ECLS Field Test 30D Revision Memo v25

Memorandum United States Department of Education

Institute of Education Sciences

National Center for Education Statistics

DATE: May 24, 2022

TO: Robert Sivinski, OMB

THROUGH: Carrie Clarady, OMB Liaison, NCES

FROM: Jill McCarroll, Study Director, Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies Program, NCES

SUBJECT: Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) Field Test Revision (OMB#1850-0750 v.25)

The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS) program, conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), draws together information from multiple sources to provide rich, descriptive data on child development, early learning, and school progress. The ECLS program studies deliver national data on children’s status at birth and at various points thereafter; children’s transitions to nonparental care, early care and education programs, and school; and children’s experiences and growth through the elementary grades. The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023-24 (ECLS-K:2024) is the fourth cohort in the series of early childhood longitudinal studies. The study will advance research in child development and early learning by providing a detailed and comprehensive source of current information on children’s early learning and development, transitions into kindergarten and beyond, and progress through school. The ECLS-K:2024 will provide data about the population of children who will be kindergartners in the 2023-24 school year. Collecting parent data beginning in the fall of kindergarten will enable the study to measure influences on children’s development before entry into formal schooling, including children’s home environments and access to early care and education. The ECLS-K:2024 will focus on children’s early school experiences continuing through the fifth grade, and will include collection of data from parents, teachers, and school administrators, as well as direct child assessments.

The request to conduct a field test of the ECLS-K:2024 kindergarten and first-grade data collection activities to evaluate the design of the national study’s kindergarten and first-grade surveys and child assessments, as well as the operational procedures (that is, sampling and recruitment) for the national kindergarten and first-grade data collections in the fall 2023, spring 2024, and spring 2025, was approved on February 15, 2022 (OMB# 1850-0750 v.24).¹ Planned for August-November 2022,² the ECLS-K:2024 K-1 field test will be followed by the fall (August-December 2023) and spring (March-July 2024) kindergarten national data collections, and the spring (March-July 2025) first-grade national data collection – all of which will be requested under later clearance submissions.

This request is to update study respondent materials, web and paper surveys, and website designs that will be used in the K-1 field test data collection activities. The revisions in this package were made based on additional review after programming and testing the survey instruments and also incorporate changes based on teacher and parent focus group feedback (OMB# 1850-0803 v.309).

The requested changes do not affect the approved total cost to the federal government for conducting this study. Revisions made to some parts of the previously approved ECLS-K:2024 K-1 field test request are detailed below. Deletions are denoted with red strikethrough text, while additions are in red text.

Please note that the covers of all of the attachments submitted with this revision request have had the date of submission updated from “August 2021” to “revised May 2022.”

The following edits were made in Part A:

• REVISED – All mentions of this change request/revision were removed from Part A, and surrounding text was updated as appropriate.

