The National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) Pilot Test 2014-15 Special Districts Approval

NCES Cognitive, Pilot, and Field Test Studies System

Vol 2 NTPS Pilot Test Special Districts Approval 2014-15

The National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) Pilot Test 2014-15 Special Districts Approval

OMB: 1850-0803

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NATIONAL TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL SURVEY
(NTPS)
2014-15 PILOT TEST
SPECIAL DISTRICT APPROVAL

VOLUME II
RESPONDENT COMMUNICATION MATERIALS

OMB# 1850-0803 v.101

April 2014
National Center For Education Statistics (NCES)

Special District Contact Call Script
2014-15 National Teacher and Principal Survey
Label Information

Contact Name:

A. Special District Research Application - Contact Person’s Information
Contact Title:

Contact Phone Number:

Contact E-mail:
Notes

INTRODUCTION and CONTACT INFORMATION

A1.

Hello, this is _____ from the U.S. Census Bureau. Have I reached (district name)?
_ Yes  GO TO item A2.
_ Different district name  Probe for district name if necessary and correct the district name in
the address area above. If the difference is significant, record the change in the Notes section.
Try to confirm the name change (e.g., respondent says, “We used to be Jefferson District but are
now Washington District.”). GO TO item A2.
_ No  Verify that you dialed correctly.
_ Correct number dialed  Probe for the respondent’s name, location, and whether the
person or organization reached is related to the district in any way. Record information
in the Notes section. Thank respondent and end call.
_ Wrong number dialed  Dial correct number. GO TO item A1 above.
_ District closed  Probe for the respondent’s name, former position, and the closing date. Record
information in the Notes section. Thank respondent and end call.
_ District merged  Probe for the name of the merged districts and the date of the merge. Record
information in the Notes section. GO TO item A2. Refer case to supervisor following the call.

A2.

This call may be monitored to evaluate my performance and should only take a few minutes.
During the upcoming school year we will be conducting the National Teacher and Principal
Survey (NTPS) for the U.S. Department of Education.
The NTPS is a series of integrated questionnaires that provide data on education to Federal,
state, and local policymakers as well as education researchers.
This voluntary survey is authorized by law (20 U.S. Code §9543 of the Education Sciences Reform
Act of 2002 (ESRA)). The Office of Management and Budget approval number for this study is
1850-0803. The data provided by the school and staff 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. Code §9573).

A3.

I would like to verify your mailing address for the purposes of delivering a research application.
Is the following address correct?
Read address from label on cover page. Make any necessary corrections on the label. Then GO TO
item A4.

A4.

Can you tell me the name of the person most appropriate to receive this request (for research
approval)?
_ Yes  Record contact name and title in the appropriate spaces of the Contact Information
section on the cover page. Probe for the contact person’s direct phone line and email address
and record it in the Contact Information section. GO TO item A5.
_ No  Try to probe for a contact name. If unsuccessful, set appointment and record on the call
record. GO TO item A5.

A4.

Can you tell me about how long the district spends reviewing research applications?
_ Yes  Record information in the Notes section. Thank respondent and end call.
_ No  Thank respondent and end call.

[Name]
[Position, Department]
[School District]
[Street Address]
[City, State, Zip]

May 1, 2014

[Name]
The National Center for Education Statistics is requesting approval for the administration of the 2014-15 National
Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) Pilot Test in some of the schools within the [School District Name] School
District during the 2014-15 school year. The NTPS is a redesigned successor to the Schools and Staffing Survey
(SASS). Like SASS, the NTPS is designed to measure critical aspects of schools and teaching, the composition of the
principal and teacher workforce, and conditions in schools. The National Teacher and Principal Survey is
administered once every 2 years to a sample of schools, principals, and teachers. No student or classroom time is
involved.
With the results from the National Teacher and Principal Survey, the National Center for Education Statistics
produces estimates of public school characteristics and comparisons among elementary and secondary schools at
the national level. The information provided by the principals, schools, and teachers in your area will represent the
uniqueness and diversity of your school district and will contribute to a robust portrait of education in the United
States. By participating in the pilot test, schools in your district will provide important information that will
improve the primary source of official statistics on characteristics of schools, teachers, and principals in the U.S.
Further information can be found on the SASS website at http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/sass/. Any of our
publications can be ordered without charge from the website.
The enclosed materials describe the purpose, survey topics, sample sizes, and respondent burden for the survey.
Draft versions of the 2014-15 NTPS questionnaires are included for your review. While the content has been
finalized, these draft questionnaires are not the final formatted versions that will be used during the data
collection phase beginning this fall.
In addition to these application materials, a District Administration Form is enclosed that, when filled out, will
indicate whether or not your district has approved the participation of sampled school(s). This form will facilitate
participation in NTPS. Please return this form at your earliest convenience. This form may be returned by fax to
Lucia Chavez at (301) 763-3035 or email to lucia.j.chavez@census.gov.
If you require further information, please let me know, and I will be happy to provide it.
Sincerely,
Andrew Zukerberg
Project Director, National Teacher and Principal Survey
National Center for Education Statistics
1990 K St. NW, Suite # 9046
Washington, D.C. 20006

2014-15 NTPS Generic Research Application
CONTACT
Applicant:
Title:
Affiliation:
Address:
Phone:
Fax:
E-mail:

