Part A TFS PFS 2024-25 v13

This request is to conduct data collection for the two follow-up surveys to the 2023-24 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) – the 2024-25 Teacher Follow-up Survey (TFS) and the 2024-25 Principal Follow-up Survey (PFS). The 2024-25 TFS is a one year follow-up of a subsample of teachers who responded to the 2023-24 NTPS, and the 2024-25 PFS is a one year follow-up of principals who responded to the 2023-24 NTPS. The TFS and PFS are conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), within the U.S. Department of Education (ED).

The 2024-25 TFS and 2024-25 PFS, like earlier TFS and PFS collections, will measure the one year attrition rates of teachers and principals, respectively, who leave the profession and will permit comparisons of stayers, movers, and leavers to fulfill the legislative mandate for NCES to report on the “condition of education in the United States.” “Stayers” are teachers or principals who remain in the same school between the NTPS year of data collection and the follow-up year. “Movers” are teachers or principals who stay in the profession but change schools between the NTPS year and the follow-up year. “Leavers” are NTPS respondents who leave the teaching or principal profession between the NTPS year and the follow-up year.

The 2024-25 TFS analysis file will include TFS data in addition to data collected in the 2023-24 NTPS on teacher characteristics, qualifications, perceptions of the school environment and the teaching profession, and a host of other topics. Prior TFS data have played an important role in improving the understanding of the conditions that affect the balance between teacher attrition and retention. The NTPS and TFS provide national data on turnover in the teacher workforce, including rates of attrition from teaching, sources and characteristics of newly hired teachers, and characteristics and destinations of leavers. These data help shift the debate from the issue of teacher quantity to teacher quality; that is, from a focus on teacher shortages measured only in terms of the number of teaching positions left vacant to the qualifications and years of experience of teachers who stay in the classroom versus those who leave the profession. The cross-sectional repeated design of the TFS allows the analysis of trends related to these topics.

The 2024-25 PFS analysis file will include PFS data in addition to data on principal characteristics, qualifications, and perceptions of the school environment from data collected in the 2023-24 NTPS. Together, the NTPS and PFS will provide national data on turnover in the principal workforce, including rates of attrition from principalship, sources and characteristics of newly hired principals, characteristics and destinations of leavers, and due to the cross-sectional repeated design of the PFS, analyses of trends related to these topics.

This clearance request is to conduct both 2024-25 NTPS follow-up surveys (TFS and PFS), including all recruitment and data collection activities. This request seeks authorization for the 2024-25 TFS and 2024-25 PFS under the TFS single OMB number (OMB# 1850-0617).

This submission includes Supporting Statement Part A (justification), Part B (collection of information employing statistical methods), and Part C (item justification); Appendix A (respondent contact materials) and Appendix B (questionnaires).

A.1.2 Legislative Authority

NCES is authorized to conduct the NTPS, TFS, and PFS under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543).

The General Education Provisions Act, as amended [20 U.S.C. §1211(e)(1)], specified that NCES design an integrated survey system called the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), with each SASS data collection followed one year later by the TFS and, beginning in 2008-09, the PFS. The most recent administration of the SASS was in 2011-12. At the conclusion of the 2011-12 SASS / 2012-13 TFS and PFS collections, NCES redesigned the SASS and renamed it the NTPS. Legislative authority for NCES to collect data through surveys was reauthorized under the Improving America’s Schools Act of 1994 and has most recently been authorized by the provisions of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 cited above.

A.1.3 Prior and Related Studies

The SASS was first fielded during the 1987-88 school year. It was subsequently collected every three years through 1993-94, then underwent a six year pause for major survey design revisions, which resulted in the 1999-2000 data collection. Through 2011-12, the SASS was on a four year data collection cycle, with each SASS data collection followed one year later by the TFS and, starting in 2008-09, PFS data collections. At the conclusion of the 2011-12 collection, NCES redesigned the SASS and renamed it the NTPS to reflect the redesigned study’s narrowed focus on the teacher and principal labor market and on the state of K-12 school staff. The NTPS has been conducted during the following school years: 2015-16, 2017-18, 2020-21, and 2023-24.

The TFS and PFS remain part of the NTPS and will be collected following every cycle of NTPS, starting with the 2020-21 NTPS. These follow-up surveys go back to NTPS teacher and principal survey respondents to determine whether they are still working at the same school or in the field of education. The TFS and PFS data will be analyzed in the context of their responses to the prior year NTPS. The TFS and PFS allow researchers to look at dynamics of the teacher and principal labor market, as well as attrition. Since they follow NTPS respondents, the TFS and PFS allow researchers and policymakers to investigate the current status of teachers and principals in the context of perceived working conditions, sense of autonomy, and other self-reported variables from the prior year.

A.1.3a Prior TFS Studies

The TFS has been conducted eight times previously beginning in 1988-89 as a follow-up to the first administration of the SASS in 1987-88. It was subsequently administered as a follow-up to the SASS in 1991-92, 1994-95, 2000-01, 2004-05, 2008-09, 2012-13 and, most recently, as a follow-up to the NTPS in 2021-22 (OMB# 1850-0617 v.11). During the 2015-16 school year, NCES conducted the first NTPS (OMB #1850-0598 v.11), a redesign of the SASS to improve the flexibility, efficiency, and timeliness of NCES data on the nation’s K-12 schools, principals, and teachers. The 2016-17 TFS was planned as the first to launch from the redesigned NTPS (OMB #1850-0617 v.3); however, the data collection was ultimately cancelled due to low teacher response rates on the 2015-16 NTPS. As a result, the 2021-22 TFS was the first TFS to launch from the NTPS, with the design and content remaining highly consistent with earlier administrations of the TFS.