This current request is to conduct a field test of the ECLS-K:2024 kindergarten and first-grade data collection activities to evaluate the design of the national study’s kindergarten and first-grade surveys and child assessments, as well as the operational procedures (that is, sampling and recruitment) for the national kindergarten and first-grade data collections in the fall 2023, spring 2024, and spring 2025. This data collection to evaluate the kindergarten and first-grade instruments and procedures is referred to throughout the remainder of this package as the K-1 field test. District and school sampling and recruitment activities for the K-1 field test will occur in spring 2022, while student sampling will occur in August and September 2022. From September through November 2022, trained study field staff will visit the participating schools to conduct in-person, one-on-one child assessments. Parents, teachers, and school administrators will also be asked to complete web surveys. The instruments originally submitted in the request to conduct the K-1 field test (OMB# 1850-0750 v.24) were updated to reflect additional design and programming development. As testing and development continues, it is anticipated that changes to the surveys, website language, and respondent materials will be necessary. Additionally, based on feedback received during teacher and parent focus groups conducted in spring 2022 (OMB# 1850-0803 v.309), the respondent materials that will be used in the fall phase of the K-1 field test and the August 2022-June 2023 national district and school recruitment have also been updated since the original submission. The feedback received from the focus groups indicated that details about the study should remain in the introductory study letter. That is, participants preferred a longer, more detailed letter rather than a more condensed letter that refers the reader to a study fact sheet and website for study details. Participants did note that some of the language in the introductory letter should be revised to be more clear and specific, particularly text describing what is asked of study respondents. Because the focus group respondents—both teachers and parents—did not feel the list of endorsing organizations was particularly compelling, this list was removed from the introductory letters and fact sheets. Instead, respondents will be referred to the website for the complete list of endorsing organizations. Other changes to the respondent materials were made based on further discussion and review, including reformatting and simplifying language in follow-up consent and survey completion reminders. The national district and school recruitment materials were updated to reflect additional components of the study that are newly included, namely the memory tests and height and weight measurements. The updated surveys and respondent materials are included in We are currently preparing materials to administer focus groups in early 2022; the purpose of these focus groups is to test new contact and recruitment materials for use in future rounds of the ECLS-K:2024. If NCES believes that the benefits to revised contact and recruitment materials is substantial enough to warrant an immediate change, we may submit a revision request (OMB 1850-0750 v.25), submitted in May 2022 and which will be presented for a 30D public comment period. to revise those materials for use in the K-1 field test and/or national base year school and district recruitment. Any revisions to the survey instruments will also be included in this change request. At this time it is not anticipated that substantive changes requiring public review will be required to these materials but if necessary in either case, a 30D revision to this OMB package will be submitted. Substantive changes at that time would still be expected to be minor and to items, websites, and respondent materials, rather than large-scale study revisions such as the addition of completely new study instruments or components. (page A-2)

⁶ For brevity in this submission, the package mentioned above (OMB 1850-0750 v. 25) will be referenced as a change request or change memo. Where that language is used, please note that a 30D package revision is the alternative. (page A-2)

⁹ The paper versions of the study instruments have not yet been formatted for Teleform scanning. The Teleform-formatted versions of the instruments will be submitted in the June 2022 change request/change memo. (page A-3)

¹³ Note that current screenshots from the MyECLS website are included in this submission. The website is currently being programmed and some small changes may be necessary as further review and testing occur. If needed, a change memo that includes screenshots of the updated MyECLS website is planned for June 2022. (page A-4)

• REVISED – Text was updated to reflect the exercise of the optional task to survey a census of kindergarten teachers. (page A-1)

While all of these components will be included in the study, the ECLS-K:2024 is designed such that the child will be the unit of analysis; the study will also be representative at the school (and potentially and teacher) level at the kindergarten year.

• REVISED – A footnote was added to indicate that while the field test data collection is planned to conclude in late November 2022, it is possible that some assessments may need to be completed in December 2022, due to child absences or limitations in a school’s schedule. (page A-2)

⁵ While the field test study activities are expected to be completed by the end of November 2022, if make-up assessments are needed due to a large number of child absences, or if a school is unable to schedule assessments within the data collection window, field work may continue into December 2022 to complete these activities.

• REVISED – Given recent NCES study design decisions, text was updated in footnote 7 to indicate that vision rather than hearing measurements may be included in future national rounds of the ECLS-K:2024. Text describing the height and weight measurements and executive function (i.e., memory) assessment as possible additional study components was deleted, as these tasks are now definitively being included in the study data collection. (page A-3)

⁷ The national study may include collection of additional information beyond that collected in the field test. For example, NCES is considering the collection of hearing vision data, as well as height and weight measurements and assessments of executive function. The full details of the national study data collection will be provided in a subsequent package.

• REVISED – Text was added to indicate that the COVID-19 Protocols Overview will be included in the study package sent to the School Coordinator in the fall of 2022. (page A-4)

In early fall 2022, participating schools will be contacted to provide a child list and to confirm assessment day logistics. After the child list has been received and children sampled, school coordinators who will serve as liaisons between the school and the study staff will be mailed a package containing a welcome letter, an incentive check,¹¹ a fact sheet describing the study’s planned COVID-19 safety protocols,¹² and tips for encouraging respondent participation, as well as school administrator, teacher, and parent study packets for distribution.

¹¹ The COVID-19 Protocols Overview was updated between the v.24 and v.25 submissions to reflect changing mitigation measures. Text about field staff vaccination has been added. See the revised version in Attachment A-1.