Andy Zukerberg
Statistician
National Center for Education Statistics
United States Department of Education
1990 K Street NW, Suite # 9046
Washington, DC 20006
(202) 219-7056
(202) 502-7475
andrew.zukerberg@ed.gov

TITLE

National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), 2014-15 Pilot Test
PURPOSE

The need for contextual data on teachers, school principals, and school policies and programs has
been well established. In response to concerns about the status of teaching and education, state and
local education policymakers have sought more information about the school environment, the
composition of the school workforce, and policies affecting the recruitment, retention, and retirement
of teachers.
The National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) is sponsored by the National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES), the statistical agency for the United States Department of Education, to gather data
on the teaching and working conditions in public elementary and secondary schools in the United
States. NTPS is authorized by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, 20 U.S. Code §9543.
NTPS provides data on the characteristics and qualifications of teachers and principals, teacher hiring
practices, class size, and other conditions in schools across the nation.
The NTPS is a redesigned successor to the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS). The NTPS will
maintain the role SASS served as the Department of Education’s primary source of information on the
teacher labor market and what is happening in K-12 schools from the teacher’s and administrator’s
perspectives. The NTPS is integrated with other ED data collections to reduce requests for redundant
information from schools and districts.
NTPS, which is conducted on a 2-year cycle, is a large survey of K-12 schools, teachers, and
principals in the United States today. Its data will be used by a wide variety of people interested in K12 education, including teacher professional organizations, education advocacy groups, legislators,
researchers, and journalists. NTPS provides a unique resource for information on elementary and
secondary education by linking data provided by schools with their respective principals and teachers.
Data can be analyzed not only within each component (i.e., the school, principal, and teacher data
files), but also across components or data files. This linkage across the different respondent groups
makes NTPS data unique among school surveys and allows researchers to study the complexities of
the American education system from multiple perspectives. For example, researchers can study
teacher attrition using information from not only teachers but also from their schools and principals.
The integrated survey design also allows NCES to collect information from the school personnel who
can best supply it, causing less inconvenience to respondents and providing more accurate
information.
In preparation for the 2015-16 NTPS, a pilot test is being conducted during the 2014-15 school year.
The purpose of this pilot test is to optimize the design of the 2015-16 NTPS by experimentally testing
the impact of offering Internet versions of the School, Principal, and Teacher Questionnaires first;
looking at the impact of collecting teacher email address as part of the TLF operation; looking at
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optimal methods of inviting Teachers to the internet questionnaire; and improving questionnaire
wording and instructions in the Internet survey. This package provides information about the planned
new approach and presents an overview of the proposed NTPS design.
HYPOTHESES

Congress, the Department of Education, and other Federal agencies, State Departments of Education,
education associations, and the education research community will use data from the 2015-16 NTPS
to conduct research on a range of issues. In the past, some of the most frequently published topics
have included class size, new teachers, out-of-field teaching, professional development, teacher
attrition/retention, and teacher qualifications. Based on previous administrations of NTPS, the data
will be used to produce national statistics on:


Teacher capacity as defined by teacher qualifications, teacher career paths, professional
development activities, and support for these aspects of teachers’ careers by schools and
districtd; and



School capacity as defined by school organization and decision-making, management of
curriculum and instruction, school programs, and school safety.

This request is to conduct a pilot test to improve the design of the NTPS.
MEASUREMENT
Each topic is briefly described below in terms of the broad education issues in need of measurement.
Teacher Quality and Career Paths
Teacher quality and the factors that influence it have become the focus of many educational
researchers and the National Commission on Teaching and America’s Future. The movement of
teachers in and out of the teaching workforce has been a central concern of NTPS/SASS since 1987
when data describing these phenomena were first collected. Building upon this base, more detailed
indicators of teachers’ career paths may help explain entry into teaching and teacher attrition.
Teachers’ experiences during the recruitment process and their first year of teaching can greatly
influence decisions to continue teaching. Teacher quality items help inform NCES about the
characteristics of training, which can be related to teaching assignments. Quality is defined as the
match between teacher preparation (degrees, certification, and endorsements) and teaching assignment
fields. These topics are measured in fine detail in the NTPS.
Teacher Recruitment, Retention, and Evaluation
Recruiting and retention methods for teachers are a major topic of interest as schools and districts
investigate ways to recruit and retain high-quality teachers. Questions in the School Questionnaire
explore teacher vacancies and the ease with which positions are filled. Teachers are asked about their
plans to remain in the teaching profession in the Teacher Questionnaire. Recent additions to the
Principal Questionnaire explore the evaluation of teachers.
School Reform
An important role of NTPS is to document the evolution of major reforms, especially as they affect
schools and teaching practices. Topics continued from the 1999-2000, 2003-04, 2007-08, and 2011-12
SASS questionnaires to the NTPS questionnaires include the amount of influence principals and teachers
have in setting school policies.
School Safety
School safety is frequently reported as a major problem in public schools in the United States.
Violence and drug abuse in schools put huge constraints on teachers, students, administrators, and
schools. Increased attention to school safety has led policy makers to begin examining school safety at
6

the national level. The school safety items include the principal’s knowledge of violence and other
school problems as well as incidents of teachers being threatened or physically attacked.
Basic Descriptive Information
Each of the NTPS surveys contains questions that provide basic descriptive information on the
respondent:
▪

The Principal and Teacher Questionnaires include items on gender, age, and race/ethnicity;

▪

The Principal Questionnaire includes items on principals’ licensure, highest degree earned,
years of teaching experience, and salary;

▪

The Teacher Questionnaire contains items on years of teaching experience, education degrees
and fields, certification, salary, and main teaching assignment; and

▪

The School Questionnaire contains items on enrollment, programs and services in the school,
and counts of various types of school staff.

