The Private School Universe Survey
(PSS) is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) to collect basic information 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. No substantive changes
have been made to the survey or its procedures since its last
approved 2017-18 administration (OMB# 1850-0641 v.8). The PSS is
also used to create a universe list of private schools for use as a
sampling frame for NCES surveys of private schools. This request is
to conduct the 2019-20 and 2021-22 PSS data collections, and the
2021-22 PSS list 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)
While there is no change in the
burden per respondent from the last approved PSS administration,
the estimated number of screener calls has increased for both
list-frame and area-frame schools. However, this is more than
offset by a decrease in the number of expected PSS survey
respondents from the last approved PSS administration, and thus the
overall annual burden for PSS has decreased.
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.