network or charter management organization	1 	0 	2 
b. Other charter schools outside our network or charter management organization	1 	0 	2 
c. Traditional public schools or other district-run schools (including magnet schools)	1 	0 	2 

schools that would have been part of a unified lottery if needed [A5=1]

A7. Which types of local schools would be included in the same unified lottery for admission as your school, if one was needed? Select “Yes” if ANY schools of that type would be included in the same unified lottery as your school.

	SELECT ONE PER ROW
School Type	Yes	No	Not sure
a. Other charter schools within our network or charter management organization	1 	0 	2 
b. Other charter schools outside our network or charter management organization	1 	0 	2 
c. Traditional public schools or other district-run schools (including magnet schools)	1 	0 	2 

Schools that were part of a unified lottery in 2020-21 that included any traditional public or other district-run schools [a6c=1]

A8a. About how many local traditional public or other district-run schools [HOVER TEXT: These include “traditional” public schools or other district-run schools (including magnet schools) located within your public school district or the public school district in which your school is geographically located.] were included in the same unified lottery as your school for admission to attend in 2020-21?

Select one only

1  0-9 schools

2  10-19 schools

3  20 schools or more

4  Not sure

Schools that would have been part of a unified lottery that included any traditional public or other district-run schools [a7c=1]

A8b. About how many local traditional public or other district-run schools [HOVER TEXT: These include “traditional” public schools or other district-run schools (including magnet schools) located within your public school district or the public school district in which your school is geographically located.] would be included in the same unified lottery as your school, if one was needed?

Select one only

1  0-9 schools

2  10-19 schools

3  20 or more schools

4  Not sure

schools that used a lottery for 2020-21 [A3=1]

A9. Which organization(s) were responsible for each of the following activities to admit students to your school for the 2020-21 school year?

If your school is its own LEA, please select “our school” where applicable, not “our school district (if applicable) or the public school district in which your school is geographically located.”

MARK ALL THAT APPLY

1. Collecting application forms?

1  Our school

2  Our local charter network or charter management organization

3  Our school district (if applicable) or the public school district in which our school is geographically located

4  A state-level department or administrator

5  A third party firm or contractor

2. Conducting the lottery (determining who is admitted and who is assigned to a waitlist)?

1  Our school

2  Our local charter network or charter management organization

3  Our school district (if applicable) or the public school district in which our school is geographically located

4  A state-level department or administrator

5  A third party firm or contractor

3. After the lottery, identifying how many students have enrolled and how many can be admitted from the waitlist?

1  Our school

2  Our local charter network or charter management organization

3  Our school district (if applicable) or the public school district in which our school is geographically located

4  A state-level department or administrator

5  A third party firm or contractor

schools that did not use a lottery in 2020-21 but would have if needed [A3=2]

A10. Which organization(s) would be responsible for each of the following activities to admit students, if a lottery was necessary?

If your school is its own LEA, please select “our school” where applicable, not “our school district (if applicable) or the public school district in which our school is geographically located.”

MARK ALL THAT APPLY

1. Collecting application forms?

1  Our school

2  Our local charter network or charter management organization

3  Our school district (if applicable) or the public school district in which our school is geographically located

4  A state-level department or administrator

5  A third party firm or contractor

2. Conducting the lottery (determining who is admitted and who is assigned to a waitlist)?

1  Our school

2  Our local charter network or charter management organization

3  Our school district (if applicable) or the public school district in which our school is geographically located

4  A state-level department or administrator

5  A third party firm or contractor

3. After the lottery, identifying how many students have enrolled and how many can be admitted from the waitlist?

1  Our school

2  Our local charter network or charter management organization

3  Our school district (if applicable) or the public school district in which our school is geographically located

4  A state-level department or administrator

5  A third party firm or contractor

B. ADMISSIONS PRIORITIES

ALL RESPONDENTS

B1. Some charter schools prioritize specific groups of students to admit. For example, a school may give a higher chance of admission to applicants who have siblings already attending their school.

For each of the following groups of students, please indicate whether they were automatically given admission, otherwise given priority, or not given priority over any other students when applying for admission to your school for the 2020-21 school year.

