Revision Memo

U NITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

National Center for Education Statistics

November 25, 2024

MEMORANDUM

To: Bev Pratt, OMB

From: Erin Tanenbaum, Ryan Iaconelli, Kerri Vasold, and Andrew Zukerberg, NCES

Through: Carrie Clarady, NCES

Re: School Pulse Panel 2024-25 Third Quarter Revision (OMB# 1850-0969 v.18)

The School Pulse Panel is an ongoing study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), part of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), within the United States Department of Education, to collect extensive data on current and emerging issues concerning students and staff in U.S. public primary, middle, high, and combined-grade schools. Specifically, the survey will ask school leaders about topics such as staffing, college and career readiness, artificial intelligence, tutoring, summer and after-school programs, facilities, and learning strategies and recovery, among other topics. The SPP has become one of the nation’s main sources of timely and reliable data on issues concerning the education environment, as reported by principals in U.S. public schools.

The SPP monthly data collection went through a 60-day public comment period, followed by a 30-day public comment period (OMB# 1850-0969 v.13), and was formally cleared on July 1, 2024. A change request (v.15) was cleared in August 2024 to make changes to the August 2024, September 2024, and October 2024 instruments, informed by cognitive testing results with school staff. A 30-day public comment period package (v.16) was cleared in October 2024 that included new items (within the scope of the research domains previously established) to be collected on the November 2024, December 2024, and January 2025 instruments, as well as planned items for the rest of the study year, through June 2025. A change request (v.17) was cleared in November 2024 to make changes to the December 2024, January 2025, and February 2025 instruments, informed by cognitive testing results with school staff.

The purpose of this memo is to accompany a revision (v.18) and to describe the changes to the research materials contained in that revision. The new revision is focused on a 30-day public comment period on new items (within the scope of the research domains previously established) to be collected on the March 2025-June 2025 instruments (Appendix C2). These items are considered very close to final and will go through minimal testing with school personnel to examine any comprehension concerns with item wording. This testing will occur simultaneously with when the package is out for the 30-day public comment period. Feedback from this testing, as well as additional input from SPP stakeholders, will result in modifications and additions that will be reflected in a future change request. The costs to the government have not changed as a result of this amendment, nor has the projected respondent burden. Below, for each document, we provide explanations for our changes.

Changes to Part A

A.1.1 Purpose of This Submission

• The second-to-last paragraph in section A.1.1 was updated to describe the purpose of this 30-day revision.

A.16 Publication Plans and Time Schedule

• The timeline table was updated to reflect the current release schedule, shifting all releases to a month later than originally planned.

Changes to Part B

B1. Respondent Universe and Sample Design and Estimation

• Changes were made to the Calculation of Weights and Methods for Variance Estimation sections to provide more clarity on differences in approaches between data representative of the 50 states and District of Columbia and Outlying Areas data.

B5. Individuals Responsible for Study Design and Performance

• Project staff was updated.

Changes to Appendix A – Communication Materials

• No changes to Appendix A; it is included for reference only.

Changes to Appendix B1 – 2024-25 SPP Item Bank

Recall that all items are kept in the complete Item Bank for continuity across collections and increased flexibility in rapid response to stakeholder needs, but the C Appendices contain collections of items for each month of the SPP data collection.

• Final versions of the December 2024, January 2025, and February 2025 instruments that were cleared via a change request (OMB# 1850-0969 v.17) have been included in revised Appendix B1.

• Updates and additions to the modules in the March 2025-June 2025 instruments (which are also contained in Appendix C2) have been added to Appendix B1.

Changes to Appendix B2 – Item Bank – Completed Collections

Recall that all items are kept in the complete Item Bank for continuity across collections and increased flexibility in rapid response to stakeholder needs, but the C Appendices contain collections of items for each month of the SPP data collection.

• No changes to Appendix B2; it is included for reference only.

Changes to Appendix C – Instrument Appendices

• This submission includes the August 2024-October 2024 instruments (Appendix C1) that were cleared as part of our change request (OMB# 1850-0969 v.15) in August 2024. There have been no changes to this document since v.15; it is included for reference only.

• This submission also includes the November 2024-June 2025 instruments (Appendix C2). The March 2025-June 2025 instruments were updated (see the attached document tracking those changes), however may be updated at a later time through one or more change requests once the SPP team receives review and cognitive interview results from the Census Bureau (currently happening now).