CONTENT DESIGN
As mentioned previously, the NTPS will replace the Schools and Staffing Survey (SASS), which the
Department of Education has conducted since 1987. The revision process involved an analysis of
items on the SASS surveys. Items that were gathered on other NCES surveys (such as EDFacts and
the Civil Rights Data Collection) were removed from the NTPS questionnaires. These items will
instead be pulled from these extant data sources and included on the NTPS data files. Items that had
low response rates, were difficult to answer, or had other grammatical and clarity issues were revised
or deleted. Before the surveys were finalized, new and revised items underwent cognitive lab testing
with teachers, principals and school staff to determine whether items were likely to be understood
correctly and uniformly across the survey population.
Three of the five core components of the 2011-12 SASS remain: the School Questionnaire, Principal
Questionnaire, and Teacher Questionnaire. These surveys are linked so that researchers may analyze
school-level phenomenon at the national level.
In the 2015-16 administration, NTPS will retain or expand many of the topics covered in previous
SASS administrations, maintaining the capability for trend analysis. At the same time, new items
developed for the NTPS will collect additional information on a number of topics crucial to education
reform.
QUESTIONNAIRES
We have enclosed a draft version of the questionnaires intended for public schools for the 2014-15
administration of NTPS. Based on their performance in the pilot test, these items may be revised or
replaced for the 2015-16 data collection. The 2011-12 SASS questionnaires, as well as those from
earlier administrations, are available on our website:
http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/SASS/questionnaire.asp.
METHODOLOGY AND SAMPLING
The U.S. Census Bureau is the collection agent for NTPS data on behalf of the National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES). NTPS is a self-administered survey that is mailed to sampled
participants (some participants will be offered an online survey option). The survey does not require
the use of any school personnel to administer it, other than the direct time it takes for the sampled
person to complete the questionnaire, and does not involve students. Sampled principals, teachers, and
the most appropriate school staff are requested to record their answers either a) on the printed
questionnaire and return the questionnaire as directed (by mail to the U.S. Census Bureau) or b) using
the online survey option to send in their responses via a secure server link. There is no use of
classroom time required for the completion of these questionnaires.
7

The 2014-15 NTPS Pilot Test samples will include fewer than 17,000 public schools and school
principals, and less than 42,000 public school teachers.
Sampling for NTPS begins by selecting schools as the primary sampling unit, and then, including the
principal and a relatively small sample of teachers within each selected school. Public schools selected
for NTPS are sampled from the Common Core of Data (CCD), the universe of public schools supplied
annually by state educational agencies to NCES. NCES modifies the list of schools from the CCD to
meet the definition of a school as used by NTPS. To make sure that the sample contains sufficient
numbers for estimates, the NTPS uses a stratified probability sample design. The main design
objective is to provide the following data for public schools:


National estimates of public schools and public school characteristics;



National estimates of combined grade public schools (schools with a grade span that overlaps the
elementary, middle, and/or high school levels); and



National estimates of public charter schools and selected school characteristics.

After schools are stratified and sampled, teachers within the schools are also stratified and sampled
based on the broad level of teaching assignment area, full- or part-time teaching status, and years of
teaching experience. The sample of teachers will be selected from a list of teachers provided by the
school. For each school in the sample, all teachers who teach students in grades K-12 during the fall of
2014, except for short-term substitutes, student teachers, and teacher aides, are eligible for sampling.
An average of 10 teachers will be sampled from each selected school. In order to achieve the desired
sample size of new teachers, as well as teachers nearing retirement, the teacher sample will be
stratified into four teacher groups based on years of teaching experience. This stratification will ensure
a sufficient number of teachers in each group to permit estimates for all beginning and new public
school teachers (i.e., teachers with 1 to 3 years of teaching experience), and all experienced and highly
experienced public school teachers (i.e., teachers with 4 or more years of experience). A sufficient
number of teachers is defined to be at least 2,400 teachers by experience category and school type
(i.e., public, public charter, and private). Within each selected school, teachers will be classified as
belonging in one of the following four categories:
1. Beginning (first year in the K-12 teaching profession);
2. New (2 to 3 years of teaching experience);
3. Experienced (4 to 19 years of teaching experience); or
4. Highly experienced (20 or more years of teaching experience).

