The Private School Universe Survey
(PSS) is the NCES collection of basic data from the universe of
private elementary and secondary schools in the United States. The
PSS is designed to gather biennial data on the total number of
private schools, teachers, and students, along with a variety of
related data, including: religious orientation; grade-levels taught
and size of school; length of school year and of school day; total
student enrollment by gender (K-12); number of high school
graduates; whether a school is single-sexed or coeducational;
number of teachers employed; program emphasis; and existence and
type of its kindergarten program. The PSS includes all schools that
are not supported primarily by public funds, that provide classroom
instruction for one or more of grades K-12 or comparable ungraded
levels, and that have one or more teachers. The PSS is also used to
create a universe list of private schools that can be used as a
sampling frame for NCES surveys of private schools. No substantive
changes have been made to the survey or its procedures since its
last approved PSS 2010-13. This clearance is for the 2013-14 and
2015-16 PSS data collections, and the 2015-16 PSS list- and
area-frame building operations.
US Code:
20
USC 9543 Name of Law: NCES is authorized to conduct this survey
under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA)
The 2015-16 burden is increased
by an additional three minutes per respondent because 2 additional
questionnaire items (items 18 and 19) were added for the 2015-16
PSS.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that
the collection of information encompassed by this request complies
with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR
1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding
the proposed collection of information, that the certification
covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a
benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control
number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of
these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked
and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.