The 2024-25 TFS, like earlier TFS collections, is designed to measure the one year attrition rates of teachers who leave the profession and permit comparisons of stayers, movers, and leavers. The study aims to collect data that will permit comparisons of public versus private school teachers, new versus experienced teachers, and elementary versus secondary school teachers. For public schools, the study aims to collect data that will also permit comparisons of elementary, middle, and high school teachers. Survey data collected in the 2023-24 NTPS will be used as crosscutting variables in analyzing the 2024-25 TFS data.

A.1.3b Prior PFS Studies

First collected in the 2008-09 school year, the PFS was designed as a one year follow-up to the 2007-08 SASS. The 2008-09 PFS assessed how many school principals in the 2007–08 school year still worked as principals in the same school in the 2008–09 school year, how many had moved to become principals at other schools, and how many had left the principalship altogether. All principals who completed the 2007-08 SASS were eligible for the 2008-09 PFS. The PFS has been conducted three additional times – in 2012-13 as a follow-up to the 2011-12 SASS, in 2016-17 as follow-up to the 2015-16 NTPS (OMB #1850-0934) – the first PFS to launch from the redesigned NTPS, and in 2021-22 as a follow-up to the 2020-21 NTPS (OMB #1850-0617).

The 2024-25 PFS, like earlier PFS collections, is designed to measure the one year attrition rates of principals who leave the profession and permit comparisons of stayers, movers, and leavers.

A.1.4 Study Designs

A.1.4a Study Design for the 2024-25 TFS

The 2024-25 TFS will be conducted during the school year following the 2023-24 NTPS. Data collection will begin with the Teacher Status Data Collection Operation – that is, the collection of teacher status information from the NTPS sampled school via a Qualtrics web instrument or a paper teacher status form. All schools from which at least one teacher completed the NTPS Teacher Questionnaire during the 2023-24 NTPS will receive a mailed and e-mailed invitation to complete the teacher status form online. The principal or another school staff member will be asked to complete the form, identifying the current (2024-25 school year) teaching status of each of the NTPS sampled teachers by selecting one of the following status codes:

Teaching in this school
Teaching, but not in this school
Not teaching, but working in this school
On leave
Left this school, not currently teaching
Unknown
Deceased

Schools for which the name of the principal during the 2023-24 is known will also be asked to indicate whether this person is still the principal during the current (2024-25) school year. This principal information will serve as a data point for a validation study conducted as part of the 2024-25 PFS and will not replace the PFS collection.

Nonresponding schools will receive reminder invitations to complete their teacher status form online by both mail and email. A paper teacher status form will also be mailed to nonresponding schools, and eventually a nonresponse follow-up telephone operation will be conducted by telephone interviewers to complete the teacher status form over the phone.

Once the Teacher Status Data Collection Operation is completed, a sample of current and former teachers will be selected for the TFS Main Data Collection Operation. About 10,500 teachers will be selected according to a sample design similar to that for prior TFS cycles; comparisons will be made between and among public school and private school teachers.

The major objectives of the 2024-25 TFS are detailed below.

To determine the one year attrition rate for teachers.
To obtain major activity/occupation data for those who leave the teaching profession and career pattern data for those who remain in the profession.
To obtain data on educational activities and future plans.
To obtain data on attitudes about the teaching profession and job satisfaction.

The 2024-25 TFS Main Data Collection Operation will primarily be a web-based collection. Teachers will be sent a mailed and e-mailed invitation to complete their TFS via the TFS web instrument. Follow-up for nonresponse will be conducted by email, mail, and telephone. During follow-up, teachers will be encouraged to complete their questionnaire online but will also have the option of completing it by telephone or on paper. A paper version will be provided to teachers who may not have access to the web (i.e., those in Amish or Mennonite schools) and to teachers who request a paper copy. In addition, a paper version will be sent to nonresponding teachers in the fourth and fifth mailings.

For ease of administration, the web version of the TFS will guide respondents through the complicated skip patterns. There will be two separate versions of the paper forms:

Teacher Follow-up Survey Questionnaire for Current Teachers (TFS-3) will collect data from stayers and movers.

Teacher Follow-up Survey Questionnaire for Former Teachers (TFS-2) will collect data from leavers.

A.1.4b Study Design for the 2024-25 PFS

The 2024-25 PFS will be conducted during the school year following the 2023-24 NTPS. The PFS data collection path will be determined by whether the principal provided personal contact information (e.g., home mailing address and/or email address) on their completed 2023-24 NTPS Principal Questionnaire. If the principal provided personal contact information, data collection will begin with the Principal Data Collection Operation then transition to the School Data Collection Operation; if the principal did not provide personal contact information, data collection will begin with the School Data Collection Operation.

