2016 National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES) Parent and Family Involvement Survey (PFI) and Early Childhood Program Participation Survey (ECPP) Cognitive Interviews

Attachment 1b NHES 2016 PFI & ECPP Cognitive Interviews Recruitment Screener

Hello. My name is [XXXXXX] and I work for [recruitment firm]. The U.S. Department of Education is conducting a brief but important study about students’ experiences with their schools, and [recruitment firm] is assisting with data collection. Your participation is voluntary, and you will receive no sales pitch or follow-up calls based on your participation.

We are looking for parents to help us understand how they interpret survey questions asking about their child’s school. These survey questions are part of a survey that is being developed by the U.S. Department of Education. The objective of the current study is to assess the clarity of the survey questions, and we need help from parents to do that. The information gained from the study will be used for potential revisions to the survey questions. American Institutes for Research (AIR) will be conducting the interviews. I’d like to ask you a few questions to see if you qualify for the study.

1. Are you a parent or guardian of any children who are in Kindergarten to 12^th grade, or who are ages 5 to 17?

1. Yes (continue)

2. No (Thank and terminate if Question 1 is NO).

2. What grades are these children in?

1. Grades K to 5

2. Grades 6 to 12

3. Don’t have a grade

3. Are any of these children attending a public school?

1. Yes (continue)

2. No (continue)

4. Are any of these children attending a private school?

1. Yes (continue)

2. No (continue)

5. Are any of these children homeschooled?

1. Yes (continue)

2. No (continue)

6. Some students take school-related courses over the internet. Are any of these children receiving any instruction this way?

1. Yes (continue)

2. No (continue)

7. Do any of these children live at this address and another address (for example because of a joint custody arrangement)?

1. Yes (continue)

2. No (continue)

8. Are you also a parent or guardian of any children ages 5 or younger?

1. Yes (continue)

2. No (go to Question 11)

9. Are any of these children NOT YET in kindergarten?

1. Yes (continue)

2. No (go to Question 11)

10. Is this child in a care arrangement, e.g., family day care, day-care center, preschool, prekindergarten, Head Start or other early childhood program?

1. Yes

2. No

11. What is YOUR EDUCATION level?

1. Less than High School (Continue)

2. High School Graduate (Continue)

3. Some College, trade, technical or vocational school (Continue)

4. College degree (Continue)

5. Graduate education (Continue)

12. What language do you speak most at home?

1. English (go to recruitment instructions after Question 12)

2. Another language (Specify:)

13. [IF ENGLISH IS THEIR SECOND LANGUAGE] Are you able to read fluently in English?

1. Yes (continue)

2. No (Thank and terminate)

RECRUITER: Please determine how articulate the parent is speaking in English. We want to talk to some parents who have children for whom English is not their first language but the parents need to be able to read enough English to complete the survey and be able to freely express themselves in English in a way that is understandable.

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All recruits MUST be articulate parents who can answer open ended questions, and can provide explanation for their responses. DO NOT recruit any who have difficulty answering these questions in English or who say they cannot read fluently in English.

14. Have you participated in a research study or focus group in the past 6 months? (RECRUIT NONE.)

1. Yes (Thank and terminate.)

2. No (Continue)

Based on your answers, we would like to invite you to participate in an interview (to discuss your child’s schooling). You will receive $40 to thank you for completing the interview. The interview is about 1 hour in length and will be conducted at our office located in XXXXX. If you drive, please park in our garage and bring your ticket with you for validation. We will cover your parking.

We are conducting interviews on __________ and ___________. Are you available to participate in this research study?

	CIRCLE
Yes	1	 (CONTINUE AND GIVE DIRECTIONS)
No	2	 (THANK AND TERMINATE)

RECRUITER: Check off the criteria that this parent fits in order to categorize the cognitive interview we will conduct.

Parent Interview Criteria:

Parent of K-12 child (Q1=1)	Home-schooled child (Q5=1)	Online Instruction (Q6=1)	Joint custody (Q7=1)	Additional Child not yet in K in care arrangement (Q10=1)	ESL Parent that can read English (Q13 =1)

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