• REVISED – Text was revised to make it clear that the hearing evaluations were included in the ECLS-K:2011. (page A-12)

Historically in the ECLS program, consultations with government agencies resulted in interagency agreements funding questions, sections of or full study instruments, and components of the child assessments (specifically, the hearing evaluations in the national study ECLS-K:2011).

• REVISED – Text was deleted in footnote 20 (formerly footnote 21) to correct the description of the parent incentive. (page A-22)

²⁰ The instructions on the envelope to activate the prepaid card will be: “To activate the enclosed $15 prepaid Mastercard®, please visit the study website and enter your unique PIN from the sealed postcard that was sent with this informational packet. The prepaid card will be ready for use approximately 24 hours after the PIN is entered. Completion of the parent survey is not required to activate or use the cash card.” This text will also appear in Spanish and Mandarin.

• REVISED – The text regarding the contract cost for the currently-exercised optional tasks in footnote 25 (formerly 27) was updated to reflect the year 4 contract funding, which exercised three additional optional tasks. (page A-31)

²⁵ As of August 2021 May 2022, several optional tasks have also been exercised on this contract, at a total additional value of $1,164,153 2,346,301.

• REVISED –A footnote was added to indicate that while the field test data collection is planned to conclude in late November 2022, it is possible that some assessments may need to be completed in December 2022, due to child absences or limitations in a school’s schedule. (page A-31)

²⁶ While the field test study activities are expected to be completed by the end of November 2022, if make-up assessments are needed due to a large number of child absences, or if a school is unable to schedule assessments within the data collection window, field work may continue into December 2022 to complete these activities.

The following edits were made in Part B:

• REVISED – Text was added to indicate that the overall number of students participating in the base year of the study is approximate. (page B-2)

In the base year, substitute schools can replace nonresponding districts and schools to enable the study to reach the targets of 1,000 responding schools and approximately 21,000 base year students.

• REVISED – Text in two paragraphs of the page was revised to present the planned oversampling of schools based on their number of Black kindergartners to meet the NCES precision requirements. (page B-3)

The four precision requirements are of equal importance for Hispanics, Blacks, and all other races. However, most of these subgroups do not have an impact on determining the oversampling rates for special groups because their expected sample sizes exceed the required sample size for meeting the requirements. At the end of the fifth-grade data collection for the ECLS-K, the distribution of completed cases among non-API race/ethnicity was 11.0 percent Black, 19.1 percent Hispanic, and 61.4 percent all other non-API races. At the end of the fifth-grade data collection for the ECLS-K:2011, the distribution of completed cases among non-API race/ethnicity was 10.0 percent Black, 26.7 percent Hispanic, and 53.9 percent all other non-API races. For the ECLS-K:2024, it is expected that the study will have approximately 1,535 Blacks, 2,800 Hispanics, and 6,025 children of other non-API races at the end of fifth grade.³ These sample sizes are large enough to satisfy precision requirements. However, recent analyses of the planned ECLS-K:2024 sample suggests that the study may run the risk of falling short of the number of Black children to meet NCES precision requirements. As such, the ECLS-K:2024 intends to include Black children in the planned oversampling design as described below.

The sample of children included in the ECLS-K:2024 will be selected using a multi-stage probability design. The first-stage or primary sampling units (PSUs) will be geographic areas that are counties or groups of counties. In the second stage, samples of public and private schools with kindergarten programs⁴ will selected within the sampled PSUs. Both PSUs and schools will be selected with probability proportional to measures of size that takes into account the desired oversampling of API students. In the second stage, schools will be oversampled based on the number of Black or API kindergartners. The third stage sampling units for the national sample are children enrolled in kindergarten programs, and children of kindergarten age in ungraded schools, selected within each sampled school.