	Select one per row
	Automatically guaranteed admission	Given priority over other students in admissions	Not given priority over other students in admissions
a. Students with siblings currently attending or offered admission to the school	1 	2 	3 
b. Students currently attending another charter school(s) within the same local charter network or organization	1 	2 	3 
c. Students from families with high socioeconomic status	1 	2 	3 
d. Students from families with low socioeconomic status	1 	2 	3 
e. Students with high academic achievement	1 	2 	3 
f. Students with low academic achievement	1 	2 	3 
g. Students with disabilities	1 	2 	3 
h. Students considered “at risk”	1 	2 	3 
i. Students NOT considered “at risk”	1 	2 	3 
j. Students residing in particular neighborhood zone(s)	1 	2 	3 
k. Students from area of residence or base/default school(s) considered high socioeconomic status	1 	2 	3 
l. Students from area of residence or base/default school(s) considered low socioeconomic status	1 	2 	3 
m. Students whose parent or guardian works for the school or the charter network	1 	2 	3 
n. [IF MIDDLE SCHOOL OR HIGH SCHOOL]: Students enrolling from an associated feeder school	1 	2 	3 
o. Other (specify): _______________________	1 	2 	3 

schools that give priority (other than automatic admission) to two or more groups of students [b1a-b1o=2]

item will only show ROWS Where the corresponding row in B1=2

B2. For the groups of students given priority in the admissions process but NOT automatically guaranteed admission, please RANK the [IF 2 GROUPS: two; IF 3 OR MORE GROUPS: three] groups with the HIGHEST PRIORITY in admissions to your school for the 2020-21 school year.

[IF 2 GROUPS] Enter a value of “1” for the highest priority group and “2” for the second-highest priority group.

[IF 3 OR MORE GROUPS] Enter a value of “1” for the highest priority group, “2” for the second-highest priority group, and “3” for the third-highest priority group.

	Rank the [2/3] highest priority groups
a. Students with siblings currently attending or offered admission to the school	|__|
b. Students currently attending another charter school(s) within the same local charter network or organization	|__|
c. Students from families with high socioeconomic status	|__|
d. Students from families with low socioeconomic status	|__|
e. Students with high academic achievement	|__|
f. Students with low academic achievement	|__|
g. Students with disabilities	|__|
h. Students considered “at risk”	|__|
i. Students NOT considered “at risk”	|__|
j. Students residing in a particular neighborhood zone	|__|
k. Students from area of residence or base/default school(s) considered high socioeconomic status	|__|
l. Students from area of residence or base/default school(s) considered low socioeconomic status	|__|
m. Students whose parent or guardian works for the school or the charter network	|__|
n. [IF MIDDLE SCHOOL OR HIGH SCHOOL]: Students enrolling from an associated feeder school	|__|
o. Other (specify): _______________________	|__|

schools that give priority (other than automatic admission) to two or more groups of students [b1a-b1o=2]

B3. For student groups receiving priority in admissions for your school, which of the following options most accurately reflects HOW those groups were treated differently in the admissions process for the 2020-21 school year?

If this differed for different student groups, please select the option that applied to the most students.

Select one only

1  Students in the highest priority group were all offered admission before moving on to the group with the next highest priority

2  Students in priority groups received higher weights or probabilities of admission than other students

3  Quotas, predetermined ratios, or a specific number or percentage of reserved seats were allocated for different priority groups

4  Not sure

schools that guarantee admission to siblings, students in a specific neighborhood, or students from a feeder school [B1a=1 or b1j=1 or b1m=1 OR B1n = 1]

item will ONLY SHOW ROWS WHERE the CORRESPONDING ROW In b1=1

B4. Now please think about all students who currently attend your school.

Among all students currently attending your school, please estimate the percentage of students who were initially guaranteed admission because they were included in the following group(s). Your best guess is fine.

	Percentage of current student body guaranteed admission because they were in this group
a. Students with siblings currently attending the school	|__|__|__| %
b. Students residing in a particular neighborhood zone	|__|__|__| %
c. Students whose parent or guardian works for the school or the charter network	|__|__|__| %
d. [IF MIDDLE SCHOOL OR HIGH SCHOOL]: Students enrolling from an associated feeder school	|__|__|__| %

C. NUMBER OF APPLICATIONS AND LOTTERY PARTICIPANTS

ALL RESPONDENTS

C1. The next series of questions will help us better understand how many students were interested in attending your school and how many ultimately enrolled. In any of the grades in your school, was the number of applicants for admission to attend in 2020-21 higher than the number of seats available for new students?

Select one only

1  Yes

0  No GO TO D1

schools that are oversubscribed in at least one grade [C1=1]

only show rows that are offered by the school

C2. For each of the following grades at your school, was the number of applicants for admission to attend in 2020-21 higher than the number of seats available for new students?

