8. Implications for Analysis: School Survey, Student Assessment, and Transcript Data

1. 8. Implications for Analysis: School Survey, Student Assessment, and Transcript Data

2. Prerequisites • Recommended modules to complete before viewing this module • 1. Introduction to the NLTS2 Training Modules • 2. NLTS2 Study Overview • 3. NLTS2 Study Design and Sampling • 5. NLTS2 Data Sources: School Surveys, Student Assessments, and Transcripts • 6. Implications for Analysis: Data Content

3. Overview • When data were collected • Changes over time • Response rates • Data sources • Closing • Important information

4. When data were collected • Student’s School Program Survey • Collected in Waves 1 and 2 only • Respondent: the person who best knew the student’s program • Teacher Survey • Collected in Waves 1 and 2 only • Respondent: the first general education academic teacher of the day • School Characteristics • Collected in Wave 1 only • Respondent: principal or school administrator

5. When data were collected • Student assessments (direct and alternate) • Students were assessed at age 16 or older. • Students were assessed in either Waves 1 or 2 based on their age in that wave. • Assessment data are found in Wave 2. • Secondary school transcript data • School years in the transcript data range from the 1996-97 school year to the 2007-08 school year. • Transcripts were collected for the school years when students were in secondary school.

6. When data were collected

7. Changes over time • School program and teacher surveys are 2 years apart. • Differences may be minimal if student attended the same school and the same staff member completed the surveys in both waves. • There may be a different data source in Wave 2, a different staff member at the same school or staff from a different school. • For example, a student was promoted from middle to secondary school or transferred to a different school. • If youth is out of secondary school in Wave 2, there will be no Wave 2 school data. • Youth may have graduated or left school for another reason.

8. Response rates • Many students have transcript data for secondary school. However • Not all transcripts were complete. • Not all students had transcripts compiled by the school; some were in programs for which no transcripts were kept. • Generally, there is a lower response rate for School Surveys and Assessments than for transcript data and parent/youth survey data.

9. Response rates

10. Data sources: School program survey • Had an additional version for students attending a special school • Data from both versions were blended into a single data file for each wave. • Common items may have had different question numbers in the source questionnaire. • Variable names match the question numbers from the main questionnaire. • Version sources and associated question numbers were documented in the data dictionary. • Data will be missing if an item was not asked in the version completed by the respondent. • Both instruments are included with the documentation.

11. Data sources: Schoolcharacteristic survey • Had an additional version for special schools • As with the school program survey, the data were blended into a single file and question numbers and version sources were documented in the data dictionary. • If a question was not included in a version completed by a respondent, data will be missing for that item. • Both instruments are included in the documentation.

12. Data sources: Teacher survey • Had a single version • Only for students with a general education academic class. • If student attended more than one general education academic class, then survey was completed by the first classroom teacher on Monday. • The n’s were smaller.

13. Data sources: Student assessment • A student was scheduled to have either a direct assessment or an alternate assessment (one time only). • Data for each assessment type are in separate files and have separate data dictionaries.

14. Data sources: Transcripts • Transcripts could come from multiple schools or a single school but were stored as a collection of transcript data by student. • Transcripts were collected for the time the student attended secondary school independent from data collection waves.

15. Data sources: Transcripts • Data are stored in multiple files based on type of transcript data. • An overall file contains a single record for every student who had transcript data. • The overall file contains information other than courses taken such as school leaving status. • The file also includes a flag for students whose schools did not compile transcripts. • Those who had no transcripts compiled have no other data other than this flag; they do not have weights.

16. Data sources: Transcripts • By-year file with multiple records per student • The by-year file contains such things as absenteeism in a given year and grade level in a given year. • One record exists per school year for students with transcript data for a given school year. • By-course file with multiple records per student • Includes course taking information such as course subject codes, credits earned, course placement, and evaluations such as pass/fail or a grade point. • One record per course for students with transcript data for a given course reported by school term.

17. Data sources: Transcripts • Course taking by grade-level file with multiple records per student • Information includes summaries such as the percentage of time spent in general education placement in this grade, the types of courses taken in this grade, the grade point average across all courses and for each type of course in this grade. • One record exists per grade attended for students with course-level transcript data for a given grade. • Summarizes course-taking variables by grade level.

18. Data sources: Transcripts • Course taking summary file with one record per student • Information includes summaries such as the percentage of time spent in general and special education placement across all grades attended, the types of courses taken in these grades, the grade point averages, and credits earned in these grades. • One record exists per student for students who left secondary school and had course-level transcript data for grade levels attended. • Course taking summarized across all grades attended.

19. Data sources: Transcripts • Data were summarized by course type including • Content type: academic, vocational, or other. • Content area (e.g., academic, fine or performing arts, occupational vocational, prevocational, life skills, etc.). • Academic subject area (e.g., English, basic level math, advanced math, social science, etc.). • Occupational vocational subject area (e.g., business, health related, home economics, technology, etc.). • Courses were summarized by placement type (general education or special education placement) overall and within course type.

20. Data sources: Transcripts • Courses were classified to match data from other sources if possible. • Some course codes were given alternative coding schemes to allow for flexibility. • Example: “Business math” is considered an academic course in some coding schemes and a vocational course in others; for each summarization, there are two variables for academic and two for vocational, one containing business math one not. • All summarizations were from course-level data. • The course level file contains the “building blocks” for researchers to code and summarize to suit individual analysis needs or preferences.

21. Closing • Topics discussed in this module • When data were collected • Changes over time • Response rates • Data sources • Next module: • 9. Weighting and Weighted Standard Errors

22. Important information • NLTS2 website contains reports, data tables, and other project-related information http://nlts2.org/ • Information about obtaining the NLTS2 database and documentation can be found on the NCES website http://nces.ed.gov/statprog/rudman/ • General information about restricted data licenses can be found on the NCES websitehttp://nces.ed.gov/statprog/instruct.asp • E-mail address: nlts2@sri.com