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2. SEELS Timeline

The Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study is expected to be a 6-year project that will involve three main data collection components, each collected in three waves. The three components of data collection are:

Parent interviews. Parents will be contacted for telephone interviews about children’s experiences and outcomes.

Student data collection.

Direct assessments. The academic performance of students will be measured, in part, through direct assessments of children that will be performed by on-site professionals (not the students’ teachers) who are recruited and trained for that purpose (e.g., the district’s psychologist).
Student interview. The assessment event also will be a time to collect some interview information directly from students.

School data collection.

Language arts teacher survey. For each individual student, data will be collected from the language arts teacher about the classroom practices and the student’s performance in that particular classroom.
School program survey. The special education teacher or other school staff member who is best able to describe each student’s overall school program will be surveyed for information about the student’s school program and performance more broadly (e.g., days absent from school, instructional settings that comprise the student’s whole school experience).
School background survey. Completing the school data collection will be a survey of principals, who will provide information on the characteristics of the schools and data on aggregate measures of school performance.

In addition, an optional data collection component involves an in-person parent interview of nonrespondents to the parent telephone survey to assess and correct for potential sample bias in the telephone interview sample.

Parent interviews will be conducted in the spring/summer of year 1 (school year 1999-2000), year 3 (school year 2001-2002), and year 5 (school year 2003-2004), which will enable analysts to plot trends over time in factors reported by parents. Student and school data collection will be conducted in years 2, 3, and 5. The optional nonresponse study would be conducted in year 2.
Data analyses will be conducted as each wave of data is completed, with the final year of the
6-year project being devoted to comprehensive analyses of the full longitudinal data set.

A more detailed timeline of major project activities is presented below.

Table 2-1 SEELS TIMELINE
Date	Activity
YEAR 1, SCHOOL YEAR 1999-2000
	Select student sample
10/99	Contact sample LEAs/special schools to request rosters of students.
10/99-3/00	Follow up with nonresponding LEAs/special schools to obtain rosters.
10/99-3/00	Receive student rosters; select students using specified sampling fractions for age and disability category.
11/99-4/00	Contact parents of sampled students to inform of study participation and request consent for direct assessment and access to school records.
	Parent interviews, wave 1
3/00-6/00	Conduct wave 1 parent interviews.
7/00-8/00	Prepare parent interview data for analysis.
	Direct assessment, wave 1
3/00-9/00	Prepare training materials for on-site professionals who will do direct assessments.
	Student tracking
Ongoing	Conduct tracking procedures to minimize sample attrition.
YEAR 2, SCHOOL YEAR 2000-2001
	Parent interviews, Nonresponse Study
9/00-11/00	OPTION: Conduct in-person parent interviews in nonresponding households in high nonresponse communities for sample bias analysis.
	Analysis and reporting
12/00	Construct weights.
1/01-4/01	Analysis of wave 1 parent interview data.
5/01	Submit draft report on wave 1 of parent interview data.
7/01	Submit final report on wave 1 of parent interview data.
	School data collection, wave 1
11/00-2/01	Contact schools to confirm student attendance.* Implement follow-up procedures.
11/00-1/01	Track mobile students to identify schools they currently attend.

Table 2-1 (Continued) SEELS TIMELINE
2/01-5/01	Mail wave 1 teacher survey and school program survey to principals for distribution to appropriate school staff who can best respond for individual students. Implement follow-up survey procedures.
2/01-5/01	Mail wave 1 principal survey to principals of all schools attended by sample students. Implement follow-up survey procedures.
6/01-8/01	Prepare school data for analysis.
7/01-8/01	Contact parents by mail to identify school student is expected to attend in fall, year 3, school year 2001-2002.
	Direct assessment, wave 1
11/00-12/00	Contact LEAs/special schools to identify person to do direct assessment at each site.
12/00-2/01	Contract with individuals to conduct direct assessments at each site. Distribute training materials.
2/01-5/01	Conduct direct assessments. Implement follow-up procedures.
6/01-8/01	Prepare assessment data for analysis.
	Student tracking
Ongoing	Conduct tracking procedures to minimize sample attrition.
YEAR 3, SCHOOL YEAR 2001-2002
	Analysis and reporting
9/01-2/02	Weighting and analysis of direct assessment and school data.
3/02-7/02	Submit draft and final versions of topical reports on students’ school programs, students’ school performance, and the linkages between them.
	Parent interviews, wave 2
3/02-6/02	Conduct wave 2 parent interviews.
7/02-8/02	Prepare parent interview data for analysis.
	School data collection, wave 2
10/01-1/02	Contact schools to confirm student attendance. Implement survey follow-up procedures.
11/01-1/02	Track mobile students to identify schools they currently attend.
2/02-5/02	Mail wave 2 teacher survey and school program survey to principals for distribution to appropriate school staff who can best respond for individual students. Implement follow-up survey procedures.
2/02-5/02	Mail wave 2 principal survey to principals of all schools attended by sample students. Implement follow-up survey procedures.
6/02-8/02	Prepare school data for analysis.
	Direct assessment, wave 2
11/01-12/01	Contact LEAs/special schools to identify person to do wave 2 direct assessment at each site.
12/01-2/02	Contract with individuals to conduct direct assessments at each site. Distribute training materials.
2/02-5/02	Conduct direct assessments. Implement follow-up procedures.
6/02-8/02	Prepare assessment data for analysis.
	Student tracking
Ongoing	Conduct tracking procedures to minimize sample attrition.

Table 2-1 (Concluded) SEELS TIMELINE
YEAR 4, SCHOOL YEAR 2002-2003
	Analysis and reporting
9/02-2/03	Weighting and analysis of wave 2 parent interview, direct assessment, and school data.
3/03-8/03	Submit draft and final versions of topical reports on (1) trends in factors reported by parents and (2) trends in students’ school performance, and the linkages between students’ school programs and growth or change in performance.
YEAR 5, SCHOOL YEAR 2003-2004
	School data collection, wave 3
7/03-8/03	Contact parents by mail to identify school student is expected to attend in fall, year 5, school year 2003-2004.
	Parent interviews, wave 3
3/04-6/04	Conduct wave 3 parent interviews.
7/04-8/04	Prepare parent interview data for analysis.
	School data collection, wave 3
10/03-1/04	Contact schools to confirm student attendance. Implement follow-up procedures.
11/03-1/04	Track mobile students to identify schools they currently attend.
2/04-5/04	Mail wave 3 teacher survey and school program survey to principals for distribution to appropriate school staff who can best respond for individual students. Implement follow-up survey procedures.
2/04-5/04	Mail wave 3 principal survey to principals of all schools attended by sample students. Implement follow-up survey procedures.
6/04-8/04	Prepare school data for analysis.
	Direct assessment, wave 3
11/03-12/03	Contact LEAs/special schools to identify person to do wave 3 direct assessment at each site.
12/03-2/04	Contract with individuals to conduct direct assessments at each site. Distribute training materials.
2/04-5/04	Conduct direct assessments. Implement follow-up procedures.
6/04-8/04	Prepare assessment data for analysis.
YEAR 6, SCHOOL YEAR 2004-2005
	Analysis and reporting
9/04-2/05	Analysis of wave 3 parent interview, direct assessment, and school data.
3/05-8/05	Submit draft and final versions of topical reports on (1) trends in factors reported by parents, (2) trends in students’ school performance, and (3) trends in special education (e.g., comparisons of experiences at specified grade levels from one wave to another).

* Parents will be asked in the wave 1 interview what school they expect the student to attend in the coming year.

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