• REVISED – Text and equations were revised to allow for the planned oversampling of schools based on their number of Black kindergartners to meet the NCES precision requirements. (pages B-5, B-6)

Within each PSU, schools with fewer than 21 kindergarten students will be clustered together before sampling to ensure that the target sample size of about 21,000 kindergarten students in 1,000 responding schools is met. Schools (or combined schools) will be selected with probability proportional to size; oversampling of schools based on their number of Black kindergartners will also be done, using an oversampling factor of 1.50. As with the PSU sample, a weighted measure of size will be constructed taking into account the oversampling of APIs as follows.

where 2.5 is the oversampling rate for APIs, is the estimated counts of API kindergarten students in the school, 1.5 is the oversampling rate for Black students, is the estimated counts of API kindergarten students in the school, and is the estimated count of all other kindergarten students in school j in PSU i.

Stratification and Selection of Schools

Public and private schools will constitute distinct sampling strata. The public school sample will be selected using a traditional nested two-stage design. Within each PSU, public schools will be ranked by measure of size and partitioned into classes of roughly equal aggregate measure of size. Within each size class, schools will be sorted in a serpentine manner by the proportion of API Black.¹² For the private school stratum, schools will be grouped within PSU by affiliation (religious vs. nonsectarian) and then sorted in a serpentine manner by the measure of size.

The selection of both public and private schools will be systematic, with probability proportional to the measure of size m described above. This measure of size gives schools with greater numbers of API and Black students a higher probability of selection without inordinately increasing the sampling errors of non-minority estimates.

¹² Schools will be sorted by percent API Black but not always from smallest to largest within the size class. For example, in size class A, schools will be sorted from smallest to largest percent API Black. In size class B, schools will be sorted from largest to smallest percent API Black. In size class C, schools will be sorted again from smallest to largest percent API Black, etc. The list of sorted schools will then be put together before selection.

• REVISED – Text was revised to correct the student sampling procedure that will be used in schools. (pages B-6, B-7)

For the students on a school’s student list, two independent sampling strata will be formed, one containing API students and the second containing all other students. API students will be sampled from the API stratum and the sampling rate will be 2.5 times the rate of sampling rate of non-API students. Within each stratum, students will be selected using equal probability systematic sampling. Based on an estimated sample of 1,000 participating kindergarten schools, the target number of children sampled at a school would be 21. In schools with 25 or fewer students, all students will be sampled. In schools with more than 25 eligible students and it is algebraically impossible to oversample API students at the desired rate (2.5 x non-API rate), the study will sample all API students and sample enough non-API students to ensure that the total student sample equals 21. In schools with more than 25 eligible students where it is algebraically possible to oversample API students at the desired rate, the study will do so and sample a total of 21 students. If the sampling unit is a cluster of small schools, the school rosters will be kept separate by appending them one after the other. Sampling will be done systematically and with equal probability from the list so that if a school is small, then fewer students will be sampled from this school. If a school has 21 students or more according to the school frame but turns out to have fewer than 21 kindergartners or children of kindergarten age in ungraded classrooms enrolled at the time of student sampling, all students in this school will be sampled. Twins will not be identified prior to sampling, but they may enter the sample through this method of probability sampling. Once the sampled kindergarten children are identified, parents will be contacted to obtain consent to conduct the child assessment and to ask for completion of the parent survey.

• REVISED – Text was added to indicate that additional study components have been added, or are being considered. (page B-7)

Additionally, if a school reports a large number of transitional kindergarten children, further consideration will be given as to how to include the school and students in the study. In past ECLS kindergarten cohort collections, transitional kindergarten students were treated as eligible for sampling and this is currently planned for the ECLS-K:2024. However, if it is observed that that rate of transitional kindergarten students is dramatically different from previous years (e.g., in the prior ECLS collections), the study may consider either subsampling these students at a lower rate or excluding them from the sample. The study will also include the measurement of height and weight with a subsample of students. A vision screening, either with the same subsample or the full sample, is also being considered.

• REVISED – Text was removed that described the census of teachers as a data collection task that was still being considered. This task has now been definitively added to the study components. (page B-7)

Teachers who teach the sampled children will also be included in the study and will be asked to fill out various teacher surveys. All teacher data will be linked to their students. In the ECLS-K a census of kindergarten teachers was taken at each school and those teachers that completed the teacher characteristics section were considered to have a completed teacher questionnaire; this model will also be followed for the ECLS-K:2024. (For the ECLS-K:2011 only the kindergarten teachers of sampled students were surveyed.) NCES is currently considering a census of kindergarten teachers in the ECLS-K:2024. If this is included in the study, sampling for ECLS-K:2024 will follow the ECLS-K design; otherwise the ECLS-K:2011 method will be used.