During the Principal Data Collection Operation, the current (2024-25 school year) occupational status of the 2023-24 NTPS principal will be collected from the principal directly using the personal contact information they provided on the NTPS Principal Questionnaire. Principals will be sent an invitation to complete the PFS via a Qualtrics web instrument by both mail and email. In addition to the mailings and emails, principals who provided their cell phone number and did not opt out of receiving text messages on the NTPS Principal Questionnaire will also be sent text messages containing the Qualtrics web instrument link ("text-to-web group") or a series of questions ("text survey group”) as a means of initial contact (and follow-up). Further details about the use of text messaging for the 2024-25 PFS are provided in section B.4 of Supporting Statement Part B. Several follow-up contacts will be made by email and text message (as appropriate), and a paper form (PFS-1C/1D) will be mailed to nonresponding principals. Nonrespondents will be transitioned to the School Data Collection Operation at the conclusion of the Principal Data Collection Operation.

During the School Data Collection Operation, the current (2024-25 school year) occupational status of the 2023-24 NTPS principal will be collected from the NTPS sampled school. Schools will be sent an invitation to complete the PFS via a Qualtrics web instrument by both mail and email. Nonresponding schools will receive a second mailing and email containing a paper form (PFS-1A/1B), and eventually a nonresponse follow-up telephone call to complete the PFS over the phone.

The 2024-25 PFS will primarily be a web-based collection, with paper questionnaires offered in follow-up mailings. The paper questionnaires are as follows:

Principal Follow-up Survey Principal Status Form (PFS-1C) will collect current (2024-25 school year) principal status information from the 2023-24 NTPS public school principal.

Principal Follow-up Survey Principal Status Form (PFS-1D) will collect current (2024-25 school year) principal/school head status information from the 2023-24 NTPS private school principal/school head.

Principal Follow-up Survey Principal Status Form (PFS-1A) will collect current (2024-25 school year) principal status information about the 2023-24 principal from the NTPS public school when (1) the principal does not respond to the PFS-1C or (2) personal contact information is not available for the principal.

Principal Follow-up Survey Principal Status Form (PFS-1B) will collect current (2024-25 school year) principal status information about the 2023-24 principal/school head from the NTPS private school when (1) the principal/school head does not respond to the PFS-1D or (2) personal contact information is not available for the principal/school head.

There will be two separate Qualtrics web instruments – a principal collection web instrument for 2023-24 NTPS principals and a school collection web instrument for 2023-24 NTPS schools. These instruments will mirror the paper questionnaires; therefore, each instrument will display wording variations for public versus private school principals based on school type.

A.2 Purposes and Uses of Data

The data collected on the 2024-25 TFS and PFS will be used by Congress, the Department of Education and other Federal agencies, State Departments of Education (also known as State Education Agencies or SEAs), private education and other associations concerned with elementary and secondary education, and education research organizations.

Unlike general labor market studies conducted by the U.S Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Education can produce more detailed attrition rates that may further understanding of the nature, composition, and dynamics of the teacher and principal workforces. The current proposed TFS and PFS data collections are critical to understanding the impact of teacher and principal workforce policies along with economic conditions on the 2023-24 school year teacher and principal workforces.

A.2a Purposes and Uses of TFS Data

Data from previous administrations of the TFS have been used by Congress, the Department of Education, Federal agencies, SEAs, private education and other associations concerned with elementary and secondary education, and education research organizations, and requests have been documented for NCES to update these data. NCES continues to receive requests for restricted-use license access to the most recent TFS and inquiries about upcoming data collections.

National data, as well as data from multiple states and school districts, suggest that annual attrition rates are especially high for inexperienced teachers during their first few years.^¹The mix of experiences within the teaching workforce is an important (and perhaps changing) variable. The labor market context, both within teaching and in the economy in general, undoubtedly influences attrition. When teaching positions are scarce, temporary exits may be fewer due to perceived difficulty in reentering; when other opportunities are plentiful, career changes are more likely. Policy variables may also influence attrition rates. Incentives for early retirement, for example, became widespread in school districts during the 1990s, as costs for experienced teachers rose. Policy initiatives such as mentoring, student loan forgiveness, and additional bonuses for teachers who gain national certification are intended to reduce attrition rates.

One of the major objectives of the NTPS is to collect national data for estimating teacher turnover and for understanding attrition patterns. The 2024-25 TFS is designed to be used in conjunction with the 2023-24 NTPS to model the mobility of public and private school teachers. The NTPS and TFS, conducted on a regular basis, provide necessary information for estimating and analyzing teacher turnover and for updating the turnover estimates used in projections of teacher demand.

A.2b Purposes and Uses of PFS Data

As a baseline measure, the results from the first PFS collected in 2008-09 received immediate attention from the education media, SEA planners, researchers, and advocacy organizations interested in the dynamics of the principal labor force.

Data collected during the PFS produce national estimates about principals in public and private schools. The resulting data files include responses to question one on the PFS form (principal’s occupational status). The PFS data files are merged with the previous year’s NTPS principal data file to provide a rich dataset for analyzing information about principals in K-12 schools in the United States.

A.3 Appropriate Use of Information Technology

As in the 2023-24 NTPS and all prior administrations of the TFS and PFS, data collection will be carried out for NCES by the Census Bureau under an interagency agreement. Technology will be applied appropriately to keep respondent burden to a minimum.

A.3a Appropriate use of Information Technology for the 2024-25 TFS

Technology will be applied appropriately to keep respondent burden for the TFS to a minimum. Data collection for the TFS will begin with contacting the 2023-24 NTPS school in September 2024 to identify the current (2024-25 school year) teaching status of the 2023-24 NTPS teachers, which is a critical input to TFS sampling. This fall data collection is known as the Teacher Status Data Collection Operation. New for the 2024-25 TFS, this operation will be conducted primarily by web via a Qualtrics web instrument. Traditionally, this operation was conducted by paper questionnaire only.