All experienced teachers, who are more numerous than the beginning, new, or highly experienced groups,
will be sampled with equal probability and at a lower rate than those in the other groups. To avoid placing
an undue burden on schools by sampling teachers, NCES intends to survey an average of 10 teachers per
school.
For all public schools, the principal will be included in the survey as a result of the school being selected.
Schools, principals, and teachers will be weighted by the inverse of their probability of selection,
multiplied by various sampling and nonresponse adjustments. The general purpose of weighting is to
scale up the sample estimates to represent the target survey population.
DATA COLLECTION
The U.S. Census Bureau handles the data collection and editing phases. The 2014-15 NTPS is a mixed
mode survey with paper and internet response options. Follow-up for sampled entities who do not respond
to the initial mailing will be handled by telephone. U.S. Census Bureau staff who conduct NTPS receive
training in preparation for the survey.
School principals will be mailed the an invitation to participate in the NTPS in October 2014. U.S. Census
Bureau staff will follow-up on outstanding questionnaires associated with the schools by telephone from
8

November 2014 through December 2014. Teachers will be invited to participate in the NTPS on a flow
basis as the teacher sample is drawn from the lists of teachers provided by the sampled schools.
The data collection schedule is outlined below.
2014-15 NTPS Timetable
Initial mail-out of School, Principal, & TLF Questionnaires
October 2014
Mail first reminder letters for School, Principal, & TLF Questionnaires
October 2014
Mail second reminder letters for School, Principal, & TLF Questionnaires
October 2014
Second mail-out of School, Principal, & TLF Questionnaires
October 2014
Telephone reminder for the Teacher Listing Form (TLF)
November – December 2014
Mail Teacher Questionnaires weekly as they are sampled
November 2014 – January 2015
Mail first Teacher Reminder letters
November 2014 – February 2015
Mail second Teacher Reminder letters
November 2014 – February 2015
Mail second Teacher Packages
December 2014 – March 2015
November 2014 – April 2015

Data capture of all questionnaires

RESPONSE BURDEN
NTPS relies on the voluntary participation of the principal, teacher, and school personnel. The quality
of national estimates is limited by the level of respondent participation. Every effort is made to create
questionnaires that collect in-depth data without putting an undue burden on the respondent. The
estimated average response time for each questionnaire in the 2014-15 NTPS is presented in the
following table, Table 1. The average length of time necessary to complete each type of questionnaire
is estimated from the results of the 2011-12 SASS and the number of survey item codes on the 201415 NTPS, and is also presented in Table 1.
Table 1. Number of survey item codes and estimated average response time per respondent for each
questionnaire in the 2014-15 NTPS
Estimated average response time per respondent
Questionnaire
Number of item
N/A
30 minutes
Teacher Listing For
School
197
50 minutes
Principal
193
45 minutes
Teacher
440
60 minutes

The National Teacher and Principal Survey does not require any form of student or parent
participation. All respondents will receive a letter that explains that participation in the survey is
voluntary. In addition, each questionnaire states on the inside cover, “We hope you will participate in
this voluntary survey.”
SASS has achieved a high response rate in previous administrations. Weighted response rates for the
components to the public school sector for the 2011-12 SASS are presented in Table 2 below.
Table 2. Sample size and weighted response rate for each survey population for the 2011-12 SASS
Survey population
Sample size
Weighted response rate (%)
Public School Principal
11,000
72.6
Public School
11,000
72.4
Public School Teacher
51,062
77.7

ANALYSIS
Once the U.S. Census Bureau receives the completed survey forms, staff enter responses from the surveys
into electronic data files, which are checked against the survey forms for accuracy. Names, addresses, and
9

other identifying information for schools, principals, and teachers are removed from the data files to
protect respondents’ confidentiality. When the respondents’ identifying information is removed from the
data files, a school identification number is used to link principal and teacher data from the schools in
which they work.
The data are used in statistical summaries only. NCES issues its own reports and allows researchers to
access the data through restricted-use licensing for other analyses. Only users who have official clearance
from NCES may have access to the restricted-use data files. Several reports may be issued once the data
are finalized. These reports may include: a general report on the methodological findings.
NTPS publications will be provided for download on the NCES publications page
http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/). Free printed copies of past SASS reports can be obtained from the Pubs
Online Ordering System (www.edpubs.org or 1–877–433–7827) or downloaded from the NCES
publications page (http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/).
CONSENT
The nature of this self-administered, cross-sectional survey is not considered intrusive, and has been ruled
to be exempt under the protection of human subjects’ provisions in federal research. There is no
individual student data (such as test scores or Social Security numbers) associated with any of the data
acquired in this data collection. Since no data is collected about individual students, it is not necessary to
obtain active, informed consent from students’ parents/guardians.
Participation in the NTPS is completely voluntary, and individual survey items can be left blank, at the
discretion of each respondent. On each questionnaire for each respondent, there is a statement that
participation is voluntary.
The Department of Education has adopted a common set of regulations known as the Federal Policy for the
Protection of Human Subjects or "Common Rule." The design of these regulations is based on established,
internationally recognized ethical principles. The specific regulation is Title 34, Code of Federal
Regulations, Part 97, Protection of Human Subjects, which includes Subpart A, Basic Policy, and Subpart
D, Additional Protections for Children. These regulations classify as exempt certain categories of
research. Research that is nonexempt is covered by the regulations. Research activities in which the only
involvement of human subjects will be in one or more of the following categories are exempt:
(2) Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey
procedures, interview procedures or observation of public behavior, unless the information identifies the
subjects and disclosure could reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or be
damaging to the subjects' financial standing, employability, or reputation. Subpart D amends this
exemption, in part: If the subjects are children, research involving interview or survey procedures and
research involving observations of public behavior in which the researcher(s) participate in the activities
being observed are not exempt. However, research involving the use of educational tests and research
involving observations of public behavior in which the researcher(s) do not participate in the activities
being observed are exempt.
For more information, please see http://www2.ed.gov/policy/fund/guid/humansub/overview.html.
CONFIDENTIALITY
A security plan for assuring the confidentiality of individual respondent data has been developed by
NCES and the U.S. Census Bureau. Under this plan, the 2014-15 NTPS will conform to federal
regulations – specifically, the Privacy Act of 1974 (5 U.S.C. 552a), Privacy Act Regulations (34 CFR Part
5b), the Hawkins-Stafford Amendments of 1988 (P.L. 100-297), the Computer Security Act of 1987, NCES
Restricted-Use Data Procedures Manual, the Federal Statistical Confidentiality Order of 1997 (an OMB
directive), the U.S.A. Patriot Act of 2001 (P.L. 107-56), the E-Government Act of 2002, Title V, Subtitle A,
Confidential Information Protection, the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (P.L. 107-279), and the
NCES Statistical Standards and Policies handbook.
10