• REVISED – Text describing the mode of contact with school coordinators was updated; text referencing the change memo was deleted. (page B-13)

Study activities. As schools agree to participate, school coordinators identified by the approving school administrators will be sent a welcome letter email, letting them know about the study and activities they will be asked to complete in the fall. In mid-summer 2022, school coordinators will be sent a follow-up email, reminding them of the study and the upcoming tasks. In August 2022, school coordinators in participating K-1 field test schools will be sent a welcome package via FedEx with a signature requirement. A sticker with the U.S. Department of Education seal and the message, “Important information from the U.S. Department of Education.” may be included on the outside of packages. an email The package will include a letter describing the study activities planned for the fall and the role of the school coordinator with and instructions for providing information on the participating children and accessing the MyECLS website to record child, parent, and teacher information. The MyECLS screens that will be used in the K-1 field test appear in Attachment F.²⁶ The school coordinator will be asked to upload a list of kindergartners, first-graders, and second-graders who speak English and are not excluded from standardized assessments. For each child, the list will include the child’s first, middle, and last name; the child’s month and year of birth; the child’s grade; and the child’s sex. Also, for sampling reasons, the school coordinator will be asked to identify children who are Asian, Native Hawaiian, or Other Pacific Islander.

²⁶ Note that screenshots for the MyECLS website are included in this submission. The website is currently in programming and some small changes may be necessary as further review and testing occur. If needed, a change memo that includes screenshots of the updated MyECLS website is planned for June 2022.

• REVISED – Text was added to indicate that team leaders will be provided with blank notecards to use for additional correspondence with the school or other respondents. (page B-14)

For the study activities call, which will have been scheduled during the spring 2022 school recruitment activities, the team leaders will contact the school coordinators to review the school coordinator role and to address any questions that they may have. A checklist of the tasks to be completed, available on the MyECLS website, will guide the study activities call. The team leaders will discuss the logistics of the fall 2022 school visit, confirming or updating school information gathered during the school recruitment round, such as the assessment dates and assessment location. The team leader will record updates in the MyECLS website. After the study activities call, the school coordinator will be sent a study activities package, containing a welcome letter with instructions for notifying school staff and parents about the ECLS, an incentive check, and tips for encouraging respondent participation. Also in the package will be packets for the school administrator, teachers, and parents for distribution by the school coordinator. Team leaders will be provided with blank notecards to use for follow-up correspondence with the school coordinator or other respondents, as needed. The cover of the notecard will be green with various school-related graphics, similar to those that appear on the MyECLS website.

• REVISED – Text was added to footnote 27 (formerly footnote 28) to indicate that the school coordinators will receive the COVID-19 Protocol Overview as part of the study activities package. (page B-14)

²⁷ If needed due to the coronavirus pandemic, the team leader will also discuss safety precautions to be implemented for the school visit. The study staff will be trained to follow the latest safety measures in place by the study as well as additional safety precautions required by the district and/or school. School coordinators will receive the COVID-19 Protocols overview as part of the study activities package.

• REVISED – The timeframe for the submission of the OMB package requesting clearance for the national fall kindergarten, spring kindergarten, and spring first-grade rounds was updated. (page B-18)

The national study child sampling and data collection activities are not part of this package and will be in the K-1 data collection package, planned for submission in early 2023 fall 2022.