	Select one per row
	Yes	No	Grade not offered	Not sure
a. Pre-K for three-year-olds	1 	0 	2 	d 
b. Pre-K for four-year-olds	1 	0 	2 	d 
c. Kindergarten	1 	0 	2 	d 
d. 1st grade	1 	0 	2 	d 
e. 2nd grade	1 	0 	2 	d 
f. 3rd grade	1 	0 	2 	d 
g. 4th grade	1 	0 	2 	d 
h. 5th grade	1 	0 	2 	d 
i. 6th grade	1 	0 	2 	d 
j. 7th grade	1 	0 	2 	d 
k. 8th grade	1 	0 	2 	d 
l. 9th grade	1 	0 	2 	d 
m. 10th grade	1 	0 	2 	d 
n. 11th grade	1 	0 	2 	d 
o. 12th grade	1 	0 	2 	d 

set lowest grade = (first row where c2 = 1)

schools that are oversubscribed in at least one grade [C1=1]

only show rows where corresponding row in c2 = 1

C3. For each grade where the number of applicants was higher than the number of seats available for new students to attend in 2020-21, approximately how many students were placed on the waitlist immediately after the lottery?

	Number of students on waitlist
a. Pre-K for three-year-olds	|__|__|__|
b. Pre-K for four-year-olds	|__|__|__|
c. Kindergarten	|__|__|__|
d. 1st grade	|__|__|__|
e. 2nd grade	|__|__|__|
f. 3rd grade	|__|__|__|
g. 4th grade	|__|__|__|
h. 5th grade	|__|__|__|
i. 6th grade	|__|__|__|
j. 7th grade	|__|__|__|
k. 8th grade	|__|__|__|
k. 9th grade	|__|__|__|
m. 10th grade	|__|__|__|
n. 11th grade	|__|__|__|
o. 12th grade	|__|__|__|

schools that are oversubscribed in at least one grade [C1=1] and do not use a unified lottery [a4 = 2]

C4. For grade [LOWEST GRADE], please estimate the following information about the lottery for admission to attend in 2020-21. Your best guess is fine.

	Number of students
a. Total number of seats available to new students for this grade	| | | |
b. Number of applicants for this grade who were automatically guaranteed admission (for example, students currently enrolled in a feeder school) [HOVER TEXT: “Students are automatically guaranteed admission if they will be admitted regardless of how many students apply: if there are more students in this group than the available number of seats, the school would have to expand and let all of the students enroll.”	| | | |
c. Number of applicants for this grade whose admission was determined via lottery (students who were not automatically guaranteed admission)	| | | |
d. Maximum number of students the school had capacity to enroll via lottery for this grade [programming soft check: should equal a minus b]	| | | |
e. Number of lottery participants offered admission initially, based on lottery results	| | | |
f. Number of lottery participants not offered admission initially, based on lottery results (initial lottery “losers”) [programming soft check: should equal c minus e]	| | | |

D. CHARTER SCHOOL EXPANSION PLANS

ALL RESPONDENTS

D1. We’d like to understand whether your school is interested in expanding to serve more students and what barriers it may face in doing so.

Which of the following best describes your school’s desire to expand its capacity to serve more students? Our school:

MARK ALL THAT APPLY

1  Would currently like to expand our capacity to serve more students

2  Previously wanted to expand our capacity to serve more students, but was unsuccessful due to barriers encountered in the past

3  Succeeded in meeting prior expansion goals and does not want to expand further

4  Has never wanted to expand our capacity [SKIP TO SECTION I (CONTACT INFORMATION)]

school currently wants to expand [D1=1]

D2. Charter schools have several different ways to expand their capacity. Which of the following ways of expanding is your school CURRENTLY interested in pursuing? [IF D1=2: We’ll ask about your PREVIOUS expansion plans separately in the next item.]

	Select one per row
	Yes	No
a. Expanding the number of grades taught at our school	1 	0 
b. Expanding the number of students in individual grades	1 	0 
c. Starting a new branch or campus of our school (creating or enlarging a network)	1 	0 
d. Other (specify): _____________________________________________	1 	0 

school previously wanted to expand [D1=2]

D2a. Charter schools have several different ways to expand their capacity. Which of the following ways of expanding was your school PREVIOUSLY interested in pursuing?