The U.S. Census Bureau will collect data under an interagency agreement with NCES. The U.S. Census
Bureau will maintain the individually identifiable questionnaires as confidential material. The required
plan will include the following:
1. Provisions for data collection in the field;

2. Provisions to protect the data-coding phase required before machine processing;
3. Provisions to safeguard completed survey documents;
4. Authorization procedures to access or obtain files containing identifying information; and
5. Provisions to remove printouts and other outputs that contain teacher identification information
from normal operation. Such materials will be maintained in secured storage areas and will be
destroyed as soon as practical by burning.
From the initial contact with the participants in this survey through all of the follow-up efforts, careful
attention will be paid to informing potential survey respondents that NCES and the U.S. Census Bureau
will protect the confidentiality of their personal data. The survey responses are protected from disclosure
by federal statute (20 U.S.C., § 9573). All responses that relate to or describe identifiable characteristics
of individuals may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be disclosed, or used, in identifiable
form for any other purpose, unless otherwise compelled by law. In addition, the U.S. Census Bureau and
NCES will treat the data as confidential, based on the Privacy Act of 1974 and as amended under the
U.S.A. Patriot Act of 2001.
In particular, the National Education Statistics Act of 1994, as amended, prohibits any of these activities:
 Producing any publication in which data furnished by any particular individual can be identified; or
 Permitting any person not authorized by the NCES Commissioner to examine any individual data or

reports.
A violation of any of these restrictions is a felony, punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years and a fine
of up to $250,000.
SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The primary purpose of the National Teacher and Principal Survey is to provide valuable information
about schools and school staff, and the teaching and working conditions in the nation’s schools. With the
help of survey participants, the National Center for Education Statistics is able to produce national
estimates of public school characteristics and facilitate comparisons among elementary, middle, high, and
combined elementary/secondary schools at the national level. The ability of NCES to provide this
beneficial service is contingent upon the voluntary participation of schools, principals, and teachers whose
inclusion is dependent upon their districts’ approval. The National Teacher and Principal Survey provides
respondents with the opportunity to participate in a unique national survey and contribute to data that are
used by researchers interested in improving the education system in the United States.
The District Name benefits from being a sampled district by representing itself and also the state of
State. Consequently, your district’s participation will improve the reliability of state and national
estimates, which will result in higher quality data. By choosing to participate, the policies and
characteristics of the District Name will be reflected in the 2014-15 NTPS, which will allow your
schools to compare themselves to other schools across the nation. The important information provided
by your district’s schools, principals, and teachers will better inform and shape future education
policies.

INSTITUTIONAL REVIEW BOARD (IRB) REVIEW
Under the federal policy for the protection of human subjects, NTPS is exempt from IRB review because
it utilizes survey procedures and is conducted in established or commonly accepted educational settings,
involving normal educational practices. There is no potential for harm to human subjects. Confidentiality
of individually identifiable information is required under federal law by the Privacy Act of 1974 and as
amended under the U.S.A. Patriot Act of 2001.
For more information, please see http://www2.ed.gov/policy/fund/reg/humansub/part97-2.html
CONSENT
The nature of this self-administered, cross-sectional survey is not considered intrusive, and has been ruled
to be exempt under the protection of human subjects’ provisions in federal research. There is no
individual student data (such as test scores or Social Security numbers) associated with any of the data
acquired in this data collection. Since no data is collected about individual students, it is not necessary to
obtain active, informed consent from student’ parents/guardians.
Participation in the NTPS is completely voluntary, and individual survey items can be left blank, at the
discretion of each respondent. On each questionnaire for each respondent, there is a statement that
participation is voluntary.
The Department of Education has adopted a common set of regulations known as the Federal Policy for
the Protection of Human Subjects or “Common Rule.” The design of these regulations is based on
established, internationally recognized ethical principles. The specific regulation is Title 34, Code of
Federal Regulations, Part 97, Protection of Human Subjects, which includes Subpart A, Basic Policy, and
Subpart D, Additional Protections for Children. These regulations classify as exempt certain categories of
research. Research that is nonexempt is covered by the regulations. Research activities in which the only
involvement of human subjects will be in one or more of the following categories are exempt:
(2) Research involving the use of educational tests (cognitive, diagnostic, aptitude, achievement), survey
procedures, interview procedures or observation of public behavior, unless the information identifies the
subjects and disclosure could reasonably place the subjects at risk of criminal or civil liability or be
damaging to the subjects’ financial standing, employability, or reputation. Subpart D amends this
exemption, in part: If the subjects are children, research involving interview or survey procedures and
research involving observation of public behavior in which the research(s) participate in the activities
being observed are not exempt. However, research involving the use of educational tests and research
involving observations of public behavior in which the researcher(s) do not participate in the activities
being observed are exempt.
For more information, please see http://www2.ed.gov/policy/fund/reg/humansub/part97-3.html