• REVISED – An organization who has endorsed the study since the time of the submission of the package was added to the list of endorsing organizations. The footnote on this page was deleted as it was no longer relevant. (page B-19)

The K-1 field test and national recruitment plan approaches the school as a community. The study aims to establish rapport with the whole community—principals, teachers, parents, and children. The school community must be approached with respect and sensitivity to achieve high initial response rates and, for the national study, maintain cooperation for future rounds of data collection. Moreover, to convey the study’s legitimacy, various respondent materials will include a list of organizations that have endorsed the ECLS project.³³ The ECLS-K:2024 is endorsed by:

• Alliance for Excellent Education

• American Federation of Teachers

• American Montessori Society

• Association for Middle Level Education

• Association for Montessori International/USA

• Association of Christian Schools International

• Association of Christian Teachers and Schools

• Christian Schools International

• Council for Exceptional Children

• Council of Chief State and School Officers

• Council of Islamic Schools in North America

• International Literary Association

• Islamic Schools League of America

• Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod

• National Alliance of Christian Schools

• National Association of Elementary School Principals

• National Association of Independent Schools

• National Association of State Boards of Education

• National Catholic Educational Association

• National Christian School Association

• National Council of Teachers and Mathematics

• National Institute for Early Education Research

• National Parent Teacher Association

• National School Boards Association

• National Science Teaching Association

• Texas State Teachers Association

• The School Superintendents Association

• U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops

• WELS Commission on Lutheran Schools

³³ If additional study endorsements are received prior to the field test, the list of endorsers will be updated in the June 2022 change request/change memo.

• REVISED – All mentions of this change request/revision were removed from Part B, and surrounding text was updated as appropriate. (page B-22)

Design of questions. As much as possible, the survey is streamlined so the questions included are straightforward and easy for respondents to answer. In addition, skip patterns based on answers to questions that appear earlier in the survey are built into the survey so that not all questions need to be asked of all respondents. The planned instrument usability testing may also inform the type and format of questions that are included in the K-1 field test. If any revisions are made to survey instruments to take into account issues found during programming, the revised instruments will be included in the change request submitted to OMB in June of 2022.

The following edits were made in Attachment A-1 and A-2:

To test whether the originally-developed ECLS-K:2024 respondent materials or shortened versions of these materials would likely lead to increased study participation rates and continued participant engagement over the duration of the study, focus groups with parents and teachers were held in 2022. Focus group respondents were specifically probed on their preference for the shorter or longer versions of respondent letters, as well as clarity of the role of a respondent (i.e., what study tasks are involved) in the shorter versions of the materials.

Based on the focus group feedback, study staff decided that the longer versions of the respondent materials were preferred, but that some revisions to language and content were justified. Further, some revisions to shorten some materials other than the initial contact materials (i.e., follow-up messages) were advised and these revisions were made. Other changes to the respondent materials were made to address questions or concerns raised by the focus group participants (e.g., text describing the study’s ability to include diverse types of families and students, a QR code to make it easier for respondents to access the study website). Based on further review of the respondent materials by study staff, changes to formatting (e.g., the additions of bullets or bolded text) were also implemented to increase the readability of the text.

The updated versions of the materials are contained in Attachment A-1, from page A1-30 to A1-112 (beginning with contact materials for Summer 2022). The respondent materials for the national district and school recruitment were also similarly edited; those updated versions are contained in Attachment A-2, from page A2-1 to A2-28.

The following edits were made in Attachment A3:

• REVISED – Correction made in the script. (page A3-2) The voiceover in the video was re-recorded to reflect this update.

Sponsored Conducted by the U.S. Department of Education, the ECLS provides important insights into children’s educational experiences through elementary school.

The following edits were made in Attachments B-1, B-2, and B-3:

For the web surveys in Attachments B, no substantive changes were made. Changes to these Attachments between the submitted package (OMB# 1850-0750 v.24) and the version being submitted with this revision request can be seen in the programming instructions and items. Programming specifications were updated (i.e., internal programming notes) in the final web instrument relative to the prior, approved version, to refine these for clarity to the programmers. Errors in skips between items were also corrected. In addition, minor edits were made to change wording for clarity, correct labels for answer fields, add instructions to the respondent, and change capitalization and punctuation. Copyright references were also added to the specifications for some items.

