Study of Teacher Residency Programs

APPENDIX B

DISTRICT DATA REQUEST DOCUMENTS

STUDENT 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 thank your district for participating in the Evaluation of Teacher Residency Programs (TRPs), a multi-district study that Mathematica Policy Research is conducting for the U.S. Department of Education. This study will produce much needed information about characteristics of TRPs and their participants and mentors. The study will also summarize the academic outcomes of students taught by novice TRP teachers and examine the retention rate of novice TRP teachers. Mathematica Policy Research and Decision Information Resources (DIR) are conducting this evaluation.

As part of the study, we need to collect information from district records for the all of the students in the district who are in tested grades and subjects (typically, grades 3-8). The primary student data elements requested include: demographic information such as gender, race; characteristics such as grade level, disability status and days absent from school; test scores for the most recent and prior school years; and the names of the students’ math and reading teachers. In fall 2012 and 2013, we will also ask the district to verify whether the novice study teachers are still employed in the district and to report the school in which they are teaching and the grade(s) and subject(s) they teach.

Attachment A provides a detailed description of the data we are requesting.

Thank you very much for your assistance with this data request. I will call you next week to discuss the details of the request, timeline, and method of data transfer. In the meantime, I can be reached at XXX or email address here. You may also contact Mary Grider at (202) 484-4820 or mgrider@mathematica-mpr.com.

Sincerely,

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 information collection is xxxx-xxxx. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to average 90 minutes per classroom, including the time to review instructions, search existing data resources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collected. If you have any comments concerning the accuracy of the time estimate(s) or suggestions for improving this form, please write to: U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC 20202. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences, National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20208.

ATTACHMENT A
Data Requested

This document describes the data requested by Mathematica Policy Research for the Evaluation of Teacher Residency Programs sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. Section 1 describes the students who should be included in the data, section 2 lists the school years for which we are requesting data, and section 3 lists the data items we are requesting.

1. Students to Include

All students enrolled in the district during the 2011-2012 school year who took a math or reading test.

2. Years to Include

We are requesting student records for the following school years:

2011-2012 school year

2010-2011 school year

2009-2010 school year

3. Data Items Requested

Table 1 on the following page details the data elements requested for each student for the years listed.

We recognize that some information, such as “Other Year-specific Information” (items #17 through #21), may not exist in your district database in the form in which we are requesting. Please let us know if you are unable to provide an item.

Per the policies and procedures required by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, Part E, Section 183, 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. Any willful disclosure of such information for nonstatistical purposes, without the informed consent of the respondent, is a class E felony.

Table 1. Data Items Requested

Item #	Data Item	School Years
		2011-2012	2010-2011	2009-2010
Background and Demographic Information
1	District ID number	X
2	Gender	X
3	Race	X
4	Ethnicity (Hispanic or Latino origin)	X
Year-specific Background Information
5	Grade level	X	X	X
6	Free and reduced price lunch status. Please indicate whether student was eligible for free lunch, reduced price lunch, or neither.	X
7	English Language Learner (ELL) status. Please indicate whether student was classified an English Language Learner.	X
8	Special education/IEP status. Please indicate whether student had an Individual Education Plan (IEP).	X
9	Disability type. Type of disability, if any.	X
10	504 Plan. Please indicate whether student had a 504 plan.	X
Test Scores
11	Math scale score Scale score from math section of state or district test. Scale score is preferred, but normal curve equivalents, percentile ranks, and number correct are acceptable (in descending order of preference).	X	X	X
12	Math Test Grade Level Grade level of state or district math test taken by student.	X	X	X
13	Math alternate assessment Please indicate whether math test score is from an alternate assessment.
14	Reading scale score Scale score from reading section of state or district test. Scale score is preferred, but normal curve equivalents, percentile ranks, and number correct are acceptable (in descending order of preference).	X	X	X
15	Reading test grade level Grade level of state or district reading test taken by student.	X	X	X
16	Reading alternate assessment Please indicate whether reading test is from alternate assessment.
Other Year-specific Information
17	Promotion status. Please indicate whether the student was promoted to higher grade as of June prior to the start of the school year.	X
18	Number of days absent from school	X	X
19	Number of days absent by class period	X	X
20	Days enrolled for each school attended	X	X
21	Disciplinary records Number of incidents, type of incident, days suspended	X	X
Teacher Information
	Student’s Reading Or Language Arts Teacher
22	District ID of teacher	X
	Student’s Math Teacher
23	District ID of teacher	X