Online Survey and phone survey for Business Leaders

Date: 5/15/2007

Establishing a Baseline for REL Southwest Performance and Identifying Customer Needs: Survey Tasks 1.1.1 and 1.1.2

<Phone Survey Script for Local and State Chamber of Commerce Presidents>

<Introduction script for phone survey>

Good Morning/Afternoon. My name is _____. I am calling on behalf of Edvance Research, Inc., a national research organization and would like to speak to <read name on list>.

(If respondent is available, continue with script. Otherwise call back later.)

We greatly value the opinion of Chamber of Commerce Presidents such as yourself and are interested in obtaining your feedback. It should not take you more than 15 minutes to complete this survey.

Responses to this data collection will be used only for statistical purposes. The reports prepared for this study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific district or individual. We will not provide information that identifies you or your district to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law.

QA. Would you like to participate in this survey?

1. Yes <Continue with script>

2. No <Thank for time and terminate>

QB. Are you currently serving in the role of “President” of the Chamber of Commerce in your city, state or region? (Select only one.)

1. Yes, I am the current President of the Chamber of Commerce in my city, state or region

2. No <Terminate and SKIP TO CLOSING STATEMENT>

Q1. Specify your industry of primary employment:

1. Biotechnology and Pharmaceutical

2. Construction

3. Education

4. Energy/Utilities

5. Engineering

6. Financial Services

7. Government and Policy

8. Healthcare

9. Hospitality/Tourism

10. Legal

11. Manufacturing

12. Military

13. Non-Profit

14. Real Estate

15. Retail/Wholesale

16. Other (specify)

Q2. At which level(s) of education are you, in conjunction with your Chamber of Commerce, currently involved or interested? (Select all that apply.)

1. Elementary/Secondary Education

   1. Pre-K/Kindergarten

   2. Elementary

   3. Middle/Junior

   4. High

2. Higher Education

   1. Two Year College

   2. Four Year College

   3. Graduate School

3. Other/Don’t know <Terminate and SKIP TO CLOSING STATEMENT>

Q3. Select your primary state of employment: <Participants who do not select at least one of the 5 REL SOUTHWEST states will be terminated from the survey process>

1. Arkansas

2. Louisiana

3. New Mexico

4. Oklahoma

5. Texas

6. Other <Terminate and SKIP TO CLOSING STATEMENT>

Q4. Specify your sex:

1. Male

2. Female

Q5a. Specify your ethnicity: (Select one)

1. Hispanic or Latino

2. Not Hispanic or Latino

Q5b. Specify your race: (Select one or more)

1. American Indian or Alaska Native

2. Asian

3. Black or African American

4. Native Hawaiian or Other Pacific Islander

5. White

Q6. Prior to this survey, how aware were you of the Regional Educational Laboratories, also referred to as the REL Network? Please assign an awareness rating using a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 = “Unaware” and 5 = “Aware”. _______________

Q7. How aware are you of SEDL (also referred to as the Southwest Educational Development Laboratory)? Please assign an awareness rating using a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 = “Unaware” and 5 = “Aware”. _______________

Q8. How aware are you of REL Southwest or SWREL (also referred to as the Regional Educational Laboratory -- Southwest)? Please assign an awareness rating using a scale of 1 to 5 where 1 = “Unaware” and 5 = “Aware”. _______________

Q9. Do you use/refer to research that focuses on educational issues?

1. Yes <SKIP TO Q11>

2. No

Q10. Specify your reasons for not using/referring to research that focuses on educational issues: (Select all that apply)

1. I have trouble finding research.

2. Research available is not relevant to my job.

3. I doubt the quality of research that is available.

4. Research available is difficult to understand.

5. Other (Specify)

<SKIP TO Q19>

Q11. What type of research that focuses on educational issues do you use currently (or have you used in the past)? (Select all that apply)

1. Research that will help students in a specific subject area (such as Math, Reading, etc.)

2. Research that will help me better understand government policy that affects students’ education (such as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), etc.)

3. Research about the tests/assessments given to students.

4. Research that will help me learn more about a particular text book or curriculum.

5. Research about social issues affecting education (e.g., Teenage pregnancy, child obesity, etc.)

6. Research on workforce Readiness

7. Other (Specify)

Q12. Why do you use/refer to research that focuses on educational issues? (Select all that apply)

1. To better perform my job functions

2. To stay informed of education issues in which I am interested

3. To make decisions

4. To ensure that educational products/curriculum that are implemented (or are being implemented) are research based

5. To assess workforce readiness of high school and college students

6. Other (Specify)

Q13. Complete the following by selecting one of the following choices. “When I come across any research that focuses on education, I generally …

1. assume it to be of the highest quality.”

