Purpose of Coordinator's Interview Variables

Appendix P

Purposes of Variables in Coordinator’s Follow-Up Interview

Purposes of Variables in MSAP Project/School Choice Coordinator Interview Guide

Section	Item No.	Text of Item	Description of Use	Topic	Purpose
					Outcome	Covariate	Mediating Variable	Moderating Variable	Descriptive Comparison- Treatment Groups	Descriptive Comparison – National	E1: Resident Student Achievement	E2: Minority Group Isolation	E3: Non-resident Student Achievement	E4: Program Evolution
A	1	MSAP-funded Magnet Schools	Update information about magnet school characteristics to see if any adjustments need to be made to the analysis and to indicate evolution of magnet schools	Selected School Characteristics					X		X
A	1a	Are all neighborhood students admitted to the school, or do they apply for admission for a limited number of seats?	Used to confirm that practice of admitting neighborhood students hasn’t changed in intervening years	Selected School Characteristics					X		X	X	X	X
A	1b	In what grades can non-resident students apply for admission? (Circle all grades that apply.)	Used to confirm appropriate grade levels for analysis of non-resident students entering program and to inform description of evolution of program practice regarding entry level.	Selected School Characteristics					X		X	X	X	X
A	1c	In what grades are students typically accepted into the magnet? (Circle all grades that apply.)	Can be compared to initial screening interview to inform description of stability or change (evolution) in magnet school programs.	Selected School Characteristics					X		X	X	X	X
A	1d	Has this school been identified for Program Improvement under NCLB? If so, in what year of the process was the school in 2009-2010?	Check on evolution of school under magnet program and as comparison to non-magnet comparison schools	Selected School Characteristics					X					X
A	2	Non-MSAP Comparison Schools	Update information on comparison schools.	Selected School Characteristics					X		X	X	X	X
A	2a	Has the school had a magnet program since 1998?	Check on comparison schools to confirm that it has not adopted a magnet program of its own.	Selected School Characteristics					X		X	X	X	X
A	2b	Does this school have any programs designed to attract non-resident students to enroll?	Check to see that no other special curriculum has been adopted that could affect comparison to magnet school.	Selected School Characteristics					X		X	X	X
A	2c	Has this school been identified for Program Improvement under NCLB? If so, in what year of the process was the school in 2009-2010?	Will be viewed in comparison to magnet schools to see if non-magnet more likely to be identified for Program Improvement	Selected School Characteristics					X				X	X
B	3	Which of the following additional types of public school choice (beyond the federally funded magnet school programs) are available to elementary school students in this district?	Update information on school choice context in school district. This will help put evolution of magnet programs in perspective.	School Choice System									X	X
B	3a	Open enrollment	Update information on school choice context in school district. This will help put evolution of magnet programs in perspective.	School Choice System									X	X
B	3b	Magnet school(s) not funded by MSAP	Update information on school choice context in school district. This will help put evolution of magnet programs in perspective.	School Choice System									X	X
B	3c	Charter school(s)	Update information on school choice context in school district. This will help put evolution of magnet programs in perspective.	School Choice System									X	X
B	3d	Traditional busing system designed to integrate students	Update information on school choice context in school district. This will help put evolution of magnet programs in perspective.	School Choice System									X	X
B	3e	Other type of school choice (Please describe)	Update information on school choice context in school district. This will help put evolution of magnet programs in perspective.	School Choice System									X	X
B	3f	No other type of public school choice	Update information on school choice context in school district. This will help put evolution of magnet programs in perspective.	School Choice System									X	X
C	4	The following is a list of the principal methods that your district was using in 2007 to recruit applicants for the MSAP elementary magnet schools. Does this information reflect what the district is using in 2010? (If not, please describe and explain the changes.)	Describe the evolution of the recruitment process for magnet program. These changes may affect recruitment and hence minority group isolation.	Student recruitment process								X	X	X
C	5	The following is a summary of what we were told in 2007 about the extent to which recruitment materials and activities for elementary school MSAP magnets targeted families in particular neighborhoods or with particular characteristics, and whether or not such targeting differed by school. Does the information reflect what is done in 2010? (If not, please describe and explain the changes.)	Describe the evolution of the recruitment process for magnet program. These changes may affect recruitment and hence minority group isolation.	Student recruitment process								X	X	X
C	6	Over the course of the past 3 years, has the district changed its strategies for recruiting students to any of the MSAP elementary schools? If yes, please describe the changes and indicate when they occurred.	Describe the evolution of the recruitment process for magnet program. These changes may affect recruitment and hence minority group isolation.	Student recruitment process								X	X	X