PARTICIPANT INFORMED CONSENT FORM
NATIONAL TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL SURVEY (NTPS), 2014-15
You are being asked to participate in a survey called the National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS), for the 2014-15
school year. This form provides you with information about this study, and the Project Director, Mr. Andy Zukerberg, who
can be reached at 202-219-7056 or Andrew.Zukerberg@ed.gov is also available to answer your questions. Please read the
information below and ask any questions you might have before deciding whether or not to take part.
The NTPS is sponsored by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) in order to collect extensive data on public
elementary and secondary schools in the United States. The NTPS provides data on the characteristics and qualifications of
teachers and principals, teacher hiring practices, professional development, class size, and other conditions in schools across
the nation. Participants are asked to complete a paper questionnaire and return it in the pre-addressed, postage-paid envelope
provided (some respondents are also given an online option). Details about the data collection instrument, respondent type,
and time required to complete the questionnaire are below.
Data Collection Instrument
Teacher Listing Form
School Questionnaire
Principal Questionnaire
Teacher Questionnaire

Respondent Type
School Administrator
Principal
Principal
Teacher (1-5 per school)

Estimated Time Required to
Complete Questionnaire
XX minutes
XX minutes
XX minutes
XX minutes

Each NTPS Principal or Teacher Questionnaire contains questions that provide basic descriptive information on the
respondent. Some of these items are: gender, age, race/ethnicity, principals’ licensure, highest degree earned, salary, years
of teaching experience, education degrees earned and fields, certification, main teaching assignment, teacher salary
schedules, and hours worked per week.
Once the U.S. Census Bureau receives the completed survey forms, the responses are keyed into electronic data files, which are
checked against the survey forms for accuracy. Names, addresses, and other identifying information for schools, principals,
and teachers are removed from the data files to protect respondents’ confidentiality. A school identification number is used to
link principal and teacher data to the schools where they work.
The data are used in statistical summaries only. NCES issues its own reports and requires researchers to access the data through
restricted-use licensing for other analyses. Only users who have official clearance from NCES may have access to the
restricted-use data files. Several reports are issued once the data are finalized, which may include: a general report that provides
an overview of the data, a teacher report, a school report, and a principal report. Congress and the U.S. Department of
Education use these data to critically examine existing educational programs and services to plan new programs intended to
improve education throughout the nation.
There are no risks involved in participating in this important survey. Your participation is entirely voluntary and you can
refuse to participate without any penalty or loss of benefits to you or your school. If you decide to participate, you are free to
withdraw your participation at any time during the study without any adverse consequences from the U.S. Department of
Commerce or your school.
Please check one of the following:
____ I am willing to participate in the research project.

____ I am not willing to participate in the research project.

I fully understand that my responses 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. Code, Section 9573), and that my signature gives my consent to
voluntarily participate in this project.
Signature _________________________________________________________________________________________
Participant
Printed Name
Date
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- --------------------Please return this form to Lucia Chavez via fax at (301) 763-3035 or email to Lucia.J.Chavez@census.gov or mail to:
U.S. Census Bureau
Lucia Chavez, 6H030D
4600 Silver Hill Road, Stop 8400
Washington, DC 20233

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Center for Education Statistics

OMB No. 1850-XXXX: Approval Expires xx/xx/201x
Conducted by:
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE
Economics and Statistics Administration
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU

PRINCIPAL QUESTIONNAIRE
NATIONAL TEACHER AND PRINCIPAL SURVEY
2013-14 SCHOOL YEAR
(all references to years will be updated for 2014-15 administration)

THIS SURVEY HAS BEEN ENDORSED BY:
TO BE DETERMINED
(Please correct any errors in name, address, and ZIP Code.)
NOTICE:

This survey is authorized by the Education Sciences Reform Act
of 2002 (20. U.S.C. § 9573).

DEAR PRINCIPAL:

The National Teacher and Principal Survey is the largest sample survey of America's elementary and secondary
schools. Your participation is important. Below are answers to some general questions.
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THIS SURVEY?

The purpose of this survey is to obtain information about principals, such as principals' experience and training,
hours worked, and instructional priorities.
WHO IS CONDUCTING THIS SURVEY?

The U.S. Census Bureau is conducting this survey for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) of
the U.S. Department of Education.
WHY SHOULD YOU PARTICIPATE IN THIS SURVEY?

Policymakers and educational leaders rely on data from this survey to inform their decisions concerning K-12
schools. Because it is a sample survey, your responses represent the responses of many. Higher response rates
give us confidence that the findings are accurate.
WILL YOUR RESPONSES BE KEPT CONFIDENTIAL?

Your responses are protected from disclosure by federal statute (20 U.S.C., §9573). All responses that relate to
or describe identifiable characteristics of individuals may be used only for statistical purposes and may not be
disclosed, or used, in identifiable form for any other purpose, unless otherwise compelled by law.
HOW WILL YOUR INFORMATION BE REPORTED?

