June, 1999

 

  SPECIAL EDUCATION ELEMENTARY LONGITUDINAL STUDY (SEELS)
   
  FINAL SAMPLING AND RECRUITMENT REPORT
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
  SRI Project 3421
   
  SEELS is being designed under Task Order 6 to SRI International and the Research Triangle Institute under the Office of Special Education Programs’ Initiative to Link Research and Practice to Improve Results for Individuals with Disabilities.
   


 

SPECIAL EDUCATION ELEMENTARY LONGITUDINAL STUDY (SEELS)

FINAL SAMPLING AND RECRUITMENT REPORT

Contents

 
Introduction 1
   
Size and Characteristics of LEA Sample 1
   
LEA and Student Sample Recruitment Timeline 2
   
LEA Recruitment Procedures 2
   
Current and Project Participation Rates 4
   
Problems Encountered 7
   
Planned Activities 7
   
Conclusion 8
   
Appendix A State School Chief Contact Memo  
Appendix B SEA Contact Materials  
Appendix C SEA Contact Materials  
Appendix D Sea Participation Agreement as of 6/24/99  


INTRODUCTION

As part of a comprehensive OSEP program of longitudinal research related to the 1997 Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA97), the Special Education Elementary Longitudinal Study (SEELS) is intended to involve a large, nationally representative sample of students in special education who are ages 6 through 12 when the sample is selected (fall 1999). The SEELS student sample will be generated through a two-stage process: (1) selecting a nationally representative sample of LEAs stratified by region, size, and district wealth, and (2) selecting students in specific disability categories from the selected LEAs to participate in SEELS. The SEELS LEA sample was selected in January 1999. This report was intended to be the final product that documents the process and outcome of the LEA recruitment from the SEELS sample. However, for a variety of reasons, the recruitment process has taken longer than originally planned, and this report must be an interim sampling report because the recruitment will need to be extended through summer 1999 and into the next school year to reach the target number of LEAs. The report addresses a number of topics, including a description of the desired LEA sample characteristics, LEA recruitment activities, current and projected levels of LEA participation, problems encountered, and planned activities.

SIZE AND CHARACTERISTICS OF LEA SAMPLE

The SEELS LEA sample must be drawn from a sampling frame that reflects the nation with regard to region, LEA size, and LEA wealth. In addition, the size of the LEA sample must be sufficient to generate the needed student sample (n=14,375). Our analysis of LEAs’ estimated enrollment across district size, and estimated sampling fractions for each disability category, suggested that 297 LEAs (and as many state-sponsored special schools as will participate) would generate sufficient numbers of students. However, previous experience with the NLTS suggests that significant numbers of LEAs either decline to participate because of concerns related to confidentiality of student records or simply never respond to communications from researchers. Although considerable time and effort were expended in recruiting LEAs for the NLTS, approximately 55% of the LEAs invited to participate declined, did not respond, or introduced procedures that unacceptably lengthened the recruitment process. Thus, assuming a similar level of nonresponse/refusal for SEELS, we selected a sample of 765 LEAs (and a reserve sample of 380 LEAs) in order to obtain our target of 297 LEAs who will agree to participate in the study. In addition, the universe of state schools for deaf students and for blind students was included in the sample.

LEA AND STUDENT SAMPLE RECRUITMENT TIMELINE

To generate the appropriate number of students, the LEA recruitment effort was carefully designed to be a sequential, two-stage process resulting in a student sample in time for the first planned data collection (the SEELS parent interview). The timeline of the SEELS LEA and student sample is described in Table 1. Note that the dates below reflect the timeline as originally planned. Each of the activities experienced a number of delays and took longer than planned.

 

Table 1

SEELS LEA RECRUITMENT AND STUDENT SAMPLE SELECTION TIMELINE

 

Date

Activity

 

Select LEA sample

1/99

Select primary and reserve sample of LEAs.

 

Recruit LEA sample

2/99

Contact SEAs to obtain permission/cooperation and to obtain contact information for selected LEAs.