D	7	Two important aspects of the application process include the significance of deadlines for students applying to the magnet program and the implications for an applicant of applying to more than one magnet program. The information below summarizes what was reported in 2007 about late applications and applications to multiple magnet programs. Please review the information and let us know whether or not the characterizations are still accurate. Late Applications:	Describe evolution of application process for magnet programs, which might have implications for lottery results.	Student application process									X	X
D	7a	Is there a date by which the student must apply for admission to the elementary magnet school(s)?	Describe evolution of application process for magnet programs, which might have implications for lottery results..	Student application process									X	X
D	7b	If a student applies later than this date, is he or she placed later on a waiting list for admission?	Describe evolution of application process for magnet programs, which might have implications for lottery results.	Student application process									X	X
D	7c	If so, are students admitted from this waiting list only after all the students who applied before the deadline are admitted?	Describe evolution of application process for magnet programs, which might have implications for lottery results.	Student application process									X	X
D	8	Multiple Applications	Describe evolution of application process for magnet programs, which might have implications for lottery results.	Student application process									X	X
D	8a	Can the student apply to multiple magnet schools?	Describe evolution of application process for magnet programs, which might have implications for lottery results.	Student application process									X	X
D	8b	Must the student rank order the magnet schools to which he or she applied?”	Describe evolution of application process for magnet programs, which might have implications for lottery results.	Student application process									X	X
D	8c	Does the student then get preferences of some sort at his or her higher ranked schools?	Describe evolution of application process for magnet programs, which might have implications for lottery results.	Student application process									X	X
D	8d	If yes to 8c, please explain:	Describe evolution of application process for magnet programs, which might have implications for lottery results.	Student application process									X	X
E	9	Lottery or Random Assignment	Describe evolution of admissions process during that past three years Changes in admissions processes could affect the way pools are constructed for analyses of lotteries..	Admissions process									X	X
E	9a	Does the district use a lottery, random drawing or a similar randomized method to decide upon the order in which applicants will be admitted?	Describe evolution of admissions process during that past three years Changes in admissions processes could affect the way pools are constructed for analyses of lotteries.	Admissions process									X	X
E	9b	Does the district itself conduct this randomized ordering, or do individual magnet schools do this?	Describe evolution of admissions process during that past three years Changes in admissions processes could affect the way pools are constructed for analyses of lotteries.	Admissions process									X	X
E	9c	Do magnet schools in your district make separate admission decisions for each grade level?	Describe evolution of admissions process during that past three years Changes in admissions processes could affect the way pools are constructed for analyses of lotteries.	Admissions process									X	X
E	9d	Are applicants to a particular grade in magnet elementary schools in your district divided into groups before students are randomly assigned to admission rankings? (e.g., based on sibling preference , test scores, reading ability, place of residence, income level, or other considerations)	Describe evolution of admissions process during that past three years Changes in admissions processes could affect the way pools are constructed for analyses of lotteries.	Admissions process									X	X
E	10	Prioritizing students for admission. The information below summarizes for each MSAP magnet school in the study what we learned in 2007 about how applicants to a particular grade in this school are prioritized for admission to the school. (For example, “Siblings are given top priority, followed by students who do not have siblings in the school, with preference given to students from certain geographic areas of the city before others, and finally, inter-district transfers.”) Please review the information and tell us whether or not it is still accurate. Are there other categories that are used in determining the priority for admitting students?	Describe evolution of admissions process during that past three years Changes in admissions processes could affect the way pools are constructed for analyses of lotteries.	Admissions process									X	X
F	11	For each of the schools listed below, is this school continuing as a magnet school beyond 2009-2010? If so, how will the program be funded? How, if at all, will the focus of the magnet program change (e.g., remain the same, change theme or teaching method, etc.)?	Describe evolution of magnet programs beyond the cycle of federal funding.	Future of Magnet Program										X