The information you provide will be combined with the information provided by others in statistical reports. No
individually-identifiable data will be included in the statistical reports.
WHERE SHOULD YOU MAIL YOUR COMPLETED QUESTIONNAIRE?

Please return your completed questionnaire in the enclosed pre-addressed, postage-paid envelope or mail it to:
U.S. CENSUS BUREAU
ATTN: DCB/PCSPU, BUILDING 61G
1201 E. 10TH STREET
JEFFERSONVILLE, IN 47132-0001
WE HOPE YOU WILL PARTICIPATE IN THIS VOLUNTARY SURVEY.
SINCERELY,
JOHN Q. EASTON
ACTING COMMISSIONER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS
NATIONAL CENTER FOR EDUCATION STATISTICS
Paperwork Burden Statement
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 1850-XXXX. The time required to complete this information
collection is estimated to average 45 minutes per response, including the time spent 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(s),
suggestions for improving this form, or about the contents of this questionnaire, please write to: National Teacher and Principal Survey, National Center
for Education Statistics, 1990 K Street, N.W., #9046, Washington, DC 20006.

INSTRUCTIONS AND DEFINITIONS

The data you enter on this form will be captured through the use of imaging technology. Please print all
information clearly in ordinary characters, using a black ballpoint pen.
Correct marking example
– (Use care to keep
characters in their
designated spaces.)

Incorrect marking
example –

3
1
2

Yes X
No

1
2

Yes
No

Yes

a. Sections I to V of this questionnaire may be completed by any staff member who has access to the school’s
records. Sections VI through X of this questionnaire must be completed by the school PRINCIPAL, not by
anyone else.
b. Please do not write any comments by the answer boxes.
c. If you are unsure about how to answer a question, please give the best answer you can rather than leaving it blank.
d. If you have any questions, call the U.S. Census Bureau at 1-800-221-1204. Someone will be available to take your
call Monday through Friday, between 8:30 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. (Eastern Time). The U.S. Census Bureau is also
available to answer your questions via e-mail at: addp.education.surveys@census.gov.
YOUR COMMENTS

1.
1-1.

PRINCIPAL EXPERIENCE AND TRAINING

Before you became a principal, how many years of elementary or secondary teaching experience did you
have?
Count part of a year as 1 year.
If none, please mark (X) the box.

N
o
n
e

Year(s) of teaching before becoming a
principal

o
r
1-2.

BEFORE you became a principal, did you hold the position of an assistant principal or program director?
Include temporary positions.

1-3.

1-4.

1-5.

Yes

Before you became a principal, did you have any management experience outside of the field of
education?
1

Yes

Before you became a principal, did you participate in any district or school training or development
program for ASPIRING school principals?
1

Yes

PRIOR to this school year, how many years did you serve as the principal of THIS OR ANY OTHER
school?
Do NOT include any years you served as ASSISTANT principal.
Count part of a year as 1 year.
If none, please mark (X) the box.

N
o
n
e
o
r

Year(s) as principal of this or any other
school

1-6.

PRIOR to this school year, how many years did you serve as the principal of THIS school?
Do NOT include any years you served as ASSISTANT principal.
Count part of a year as 1 year.
If none, please mark (X) the box.

None

Year(s) as principal of this school
o
r

1-7.

What is the highest degree you have earned?
Mark (X) only one box.

1-8.

1-9.

Associate’s degree

Bachelor’s degree (B.A., B.S., etc.)

Educational specialist or professional diploma (at least one year beyond master’s level)

Doctorate or first professional degree (Ph.D., Ed.D., M.D., L.L.B., J.D., D.D.S.)

Do not have a degree

Was the highest degree you have earned from a Department of Education, College of Education, or
School of Education at your college or university?
1

Yes

Do you currently hold a license/certificate in “school administration”?
1

Yes

1-10. At any time after you became a principal, did you serve as a regular classroom teacher?
1

Yes

GO TO Section 2
o
n
p
a
1-11. SINCE becoming a principal, how many
years of elementary or secondary teaching experience have you
g
had?
e
Count part of a year as 1 year.
6.
2

No 

If none, please mark (X) the box.
None 

GO TO item 2-1 below.
Year(s) of teaching since becoming a
principal

1-12. In addition to serving as principal, are you currently teaching in this school?

2-1.

Yes

GOALS AND DECISION MAKING

We are interested in the importance you place on various educational goals. From the following ten
goals, which do you consider the most important, the second most important, and the third most
important?
12345678910 -

Building basic literacy skills (reading, math, writing, speaking)
Encouraging academic excellence
Preparing students for postsecondary education
Promoting occupational or vocational skills
Promoting good work habits and self-discipline
Promoting personal growth (self-esteem, self-knowledge, etc.)
Promoting human relations skills
Promoting specific moral values
Promoting multicultural awareness or understanding
Fostering religious or spiritual development

Most important
Second most important
Third most important
2-2.

How much ACTUAL influence do you think you have as a principal on decisions concerning the
following activities?
.

Mark (X) one box on each line
No
influence

a performance standards for students of
Setting
.
this school
b

Minor
influence

Moderate
influence

Major
influence

Not
applicable

.
Establishing curriculum
at this school
Determining
the content of in-service
c
professional development
programs for
.
teachers of this school

d
. of this school
Evaluating teachers
e
Hiring new full-time. teachers of this school

f
.
Setting discipline policy
at this school
g
Deciding how your. school budget will be spent

3.
3-1.