The TFS Main Data Collection Operation will also be conducted primarily by web and will begin once the TFS sample is selected. The web-based TFS instrument is designed to minimize respondent burden by eliminating the cumbersome skip patterns required in paper questionnaires.

The TFS instrument will be securely hosted on the Census Bureau server where operations staff can access sample member information and questionnaire status and conduct efficient and effective nonresponse follow-up.

In addition to receiving mailed TFS correspondence, sampled teachers will also be contacted via email throughout data collection using email addresses collected during the 2023-24 NTPS. When necessary, additional research operations will be conducted to find email addresses for sampled teachers whose email address was not collected during the 2023-24 NTPS or for whom the listed email address is no longer valid. All sampled teachers will be sent an initial invitation email requesting participation in the NTPS via a web instrument. Following this initial invitation email, nonresponding teachers will be mailed a package containing a letter with information on completing the survey online. Several rounds of reminder correspondence via email and/or mailed letters or will also be sent to sampled teachers who have not completed their survey. All reminder emails will include the survey URL and login credentials for accessing the web instrument. The final two reminder mailings will include a paper questionnaire.

Telephone reminder and follow-up operations where telephone interviewers remind and encourage the sampled teachers to complete their questionnaires and, when possible, complete interviews over the phone using the TFS web instrument will be carried out by Census Bureau contact center staff. These operations will take place concurrently with the reminder mailout and email operations from late February through late May 2025.

A.3b Appropriate use of Information Technology for the 2024-25 PFS

Technology will be applied appropriately to keep respondent burden for the PFS to a minimum. Data collection for the PFS will begin with contacting the 2023-24 NTPS principals directly by email and mail regarding their current (2024-25 school year) occupation status using the personal contact information they provided on their completed NTPS Principal Questionnaire. This is known as the Principal Data Collection Operation. New for the 2024-25 PFS, this operation will be conducted primarily by web via a Qualtrics web instrument. Traditionally, this operation was conducted by paper questionnaire only. When necessary, additional research operations will be conducted to locate email addresses for principals whose email address was not collected during the 2023-24 NTPS or for whom the email address listed is no longer valid.

If the principal did not provide personal contact information on their completed NTPS Principal Questionnaire, then attempts to collect this information from the 2023-24 NTPS school will be made as part of the School Data Collection Operation. New for the 2024-25 PFS, this operation will also be conducted primarily by web via a slightly different Qualtrics web instrument than the instrument deployed during the Principal Data Collection Operation described above.

Throughout PFS data collection, several rounds of reminder correspondence via email, text message (if applicable), and/or mailed letters will also be sent to principals and/or schools who have not completed their survey. The final reminder mailing will include a paper questionnaire.

Census Bureau contact center staff will implement a telephone follow-up operation with nonresponding schools to collect principal status information over the phone. This operation will take place concurrently with reminder mailout and email operations from early March through mid-May 2025.

The 2024-25 PFS will include an experiment to test different methods of text messaging survey participants who consented on their completed NTPS Principal Questionnaire to receiving text messages to explore the use of text messaging as means of inviting and reminding survey respondents to complete the PFS and as a data collection mode. Further details about the use of text messages during 2024-25 PFS Principal Data Collection Operations are provided in section B.4.1 of Supporting Statement Part B.

A.4 Efforts to Identify Duplication

Available data sources were examined to determine that the data were not available elsewhere. NCES staff continue to monitor the fields of teacher and principal attrition and retention in preparation for subsequent TFS and PFS administrations. As of this submission, no duplicate efforts have been identified.

A.5 Collection of Data from Small Schools

The burden on small schools was minimized during the 2023-24 NTPS data collection through a systematic sample design that resulted in the number of teachers sampled from a school being proportional to the size of teacher population in that school. Therefore, larger schools had a larger of number of teachers sampled per school, while smaller schools had a smaller number of sampled teachers per school. Because the TFS Teacher Status Operation and the PFS are follow-up studies of schools that participated in the prior NTPS, the burden of TFS and PFS is, therefore, minimized among small schools.

A.6 Frequency of Data Collection

NCES plans to continue collecting the TFS and PFS data following every cycle of the NTPS, approximately every three years.

A.7 Special Circumstances of Data Collection

No special circumstances for these information collections are anticipated.

The NTPS collects data on teachers’ race and ethnicity. In order to minimize burden, the TFS does not typically include questions where respondents’ answers are unlikely to have changed since they completed the NTPS during the previous school year. The 2023-24 NTPS and earlier collections asked about race and ethnicity as defined at the time of collection.

In March 2024, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) announced revisions to Statistical Policy Directive No. 15: Standards for Maintaining, Collecting, and Presenting Federal Data on Race and Ethnicity (SPD 15) and published the revised SPD15 standard in the Federal Register (89 FR 22182).

