District Letter

SCHOOL RECORDS DATA REQUEST LETTER
P.O. Box 2393
Princeton, NJ 08543-2393
Telephone (609) 799-3535
Fax (609) 799-0005
www.mathematica-mpr.com

[DATE]

Dear [District Contact]:
We would like to take this opportunity to thank your district for participating in the Study of
Secondary Math Teachers from Alternative Routes to Certification, sponsored by the U.S.
Department of Education. This study will produce much needed information about the impact of
secondary math teachers from these alternative certification programs on student achievement.
Your assistance and your district’s assistance with this important study is greatly appreciated.
There is one last important data collection task involving your district. We need to collect
information from school records for each of the students participating in our study.
We are providing a list of the students who are participating in the study and are requesting
the following data items for each of these students.
Item #
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12

Data Item
Student’s last and first name
Student’s gender
Student’s district ID number
Student’s date of birth (mm/dd/yy)
Student’s score on the state or district math test for spring 2006 - spring 2010
Student’s ethnicity (Hispanic or Latino origin)
Student’s race
Student’s grade level during the 2009-2010 school year
Whether student was promoted to higher grade as of June 2009
Whether student was eligible for free or reduced price school lunch during the
2009-2010 school year
Student’s English Language Learner (ELL) status during the 2009-2010 school
year
Whether student had an Individual education plan (IEP) or 504 plan during the
2009-2010 school year

An Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Employer

LETTER TO: [District Contact]
FROM:
Kathy Sonnenfeld and Cynthia Sipe
DATE:
PAGE:
2
We have placed Excel files for all of the participating schools and students in our study from
your district on our secure website. The enclosed attachment provides an example of the file. You
can download the files for the schools in your district to enter the requested data.
To download these files, go to https://www.HSAC2009.org/download. When prompted,
please enter the following (case-sensitive) login information:
-

Username:
Password:
Domain Name:

XXX
XXX
XXX

If you prefer to submit a paper listing, we have also enclosed a paper form that can be
completed.
After you have updated the files or listings, you can choose among three ways of returning the
data to us, including 1) posting the files to our secure website, 2) emailing the password protected
files to us, or 3) sending the hard copy lists to us via Federal Express. Please see the next page for
detailed instructions.
Thank you very much for your assistance with this data request. A member of our study team
will call you next week to determine if you have any questions about it. I can be reached at (609)
275-2293 or ksonnenfeld@mathematica-mpr.com. Cynthia Sipe can be reached at 215-731-9980
or csipe@branchassoc.com.

Sincerely,

Enclosure

LETTER TO: [District Contact]
FROM:
Kathy Sonnenfeld and Cynthia Sipe
DATE:
PAGE:
3
INSTRUCTIONS FOR RETURNING UPDATED STUDENT DATA FILES OR LISTINGS
TO MATHEMATICA POLICY RESEARCH
You may use one of the following three methods to return the updated student data files or listing
to MPR:
Post to secure website:
HTTPS://www.HSAC2009.org

Email your password
protected list to:
OR

data@HSAC2009.org

Send your list via Federal Express
to:
OR

Kathy Sonnenfeld
Mathematica Policy Research, Inc.
600 Alexander Park
Princeton, NJ 08540
609-275-2293

Option 1: Post electronic files to secure website
To upload the files to the secure website go to https://www.HSAC2009.org/upload
using an internet browser (e.g., Microsoft Explorer). When prompted, use the following
login information:
-

Username:
Password:
Domain Name:

XXX
XXX
XXX

Please note: the username and password are case-sensitive.
Start the upload process by clicking on the BROWSE button and selecting the file you
wish to transfer.
Once you have located the file, click the UPLOAD button to begin the transfer process.
Once a file is uploaded, it cannot be downloaded or accessed by any person(s) or
institution(s) other than the study research team.
If the file name is not unique you will receive a message that the “file already exists.” If
this occurs please rename your file and try uploading again.
Once your upload is complete you may close the browser.
If you password-protect your list file, please call me at (609) 275-2293 with the
password. Please do not email your password to us.

LETTER TO: [District Contact]
FROM:
Kathy Sonnenfeld and Cynthia Sipe
DATE:
PAGE:
4
Option 2: Email (electronic file)
Please password-protect your file and call me at (609) 275-2293 with the password.
For security reasons, please do not email your password to me.
Email electronic lists as a file attachment to Mathematica at data@HSAC2009.org. In
the body of the email, include your name and telephone number and the name of your
district. Do not send the student data as text in the message.
If possible, zip the file using WinZip, PKZIP, or StuffIt before attaching it to the email.
If the file you are sending is larger than 10 MB (10,000 KB), we recommend
transmitting it using our secure website (https:\\www.HSAC2009.org) instead of
emailing it.
Option 3: Federal Express (paper listings, diskette, CD-ROM, DVD)
For Federal Express shipments, please use the enclosed prepaid Federal Express labels
and FedEx your package to Mathematica. Be sure to fill in your return address
information (Section 1) and the type of packaging you are using (Section 5) on the
Federal Express label. Also, please attach the provided “DO NOT X-RAY; DO NOT
BEND” label to the package.
If you would like Mathematica to provide a FedEx envelope or other packaging
materials appropriate for the type of student list you are sending, please call me at (609)
275-2293.
Please also keep a copy for your records.