The following edits were made in Attachments C-1 through C-10:

For the web surveys in Attachments C, no substantive changes were made. Changes to these Attachments between the submitted package (OMB# 1850-0750 v.24) and the version being submitted with this revision request can be seen in the programming instructions and items. Programming specifications were updated (i.e., internal programming notes) in the final web instrument relative to the prior, approved version, to refine these for clarity to the programmers. Errors in skips between items were also corrected. In addition, edits were made to make minor wording changes for clarity, divide an item into two parts to get more detailed data (in Attachments C-7 and C-9, item T2d, “Licensed computer software packages and paid digital subscriptions (for example, subscriptions to online apps, platforms, and program” was divided into T2d “Licensed computer software packages” and T2e "Paid digital subscriptions (for example, subscriptions to online apps, platforms, and/or programs)"), add instructions to respondents, correct labels for answer fields, correct response categories, and change capitalization and punctuation. Paper surveys were also updated with the same edits described above to reflect web survey wording, the division of one item on the web survey into two parts for the paper instrument, and minor skip changes that were also made in the web surveys. Edits were also made to paper surveys to make them match the prior approved version of the web specifications. In addition, changes were made to punctuation and missing words were added in instructions (e.g., the word “IF” was missing). In addition, page numbers referenced in skips were changed or added to correspond to updated paper survey formatting. Finally, survey covers were updated to remove the references to the incentives for completing surveys because some districts may not allow their staff to receive incentives.

The following edits were made in Attachments D-1 through D-10:

For the web surveys in Attachments D, no substantive changes were made. Changes to these Attachments between the submitted package (OMB# 1850-0750 v.24) and the version being submitted with this revision request can be seen in the programming instructions and items. Programming specifications were updated (i.e., internal programming notes) in the final web instrument relative to the prior, approved version, to refine these for clarity to the programmers. In addition, edits were made to add make minor wording changes for clarity and add copyright references. Paper surveys were updated with the same edits described above to reflect web survey wording. Edits were also made to paper surveys to make them match the prior approved version of the web specifications. In addition, wording was changed in some questions from “the child” to “this child” in the child-level special education teacher surveys to be consistent with wording in other parts of the survey. Also, page numbers referenced in skips were changed to correspond to updated paper survey formatting. Finally, survey covers were updated to remove the references to the incentives for completing surveys because some districts may not allow their staff to receive incentives.

The following edits were made in Attachments E-1 through E-4:

For the web surveys in Attachments E, no substantive changes were made. Changes to these Attachments between the submitted package (OMB# 1850-0750 v.24) and the version being submitted with this revision request can be seen in the programming instructions and items. Programming specifications were updated (i.e., internal programming notes) in the final web instrument relative to the prior, approved version, to refine these for clarity to the programmers. In addition, minor changes were made to instructions to respondents, watermarks, response labels, and value ranges to indicate formats and valid answers. Also, omitted answer fields for “other” responses were added, omitted words were added to question text (in Attachments E-1 and E-3, “American” was added to “Black or African American, non-Hispanic”), minor changes were made to help text (added omitted words, duplicated text across similar items, deleted help text for “other specify” questions), error messages were added for “None of the above” answers, skips were corrected, and answer fields across multiple questions were combined into single questions. Changes were also made to capitalization and punctuation. Paper surveys were updated with the same edits described above to reflect web survey wording and skips. Edits were also made to paper surveys to make them match the prior approved version of the web specifications. In addition, paper surveys were updated to provide instructions to respondents and add page numbers to skips that correspond to updated paper survey formatting. Finally, survey covers were updated to remove the references to the incentives for completing surveys because some districts may not allow their staff to receive incentives.

The following edits were made in Attachment F:

MyECLS Landing Page:

• REVISED – There is a text change, in both English and Spanish, in the second bullet to clarify the timing of the field test and the national study. (pages F-8 and F-9)

• REVISED – A typo in the word “postcard” was fixed. (pages F-7 and F-13)

• REVISED – The national study timeline was revised in English and Spanish to remove the conditional text and change the term “executive functioning” to “memory.” (page F-33)

• REVISED – Text was changed to correct a typo. (page F-41)

• REVISED – Text was changed to bold text in English and Spanish to match the screenshot of one of the infographics. (pages F-41 and F-42)

• REVISED – As mentioned above, an organization was added to the list of endorsing organizations, in both English and Spanish. (pages F-45 and F-46)

• REVISED – Text in English and Spanish was added to the Privacy and Authorization section of the MyECLS website in order to meet current Federal security website language requirements. (pages F-46 and F-47)