For the 2024-25 TFS, we will include the updated SPD 15 question on race and ethnicity. Specifically, as seen in Appendix B, the 2024-25 TFS will be using Figure 2 (89 FR 22194). The TFS race and ethnicity question will allow us to empirically measure how respondents answer the older and updated versions, and it will serve as a bridge in order to analyze trends in teachers’ race and ethnicity before and after the updated SPD 15 is added to the next NTPS collection. The TFS race and ethnicity question will solely be used for this empirical purpose; that is, the question(s) are not for production and will not be used to produce official statistics. The vast majority of TFS and NTPS respondents answer the surveys via the web instrument, and Figure 2 has better usability for web and mobile users than Figure 1 (89 FR 22193). In specific, on the 2023-24 NTPS, 87-89 percent of responses on the principal and school questionnaires, respectfully, came from the web and 94 percent of responses came from the web on the 2021-22 TFS. Further, because this is an addition to a previous data collection and we are not recalculating burden for this collection, Figure 2 has the advantage of providing exactly the level of data that will be of use for preliminary bridging calculations while not increasing burden to respondents through use of the more complex and potentially confusing Figure 1.

A.8 Consultations Outside the Agency

NCES conducts the NTPS and its follow-up studies, the TFS and PFS, in close consultation with other offices and organizations within and outside the U.S. Department of Education.

Since its initial conception, the TFS and PFS development has relied on the substantive and technical review and comment of people both inside and outside the Department of Education. Through a series of technical review panel meetings, the plans for TFS and PFS content, design, analysis, and reporting have been shared with data providers at all levels and data users including researchers and policymakers. Listed below are those who helped shape the TFS and PFS from outside of the Department of Education, with their name and affiliation at the time they provided input.

Sarah Almy, Director of Teacher Quality, Education Trust

David Figlio, Ph.D., Warrington College of Business Administration, University of Florida
Daniel Goldhaber, Ph.D., Evans School of Public Affairs, University of Washington
Jennifer Imazeki, Ph.D., Department of Economics, San Diego State University

Richard Ingersoll, Ph.D., Graduate School of Education, University of Pennsylvania
Susan Moore Johnson, Ph.D., Graduate School of Education, Harvard University
Edward Liu, Ph.D., Graduate School of Education, Rutgers University
Susanna Loeb, Ph.D., School of Education, Stanford University

Michael Long, ICF International Howard Nelson, Senior Associate Director, American Federation of Teachers

Howard Nelson, Senior Associate Director, American Federation of Teachers

Michael Podgursky, Department of Economics, University of Missouri

Steve Rivkin, Ph.D., Department of Economics, Amherst College
Tim Sass, Ph.D., Department of Economics, Florida State University
Jianping Shen, Ph.D., Department of Teaching, Learning, and Leadership, Western Michigan University

Elena Silva, Education Sector

Michael Strong, Director of Research, New Teacher Center, UC Santa Cruz

The following experts served as part of the NTPS (and related studies) team in previous rounds of administration:

Laurie Lewis, Statistician, Westat

Jim Green, Statistician, Westat

Rebecca Goldring, Statistician, Westat

Elizabeth Petraglia, Statistician, Westat

The following experts served as part of the NTPS (and related studies) team for the current round of administration:

Rebecca Medway, Principal Survey Methodologist, American Institutes for Research (AIR)

Jana Kemp, Principal Researcher, American Institutes for Research (AIR)

Carol Wan, Survey Methodologist, American Institutes for Research (AIR)

Noelle Poirier, Senior Researcher, American Institutes for Research (AIR)

The NTPS, TFS, and PFS study designs have benefited from consultation with the following federal experts:

Andy Zukerberg, Statistician, National Center for Education Statistics

Maura Spiegelman, Statistician, National Center for Education Statistics

Julia Merlin, Statistician, National Center for Education Statistics

Shawna Cox, Survey Director, Education Surveys Team, U.S. Census Bureau

Walter Holmes, Assistant Survey Director, Education Surveys Team, U.S. Census Bureau

Allison Zotti, Statistician, Education Surveys Team, U.S. Census Bureau

James Farber, Demographic Survey Methods Division, U.S. Census Bureau

Aaron Gilary, Mathematical Statistician, U.S. Census Bureau

Jinhee Hong, Mathematical Statistician, Demographic Survey Methods Division, U.S. Census Bureau

Kathleen Kephart, Statistician, Center for Behavioral Science Methods, U.S. Census Bureau

Jonathan Katz, Statistician, Center for Behavioral Science Methods, U.S. Census Bureau

A.9 Provision of Payments or Gifts to Respondents

The 2023-24 NTPS included the use of incentives with the goal of maximizing teacher response, and, therefore, the 2024-25 TFS will include the use of monetary incentives as well, with the goal of improving response rates among sample members. All teachers contacted will receive a monetary incentive. Teachers identified as movers and leavers will be offered a promised $20 incentive for completing their survey online within 3 weeks of first being contacted by e-mail; respondents will receive their $20 early bird incentive after they complete their TFS. If these teachers do not complete the survey online within 3 weeks, both they and teachers identified as stayers will receive a $10 cash incentive in their first contact by mail. Incentives will be offered in a non-experimental manner.

In addition, NCES seeks approval to potentially offer an additional monetary incentive to nonresponding teachers in an effort to combat low teacher response in at-risk subdomains of interest. The decision to offer this additional incentive will be made jointly by NCES and Census based on close monitoring of data collection status and response rates by subdomains of interest. If executed, the additional incentive, a promised digital e-gift card ($10), would be offered to nonresponding teachers starting in mid-April 2025, at the time of the fourth mailout package. Once a completed TFS is received by Census, the digital incentive would be sent directly to the responding teacher by email. Further details about the use of incentives are provided in section B.3.3 of Supporting Statement Part B.

There will be no provision of payments or gifts to respondents for the 2024-25 PFS.