SCHOOL CLIMATE AND SAFETY

To the best of your knowledge, how often do the following types of problems occur at this school?
.

Mark (X) one box on each line

Happens
daily

Happens
at least
once a
week

Happens
at least
once a
month

Happens
on
occasion

Never
happens

.
Physical conflicts among
students
b
Robbery or theft

c
Vandalism

d
.
Student use of alcohol
e
. drugs
Student use of illegal
f
. of weapons
Student possession
g
.
Physical abuse of teachers
h
.
Student racial tensions
i
Student bullying

j
. of teachers
Student verbal abuse
k
. in classrooms
Widespread disorder
l
.
Student acts of disrespect
for teachers
m
Gang activities

3-2.

LAST SCHOOL YEAR (2012-13), what percentage of students had at least one parent or guardian
participating in the following events?
.

Mark (X) one box on each line
0-25%

a
Open house or .back-to-school night

26-50%

51-75%

gInvolvement in school instructional issues
(e.g., planning classroom
.
learning activities,
providing feedback on curriculum)

h
Involvement in governance (e.g., PTA or PTO
meetings, school
. board, parent booster
clubs)

b
All regularly scheduled schoolwide parentteacher conferences
.
cSpecial subject-area events (e.g., science fair,
concerts)
.
d
Parent education
. workshops or courses
e Signing of a school-parent compact
(This is an agreement
.
between school
community members [e.g., parents,
principals, teachers, and students] that
acknowledges the shared responsibility for
student learning and/or the school’s policies)
fVolunteer in the school as needed or on a
regular basis .

Involvement in. budget decisions

3-3.

Are teachers at THIS school required to do the following?

Help students with academic needs OUTSIDE of regular school hours
1

Yes

Help students with social and emotional needs OUTSIDE of regular school hours
1

Yes

Not
applicable

76-100%

4.
4-1.

WORKING CONDITIONS AND PRINCIPAL PERCEPTIONS

Including hours spent during the school day, before and after school, and on the weekends, how many
hours do you spend on ALL school-related activities during a typical FULL WEEK at THIS school?

Total WEEKLY hours spent on school-related
activities
4-2.

On average throughout the school year, what percentage of time do you estimate that you spend on the
following tasks in this school?
Rough estimates are sufficient.
Please write a percentage in each row. Write 0 if none.
Responses should add up to 100%.
a. Internal administrative tasks, including human resource/personnel issues, regulations,
reports, school budget

b. Curriculum and teaching-related tasks, including teaching, lesson preparation, classroom
observations, mentoring teachers

c. Student interactions, including discipline and academic guidance

d. Parent interactions, including formal and informal interactions

e. Other - please specify
%

100% TOTAL

4-3.

How many days per year are you required to work under your current contract?
Include professional development, student contact days, and any other days covered by your contract.

Days per contract year

4-4.

Are you represented under a meet-and-confer agreement or a collective bargaining agreement?
("Meet-and-confer" discussions are for the purpose of reaching non-legally-binding agreements. Collective
bargaining agreements are legally-binding agreements.)
Mark (X) only one box.
1

Yes, meet-and-confer

Yes, collective bargaining

4-5.

To what extent do you agree or disagree with each of the following statements?
.

Mark (X) one box on each line
Strongly
agree

I am generally satisfied with being principal at this
. school.

If I could get a higher paying job, I’d leave this job as
. soon as possible.

d
e
f

4-6.

The stress and disappointments involved with being
. a principal at this school aren’t really
worth it.

I think about transferring to another school.
.
I don’t seem to have as much enthusiasm now as I
. did when I began this job.
I think about staying home from school because I’m
. just too tired to go.

Somewhat
agree

Somewhat
disagree

How long do you plan to remain a principal?
Mark (X) only one box.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Strongly
disagree

As long as I am able
Until I am eligible for retirement benefits from this job
Until I am eligible for retirement benefits from a previous job
Until I am eligible for Social Security benefits
Until a specific life event occurs (e.g., children graduate from college, relocation)
Until a more desirable job opportunity comes along
Definitely plan to leave as soon as I can
Undecided at this time

5.
5-1.

STUDENT GROWTH AND TEACHER EVALUATION

During this school year (2013-14), is student achievement growth on standardized assessments used in
the performance evaluation of teachers in this school? Please include student achievement growth
within a teacher’s classroom as well as teamwide, gradewide, or schoolwide student achievement
growth.
Student achievement growth is the change in student achievement for an individual student between two or
more points in time, and may be measured using student growth percentiles, value added, or other measures
of change in student achievement over time.
Standardized assessments are assessments consistently administered and scored for all students in the same
grades and subjects, districtwide. These might include required state summative assessments, assessments
purchased from testing companies, or district-developed assessments that are administered districtwide.
Student achievement growth on standardized assessments is:
1

2
3

5-2.

Used in the evaluation of ALL teachers in the school, including all grades, all subjects (including art, music,
and physical education), special education, and special populations such as English learners and students
with disabilities.
Used in the evaluation of SOME (but not all) teachers in this school.
Not used in the evaluation of any teachers in this school.

During this school year (2013-14), which of the following sources of information on teacher performance
does your school use in teacher evaluations?

a. Classroom observations using a teacher professional practice rubric, conducted by the principal or
other school administrator
1
2