2. do not make any assumptions until I have reviewed it.”

Q14. Generally, after reviewing a research report that focuses on educational issues, how comfortable do you feel in deciding on its quality?

1. Very comfortable

2. Somewhat comfortable

3. Neither comfortable nor uncomfortable

4. Somewhat uncomfortable

5. Very uncomfortable

Q15. Overall, how satisfied are you with the quality of education research that is currently available on topics that are important to you?

1. Very satisfied

2. Somewhat satisfied

3. Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

4. Somewhat dissatisfied

5. Very dissatisfied

Q16. How satisfied are you with the relevancy/applicability of education research that is currently available?

1. Very satisfied

2. Somewhat satisfied

3. Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

4. Somewhat dissatisfied

5. Very dissatisfied

Q17. Please list any improvements that you would like to see made in the education research that is currently available.____________________________________________

Q18. How do you become aware of research that focuses on educational issues? (Select all that apply.)

1. Internet

2. Colleague(s)

3. Friends who are educators

4. Direct mail/Email

5. Professional organization(s)

6. Research provided by educational institution/school district

7. Library

8. Academic publications/journals

9. Newspapers

10. Conferences

11. Education publisher(s)

12. US Department of Education website/Institute of Education Sciences (IES) website

13. National Center for Educational Statistics (NCES) publications

14. State Department of Education website

15. Regional Educational Laboratory website/publications

16. What Works Clearinghouse (WWC)

17. Local education agency (LEA)

18. Comprehensive Assistance Centers

19. Other (Specify)

Q19. I will now read a list of some education issues/research topics. Please evaluate the importance of each topic as it relates to improved academic performance and assign an importance rating to each topic using a scale of 1 – 5 where 1 = “Not at all Important” and 5 = “Extremely Important”. You may also indicate “Not Familiar or Don’t Know” for any item that you are not familiar with.

<Note for interviewer: After respondent has assigned an importance rating to each topic, read all the topics, if needed, and ask respondent to assign a rank of “1” to the one item that he/she find to be the most important.>

Assign Rank of "1" to only one item which is most important for you	Education Issues / Research Topics	Not at all important 1	2	3	4	Extremely Important 5	Not Familiar with Topic
	Assessment and Standards (e.g., diagnostic, formative, state and National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) standards)
	Workforce Readiness
	Early Childhood/Early Intervention & Prevention
	Education Infrastructure (e.g., leadership, cost-studies, teacher retention, organization development, & service coordination)
	Education Research (e.g., evaluating effectiveness of programs)
	English Language Learners (ELL), English as a Second Language (ESL), Bilingual Education
	Equity & Diversity (e.g., urban, rural, & special populations)
	Family & Community (e.g., parent involvement, substance abuse prevention in schools, obesity, after school programs, mentoring, worker training, & volunteer leadership)
	K-12 School & District Reform
	Legal Issues for Teachers/Administrators/Students (e.g., liability, teacher/student rights, harassment)
	Mathematics
	Policy & Legislation (e.g., No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Individual with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA))
	Post-Secondary (e.g., P-16, college readiness, & teacher preparation)
	Professional Development
	Reading & Writing
	Response to Intervention (RTI)
	Safety (e.g. bullying, school violence)
	Science
	Special Education & Disabilities
	Teacher Incentive Pay
	Technology in Learning (e.g., use in professional development, instruction, & infrastructure)

Q20. Please specify any other education issues/research topics that relate to improved academic performance and are important for you: ____________________

Q21. If there are any other comments that you would like us to receive (regarding the education research needs of your region), please enter them in the space provided below. ______________________________________

Q22. Would you like to receive educational research/research notifications through email?

1. Yes (“Please specify your professional email”) _______________

2. No

Q23. Please provide your professional contact information (optional). (Note: Please provide your professional information.):

• Name:

• Name of Chamber of Commerce:

• City:

• State:

• Zip:

<Closing Statement>

Thank you for your time. Your responses will aid in the development and implementation of research that will be used to make evidence-based decisions and to positively impact student performance in your state.

According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is XXXX. The time required to complete this form is estimated to average 15 minutes per respondent, including the time to review instructions and complete the survey. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC 20202-4651. If you have any comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: Edvance Research, Inc., Market Research Director, 9901 IH-10 West, Suite 700, San Antonio, TX, 78230.