A.10 Assurance of Confidentiality

Data security and confidentiality protection procedures have been put in place for the 2023-24 NTPS and the 2024-25 TFS and PFS studies and to ensure that all contractors and agents working on these studies comply with all privacy requirements including, as applicable:

The Interagency agreement with NCES for this study and the statement of work of NTPS contract;
Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. §552a);
Privacy Act Regulations (34 CFR Part 5b);
Computer Security Act of 1987;
U.S.A. Patriot Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-56);
Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9573);
Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2015 (6 U.S.C. §151);
Foundations of Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, Title III, Part B, Confidential Information Protection
The U.S. Department of Education General Handbook for Information Technology Security General Support Systems and Major Applications Inventory Procedures (March 2005);
The U.S. Department of Education Incident Handling Procedures (February 2009);
The U.S. Department of Education, ACS Directive OM: 5-101, Contractor Employee Personnel Security Screenings;
NCES Statistical Standards; and
All new legislation that impacts the data collected through the interagency agreement and contract for this study.

The U.S. Census Bureau will collect data under an interagency agreement with NCES, and maintain the individually identifiable questionnaires per the agreement, including:

Provisions for data collection in the field;
Provisions to protect the data-coding phase required before machine processing;
Provisions to safeguard completed survey documents;
Authorization procedures to access or obtain files containing identifying information; and
Provisions to remove printouts and other outputs that contain identification information from normal operation (such materials will be maintained in secured storage areas and will be securely destroyed as soon as practical).

U.S. Census Bureau and contractors working on the 2023-24 NTPS and the 2024-25 TFS and PFS studies will comply with the Department of Education’s IT security policy requirements as set forth in the Handbook for Information Assurance Security Policy and related procedures and guidance, as well as IT security requirements in the Federal Information Security Management Act (FISMA), Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) publications, Office of Management and Budget (OMB) Circulars, and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) standards and guidance. All data products and publications will also adhere to: the revised NCES Statistical Standards, as described at the website: https://nces.ed.gov/statprog/2012/.

By law (20 U.S.C. §9573), a violation of the confidentiality restrictions is a felony, punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years and/or a fine of up to $250,000. All government or contracted staff working on the study and having access to the data are required to sign an NCES Affidavit of Nondisclosure and have received public-trust security clearance. These requirements include the successful certification and accreditation of the system before it can be implemented. Appropriate memoranda of understanding and interconnection security agreements will be documented as part of the certification and accreditation process.

From the initial contact with the participants in this survey through all of the follow-up efforts, potential survey respondents will be informed that (a) the U.S. Census Bureau administers NTPS and the NTPS follow-up studies on behalf of NCES; (b) NCES is authorized to conduct NTPS and the NTPS follow-up studies by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543); (c) all of the information they provide may only be used for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151); and (d) that their participation is voluntary.

The following language will be included in respondent contact materials and/or data collection instruments:

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. Department of Education, conducts NTPS and the NTPS follow-up surveys as authorized by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. §9543).

All of the information you provide may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose except as required by law (20 U.S.C. §9573 and 6 U.S.C. §151).

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this voluntary information collection is 1850-0617. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average [XX] minutes per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate, suggestions for improving this collection, or comments or concerns about the contents or the status of your individual submission of this questionnaire, please e-mail: [email protected], or write directly to: National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), National Center for Education Statistics, Potomac Center Plaza, 550 12^th Street SW, Washington, DC 20202.

The TFS web-based data collection instrument will be housed on Census Bureau servers, and the PFS web-based instrument and the TFS teacher status instrument will be housed on the Qualtrics platform.

Paper questionnaire returns will go directly to the Census Bureau for data capture and machine processing. Only authorized individuals will have access to the data.

A.11 Sensitive Questions

The 2024-25 TFS and PFS are voluntary surveys, and no persons are required to respond. In addition, respondents may decline to answer any question in the survey. Respondents are informed of the voluntary nature of the survey in contact letters and emails, as well as on the actual questionnaires.

Some items in the 2024-25 TFS questionnaires may be considered sensitive by some respondents. This includes questions that pertain to personal or family income, including questions about salary for the year and other types of income during the school year and the summer. Those who left teaching (and are working) are asked about their yearly salary and the combined family (or household) income. Data on income and compensation are important for analyses of average teacher salaries, overall teacher compensation, comparative income between current and former teachers, and teacher job satisfaction. Comparative income and financial responsibility data between leavers and stayers or movers provide a broader look at the decisions made by teachers to stay in, change, or leave teaching.

Questionnaire items on the 2024-25 PFS are not considered to be sensitive.

A.12 Estimated Response Burden

A.12a. Estimated Response Burden for the 2024-25 TFS

Table A1 Details of Information Collection Burden for the 2024-25 TFS

Respondent Type	Sample Size	Estimated Response Rate	Estimated Number of Respondents	Estimated Number of Responses	Estimated average response time per respondent	Total Hours
Schools (Teacher Status Form)	11,127	0.84	9,347	9,347	5 minutes	779
Stayers and Movers (Current Teacher Questionnaire (TFS-3))	8,032	0.81	6,506	6,506	20 minutes	2,169
Leavers (Former Teacher Questionnaire (TFS-2))	2,433	0.68	1,654	1,654	19 minutes	524
TOTAL	--	--	17,507	17,507	--	3,472

The sample members with unknown status are assumed to be allocated to the two types of surveys (current and former teachers) in the same proportion as the sample members with known status. The number of responding schools is based on an 84 percent unweighted response rate and the number of current or former teacher respondents is based on a 68 percent base-weighted response rate from leavers and an 81 percent base-weighted response rate from stayers and movers after follow-up.