	Select one per row
	Yes	No
a. Expanding the number of grades taught at our school	1 	0 
b. Expanding the number of students in individual grades	1 	0 
c. Starting a new branch or campus of our school (creating or enlarging a network)	1 	0 
d. Other (specify): _____________________________________________	1 	0 

schools that currently want to expand [d1=1]

item will ONLY SHOW a-d IF CORRESPONDING ROW In d2=1

D3. For each of the ways in which you indicated your school is potentially interested in expanding its capacity, which of the following options most accurately reflects the current status of those expansion plans?

Select one only

1. Expanding the number of grades taught at the school

1  Our school has active plans to expand that will take effect within the next three years

2  Our school has active plans to expand, but the timing of expansion is uncertain

3  Our school does not currently have active plans to expand in this way

4  I am not sure about the expansion plan’s status

2. Expanding the number of students in individual grades

1  Our school has active plans to expand that will take effect within the next three years

2  Our school has active plans to expand, but the timing of expansion is uncertain

3  Our school does not currently have active plans to expand in this way

4  I am not sure about the expansion plan’s status

3. Starting a new branch or campus of the school (creating or enlarging a network)

1  Our school has active plans to expand that will take effect within the next three years

2  Our school has active plans to expand, but the timing of expansion is uncertain

3  Our school does not currently have active plans to expand in this way

4  I am not sure about the expansion plan’s status

4. Other ways to expand capacity

1  Our school has active plans to expand that will take effect within the next three years

2  Our school has active plans to expand, but the timing of expansion is uncertain

3  Our school does not currently have active plans to expand in this way

4  I am not sure about the expansion plan’s status

schools that currently want to expand [d1=1]

D4. Expansion can pose many challenges or barriers for schools. Is your school currently facing any challenges while trying to expand, or did it face challenges in the past when it tried to expand?

Select one only

1  Yes, our school is currently facing challenges to expansion

2  Yes, our school faced challenges to expansion in the past, but is not currently

0  No, our school has not faced challenges to expansion, either currently or in the past [SKIP TO SECTION I (CONTACT INFORMATION)]

schools that currently or previously faced barriers to expansion [d1=2 or d4=1 or d4=2]

item will ONLY SHOW a-d if CORRESPONDING ROW In d2 or D2a =1

D5. For each way that your school [IF D4=1: is interested in expanding, what are the challenges that are currently hindering expansion; IF D4=2: is interested in expanding, what were the challenges that hindered expansion in the past; IF D1=2: was interested in expanding, what challenges prevent your school from pursuing further expansion today]? Please mark all that apply for each method of expansion, based on the descriptions below.

MArk all that apply

1. Expanding the number of grades taught at the school

1  Not enough student or parent interest

2  Not enough support from the current school community (staff and/or families)

3  Difficulty securing funding for expansion

4  Difficulty securing appropriate facilities for expansion, such as a larger building

5  Difficulty hiring enough staff

6  State or local regulations make expansion difficult or impossible

2. Expanding the number of students in individual grades

1  Not enough student or parent interest

2  Not enough support from the current school community (staff and/or families)

3  Difficulty securing funding for expansion

4  Difficulty securing appropriate facilities for expansion, such as a larger building

5  Difficulty hiring enough staff

6  State or local regulations make expansion difficult or impossible

3. Starting a new branch or campus of the school (creating or enlarging a network)

1  Not enough student or parent interest

2  Not enough support from the current school community (staff and/or families)

3  Difficulty securing funding for expansion

4  Difficulty securing appropriate facilities for expansion, such as a larger building

5  Difficulty hiring enough staff

6  State or local regulations make expansion difficult or impossible

4. Other way to expand capacity

1  Not enough student or parent interest

2  Not enough support from the current school community (staff and/or families)

3  Difficulty securing funding for expansion

4  Difficulty securing appropriate facilities for expansion, such as a larger building

5  Difficulty hiring enough staff

6  State or local regulations make expansion difficult or impossible

schools that currently or previously faced barriers to expansion [d1=2 or d4=1 or d4=2]

D6. Other than the challenges specified in the last question, what other challenges [IF D4=1: are currently hindering expansion; IF D4=2 or D1=2: hindered expansion in the past]? Please specify.

Other (specify): _____________________________________________

I. CONTACT INFORMATION

Please provide us with the contact information below so we can send your gift card to you as a thank you for your time.

I1. What is your name?

First Name:

Last Name:

I4. What is your email address?

I3. What is your mailing address?

Y:

Street Address:

Y:

Apt:

Y:

City:

Y:

State:

Zip:

Those are all the questions we have for you today. Thank you so much for your time.

Prepared by Mathematica 29