MyECLS School Coordinator Portal:

• REVISED – The text in the ECLS Overview section was revised to reduce redundancy and to more clearly state the tasks that the school coordinator is being asked to complete. The paragraph displaying ECLS contact information was moved closer to the top of the page so that it is easier for the school coordinator to find if he or she needs assistance. A direct link to the secure Message Center was added to the Contact Us tab. (pages F-48, F-49 and F-72)

• REVISED – In an effort to reduce burden on the school coordinator and to more clearly communicate the requested tasks, the To Do section was revised to reduce the amount of text on the screen and display important information more prominently. The dates and times of the study activities call and the school visit were added to this section to be more apparent to the school coordinator. The text for the School Visit section was moved up in the document, but its location on the website is unchanged. A link to the School Information tab was added to the School Visit section to allow the school coordinator to quickly navigate to that page to review school information. (pages F-50, F-51, F-52, and F-53)

• REVISED – In the Feedback Questions section, text was added to emphasize the study’s appreciation for the school coordinator’s assistance with study activities. Some text was bolded for clarity. (pages F-53, F-58, and F-59)

• REVISED – Text was added to the Privacy and Authorization section of the MyECLS website in order to meet current Federal security website language requirements. (pages F-72 and F-73)

• REVISED – On the Submit Child List tab, text was revised to reduce redundancy and clarify the steps for the school coordinator. The validation messages that the school coordinator receives if there are problems with the submitted child list were revised for clarity. A thank you notice was added to the confirmation of successful submittal of the child list page, and directions for the school coordinator’s next steps were refined. (pages F-74, F-75, F-76, and F-77)

• REVISED – On the Prepare for the School Visit tab, text was revised for clarification and to correct some minor errors. (pages F-78, F-79, F-80, and F-81)

• REVISED – The parent consent and survey reminder email templates and the teacher and school administrator survey reminder email templates have been removed from the Documents tab. These reminders are redundant given that the school coordinator receives these via email. (pages F-82 and F-84)

• REVISED – On the School Information tab, some text was added and corrected to match the screenshot. (pages F-86 and F-88)

• REVISED – On the Child Information tab, sort options were added for the list of children. (pages F-89 and F-90)

• REVISED – On the Parent Information tab, text was revised for clarity. (page F-93)

• REVISED – On the Teacher Information tab, sort options were added for the list of surveys. (page F-99)

MyECLS School Administrator Portal:

• REVISED – Some text was added to the attachment document, not to the website itself, clarifying the information that is displayed only for the school administrator log-in (and not the secondary log-in). (pages F-101 and F-104).

• REVISED – Text was added to the Privacy and Authorization section of the MyECLS website in order to meet current Federal security website language requirements. (page F-120)

MyECLS Teacher Portal:

• REVISED – Text was added to the Privacy and Authorization section of the MyECLS website in order to meet current Federal security website language requirements. (page F-136)

MyECLS Parent Portal:

• REVISED – In the ECLS Overview section, a correction to a typo in the Spanish translation was made. (page F-140)

• REVISED – In the Parent Survey section, minor text and punctuation changes were made in English and Spanish. (pages F-149 and F-150)

• REVISED – In the Feedback Questions section, the Spanish translation for questions 3 and 9 were corrected. (pages F-157 and F-163)

• REVISED – Text in English and Spanish was added to the Privacy and Authorization section of the MyECLS website in order to meet current Federal security website language requirements. (pages F-169 and F-170)

The following edits were made in Attachment G:

Attachment G is the Item Matrix for all questions asked of respondents, and so all changes to Attachment G reflect changes described elsewhere in this memo for Attachments B, C, D, and E.

1 This data collection to evaluate the kindergarten and first-grade instruments and procedures is referred to throughout the remainder of this package as the K-1 field test.

2 Although the data collection period for the K-1 field test is currently planned to end in November 2022, it may continue into December if scheduling assessment dates within the timeframe becomes problematic.

3 Estimated using Census race/ethnicity estimates of the population of children under the age of five, after accounting for the oversample of APIs.

4 Includes transitional kindergartens and ungraded classrooms that educate children of kindergarten age.