The estimated average hourly earnings of teachers is $34.74², and of principals/administrators is $53.38³ in elementary and secondary schools in the May 2023 National Occupational and Employment Wage Estimates sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Therefore, the total estimated burden time response cost for teacher respondents is $93,555, and for school administrators is $41,583, for a total of $135,138 estimated burden time response cost for the 2024-25 TFS.

A.12b. Estimated Response Burden for the 2024-25 PFS

Table A2 Details of Information Collection Burden for the 2024-25 PFS

Respondent Type	Sample Size	Estimated Response Rate	Estimated Number of Respondents	Estimated Number of Responses	Estimated average response time per response	Total Hours
Principals: Principal Status Form (PFS-1C/1D)	8,800	0.65	5,720	5,720	3 minutes	286
Schools: Principal Status Form (PFS-1A/1B)	8,800	0.25	2,200	2,200	3 minutes	110
TOTAL	--	--	7,920	7,920	--	396

The sample size reflects the expended number of principal responses to the 2023-24 NTPS Principal Questionnaire. The estimated response rate assumes an overall response rate of 90%, based on the 2021-22 PFS, with 65% received from principals and 25% received from schools. The data collection strategy for the 2024-25 PFS differs significantly from prior cycles in that data collection is starting with principals (rather than schools) for most cases and is primarily web-based. If the observed percentage of responses collected from principals versus schools varies from these estimates, it will not have an impact on burden time, as the average time per response is 3 minutes for both principals and schools.

The estimated average hourly earnings of principals/administrators is $53.38⁴ in elementary and secondary schools in the May 2023 National Occupational and Employment Wage Estimates sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). Therefore, the total estimated burden time response cost for the 2024-25 PFS is $21,138.

Table A3 Summary of Information Collection Burden for the 2024-25 TFS & PFS

Respondent Type	Estimated Number of Respondents	Estimated Number of Responses	Hours	Estimated Burden Time Response Cost
Teacher Follow-Up Study	17,507	17,507	3,472	$135,138
Principal Follow-Up Study	7,920	7,920	396	$21,138
TOTAL FOR THIS REQUEST	25,427	25,427	3,868	$156,276

A.13 Estimates of Cost Burden

Respondents for these surveys will not incur any cost other than the time it takes to respond.

A.14 Cost to the Federal Government

The cost to the federal government for work by the Census Bureau on the 2024-25 TFS and PFS is estimated to be $7 million. These estimates were compiled from individual estimates developed within each Census Bureau division involved in the surveys and are based on the sample sizes, questionnaires length, and data processing requirements. Administrative overhead, forms design, printing, and mailing costs are included. Additionally, the 2024-25 TFS and PFS are also conducted with the support of AIR, for an estimated additional $487,000. In total, the 2024-25 TFS and PFS are estimated to cost the Federal Government approximately $7.487 million.

Table A4 Estimates of costs to the government for the 2024-25 TFS & PFS

Activity	Estimated Costs
Census Bureau costs	$7,000,000
Contractor Fees	$487,000
TOTAL	$7,487,000

A.15 Reason for Change in Burden

This request shows consistent response burden for both the TFS and the PFS with the prior cycle of these surveys. The estimated burden hours for the 2021-22 TFS was 4,444 hours and is 3,472 for the 2024-25 TFS. The reduction in burden is due to a reduction in the estimated average response time for both schools and current (stayer and mover) teachers. The estimated burden hours for the 2021-22 PFS was 692 hours and is 396 for the 2024-25 PFS. The slight decrease in burden is due to an estimated lower response rate for the 2024-25 PFS based on the results of the 2021-22 PFS data collection and reduction in the estimated average response time from five minutes to three minutes. Finally, because both the TFS and PFS are follow-up studies to the NTPS, we are seeking continued use of OMB number 1850-0617 to represent both studies, independent of NTPS’s OMB number 1850-0598.

A.16 Project Schedule

In addition to restricted use data files, NCES plans to produce the following online reports for both the 2024-25 TFS and PFS studies:

A Survey Documentation report summarizing the procedures for sampling, data collection, data control, and data processing;
A “First Look” report containing tabular summaries of basic data for dissemination to a broad audience; and
A Data File User’s Manual.

The 2024-25 TFS activities will be conducted according to the following time schedule:

Activity	Dates
Teacher Status Data Collection Operations
Initial Teacher Status Mailout	Early September 2024
Initial Teacher Status Invitation Email	Early September 2024
Reminder Teacher Status Mailout	Mid-September 2024
1^st Reminder Email	Mid-September 2024
Paper Mailout containing NTPS-5A/5B/5C form	Late September 2024
2^nd Reminder Email	Early October 2024
Telephone Follow-up Operation for schools that have not provided teacher status information via web or on a paper NTPS-5A/5B/5C form	Mid- to late October 2024
Teacher Status Clerical Research Operation for teachers at nonresponding schools	Late October – Mid-November 2024
Early TFS Contact Operations
Early Contact Information Clerical Research Operation for movers/leaver/unknown teachers who did not provide contact information on their NTPS TQ	Wave 1: Late October 2024 – Early November 2024 Wave 2: Early to mid-December 2024
Early mover/leaver/unknown email invitation	Wave 1: Late October 2024 Wave 2: Early December 2024
Early mover/leaver/unknown reminder email(deadline extension)	Wave 1: Early November 2024 Wave 2: Mid-December 2024
Thank You Incentive mailout	Wave 1: Early December 2024 Wave 2: Mid-January 2025
Early mover/leaver/unknown teachers move into Main TFS Contact Operations	Early January 2025
Main TFS Contact Operations
Initial TFS invitation email / 3^rd email (movers/leavers/unknowns)	Early January 2025
Initial TFS Mailout (with incentive)	Mid-January 2025
2^nd TFS email / 4^th email (movers/leavers/unknowns)	Late January 2025
2^nd TFS mailout	Early February 2025
3^rd TFS email / 5^th email (movers/leavers/unknowns)	Mid-February 2025
TFS Telephone Reminder Operation	Late February – early April 2025
4^th TFS email / 6^th email (movers/leavers/unknowns)	Early March 2025
3^rd TFS mailout	Mid-March 2025
5^thTFS email / 7^themail (movers/leavers/unknowns)	Late March 2025
4^th TFS mailout (first paper mailout)/contingency incentive mailout (if applicable)	Early to mid-April 2025
6^th TFS email / 8^th email (movers/leavers/unknowns)	Mid-April 2025
7^th TFS email / 9^th email (movers/leavers/unknowns)	Late April 2025
TFS Telephone follow-up operation	May 2025
5^th TFS mailout (with paper questionnaire)	Mid-May 2025
8^th TFS email / 10^th email (movers/leavers/unknowns)	Mid-May 2025
9^th TFS email	Early June 2025
TFS Data Collection Ends	July 2025
NCES reports results	June 2026

The 2024-25 PFS activities will be conducted according to the following time schedule:

Activity		Dates
PFS Principal Address Research Operation		November-December 2024
School-Only Collection Path (No Principal Contact Information Available)
Initial School Mailout		Early January 2025
Initial School Invitation Email		Mid-January 2025
2nd School Email		Late January 2025
2nd School Mailout (with Paper)		Early February 2025
School Telephone Follow-up Operation		March-April 2025
Principal Status Clerical Research Operation		April 2025
Full Collection Path (Principal Contact Information Available)
Principal Data Collection Operation
Text Groups
Principal Welcome Text & Text 1		Early January 2025
Principal Text 2		Mid-January 2025
Initial Principal Invitation Email		Late January 2025
Initial Principal Mailout		Early February 2025
2nd Principal Email		Mid-February 2025
2nd Principal Mailout (with Paper)		Late February 2025
No Text Groups
No home email
Initial Principal Invitation Email		Early January 2025
Initial Principal Mailout		Mid-January 2025
2nd Principal Email		Late January 2025
2nd Principal Mailout (with Paper)		Early February 2025
Home email
Initial Principal Invitation Email		Early January 2025
2nd Principal Email		Mid-January 2025
3rd Principal Email		Late January 2025
Principal Mailout (with Paper)		Early February 2025
School Data Collection Operation
Initial School Mailout		Mid-March 2025
Initial School Invitation Email		Mid-March 2025
2nd School Mailout (with Paper)		Early April 2025
2nd School Email		Mid-April 20225
School Telephone Follow-up Operation		April-May 2025
Principal Status Clerical Research Operation		May-June 2025
PFS Data Collection Ends	July 2025
NCES reports results	July 2026

A.17 Request Not to Display Expiration Date

NCES is not seeking approval not to display the expiration date of OMB approval.

A.18 Exceptions to the Certification

There are no exceptions to the topics in Item 19 of Form OMB 83-1.

1 Boyd, D., Grossman, P., Lankford, H., Loeb, S., and Wyckoff, J. (2009). Who Leaves?: Teacher Attrition and Student Achievement (CALDER working paper 23). The Urban Institute; Ingersoll, R.M., and Smith, T.M. (2003). The Wrong Solution to the Teacher Shortage. In Keeping Good Teachers, Special Issue. Educational Leadership, 60(8): 30-33.

2 The average hourly earnings of primary and secondary teachers in the May 2023 National Occupational and Employment Wage Estimates sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is $34.74. Source: BLS Occupation Employment Statistics, http://data.bls.gov/oes/, data type: Occupation code: Elementary and Middle School Teachers (25-2020) and Secondary School Teachers (25-2030); Annual Mean Wages $70,950/2,080 and $73,570/2,080. Accessed on May 1, 2024.

3 The average hourly earnings of principals/education administrators in the May 2023 National Occupational and Employment Wage Estimates sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is $53.38. Source: BLS Occupation Employment Statistics, http://data.bls.gov/oes/, data type: Occupation: Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary Schools (SOC code 119032)); Annual Mean Wage $111,020/2,080 hours. Accessed on May 1, 2024.

4 The average hourly earnings of principals/education administrators in the May 2023 National Occupational and Employment Wage Estimates sponsored by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) is $53.38. Source: BLS Occupation Employment Statistics, http://data.bls.gov/oes/, data type: Occupation: Education Administrators, Kindergarten through Secondary Schools (SOC code 119032)); Annual Mean Wage $111,020/2,080 hours. Accessed on May 1, 2024.

File Type	application/vnd.openxmlformats-officedocument.wordprocessingml.document
File Title	tfs omb supporting statement [Memorandum]
Author	NCES
File Modified	0000-00-00
File Created	2025-01-15

Part A TFS PFS 2024-25 v13