Email correspondence

STUDY CONTACT

Initial email with study description (for study contact):

«School_Contact_name»

«Institution name»

«Address 1»

«City», «ST» «ZIP»

Dear «Study Contact»,

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has contracted with RTI International, a not-for-profit research organization, to conduct an evaluation of the Computer Science for All Researcher Practitioner Partnerships grant program. This program aims to provide all U.S. students the opportunity to participate in computer science (CS) and computational thinking (CT) education in their schools at the K-12 levels.

The data collected for this study is essential to understanding the impact and value of the NSF grant program on broadening participation in computer science in PreK-12 schools nationally. The information learned from this study will be shared in a report to NSF and to the public.

The study will include the following data collection activities:

• Gathering information about computer science courses or curricula offered at the school or district, including course catalogs if available, from 2017 – the present;

• Collecting the number of students enrolled in computer science courses or curricula from 2017 – present, and their demographic information at the aggregate (i.e., not at the individual student) level, by relevant school year:

  • Year

  • Grade level (% of students in each grade level enrolled in the CS course/curriculum)

  • Gender (% female, % male, % other gender if reported)

  • Race/ethnicity (% in each relevant race/ethnicity category)

  • English Learner status (if available) (% of students designated as an English Language Learner)

  • Students with disabilities (if available)

  • Proportion of students at the school who are designated as low socioeconomic status (e.g., receive free/reduced lunch or some other indicator)

RTI team members will contact you to coordinate the details for data abstraction and secure transfer.

FAQs:

Why is my district/school being asked to provide data for the NSF Computer Science for All programs?

Computer science and computational thinking programs in your district/school have been identified by NSF as being a part of the CSforAll:RPPs grant program. The insights gained from this study will provide a useful foundation for future computer science programs.

What is my role?

As the study contact, you will be asked to work with the RTI team to identify and provide the data elements needed for the evaluation.

Is student consent required?

Student consent is not required for release of aggregated student record information for the purposes of this study as authorized by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act of 1974 (FERPA) (34 CFR Part 99). Under 34 CFR § 99.31(6), consent to share students personally identifiable information (PII) is not required if the information is being shared “to organizations conducting studies for, or on behalf of, education agencies and institutions for the purposes of developing, validating, or administering predictive tests, administering student aid programs or improving instruction.” The definition of “organization” under 34 CFR Section 99.31 (6)(v) includes independent organizations such as RTI.

For more information, please review the enclosed FERPA Fact Sheet or visit http://www2.ed.gov/policy/gen/reg/ferpa.

How do I know that my school’s data will be kept confidential?

RTI and NSF both adhere to stringent confidentiality and data security policies. Staff at both organizations are bound by signed confidentiality agreements detailing how they may not disclose, publish, disseminate, or otherwise make available, directly or indirectly, any item of confidential information to anyone. Additionally, all electronic data are maintained in secure and protected data files and all personally identifiable information, if applicable, is maintained in files separate from those containing descriptive information.

Finally, in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, this clearance has approval from the Office of Management and Budget for us to conduct this on behalf of NSF. We estimate it will take approximately two hours for the study, and the approval for it is 3145-XXXX.

Best,

Computer Science for All Study Team

<insert contact information: email address, study website>

Email for administrative data request (for study contact):

Dear «Study Contact»,

In our previous communication, we mentioned that RTI International has contracted with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to evaluate the Computer Science for All program. A component of the study includes collecting student and faculty administrative data.

RTI has created a school administrative data collection file that lists all the administrative data elements that we are trying to collect. We would like to set up a time to review the file and go over any questions you have about the data being collected. Additionally, we will discuss the process to securely transfer the data via our web portal.

Please enter your availability to discuss the administrative data: <insert scheduling link>

Please note that in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act, this clearance has approval from the Office of Management and Budget for us to conduct this on behalf of NSF. We estimate it will take approximately two hours for the study, and the approval for it is 3145-XXXX.

If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know.

Best,

Computer Science for All Study Team

<insert contact information: email address, study website>