3/99-6/99

Contact LEAs/special schools to request participation agreements.

 

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 them of study participation and request consent for direct assessment and access to school records.

LEA RECRUITMENT PROCEDURES

LEA recruitment proceeded sequentially from OSEP communication to states, to SRI/Westat communication to states, to SRI communication directly with LEAs. In preparation for these communications, informational materials were developed for SEELS, including letters, a brochure, and a Web Site.

CURRENT AND PROJECTED PARTICIPATION RATES

Approximately 2 months have elapsed since our initial contact with LEAs. Table 2 describes the current status of the SEELS LEA recruitment effort in terms of the number of uncommitted LEAs, LEAs who have agreed to participate, and LEAs who have declined to participate. These data are presented separately for very large LEAs and for state schools for deaf students and blind students. Small, medium, and large LEAs have been grouped together for this report. In general, our assessment is that the recruitment process is going relatively well but that significantly more time will be required to meet the goal of 330 LEAs. In fact, the rate of SEELS LEA recruitment is very similar to that of the NLTS in the amount of time required to complete the process. The current status of the recruitment effort (6/24/99) can be summarized in the following points:

 

 

Table 2

CURRENT STATUS AND PROJECTIONS OF SEELS LEA RECRUITMENT, OVERALL AND BY LEA SIZE

 

Current

Projected

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Small, medium, and large LEAs

Uncommitted

699

663

574

517

460

403

338

273

Agree

29

64

32

32

32

40

40

30

Decline

7

25

25

25

25

25

25

25

% Agree

4.1%

9.7%

5.6%

6.2%

7.0%

9.9%

11.8%

11.0%

% Decline

1.0%

3.8%

4.4%

4.8%

5.4%

6.2%

7.4%

9.2%

Cumulative agree

29

93

125

157

189

229

269

299

Very large LEAs

Uncommitted

64

62

53

48

43

36

29

23

Agree

1

7

3

3

5

5

4

3

Decline

1

2

2

2

2

2

2

2

% Agree

1.6%

11.3%

5.7%

6.3%

11.6%

13.9%

13.8%

13.0%

% Decline

1.6%

3.2%

3.8%

4.2%

4.7%

5.6%

6.9%

8.7%

Cumulative agree

1

8

11

14

19

24

28

31

State schools

Uncommitted

76

69

50

45

40

35

28

22

Agree

7

18

3

3

3

4

3

2

Decline

0

1

2

2

2

3

3

3

% Agree

9.2%

26.1%

6.0%

6.7%

7.5%

11.4%

10.7%

9.1%

% Decline

0.0%

1.4%

4.0%

4.4%

5.0%

8.6%

10.7%

13.6%

Cumulative agree

7

25

28

31

34

38

41

43

Total agree

37

126

164

202

242

291

338

373

% of goal

10.3%

35.0%

45.6%

56.1%

67.2%

80.8%

93.9%

103.6%

% of total

4.4%

15.0%

19.5%

24.1%

28.8%

34.7%

40.3%

44.5%

Total decline

8

36

65

94

123

153

183

213

% Decline

1.0%

4.3%

7.7%

11.2%

14.7%

18.2%

21.8%

25.4%

Total unknown

794

677

610

543

474

395

318

253

% Unknown

94.6%

80.7%

72.7%

64.7%

56.5%

47.1%

37.9%

30.2%

 

 

In addition to judging our progress in LEA recruitment, it is important to make projections regarding the amount of additional time that will be required to complete the recruitment process. To accomplish these projections, we estimated the number of LEAs who will agree to participate on a monthly basis according to the following assumptions:

According to these assumptions, Table 2 suggests that it will be necessary to continue the recruitment effort into fall 1999 to reach the target number of LEAs. Of course, these estimates represent our "best guesses" about the how the recruitment process will proceed. The timeline will vary to the extent that our assumptions are correct. Below we analyze the implications of the extended time required to select the sample.

PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED

We believe that the LEA recruitment process is well under way and will ultimately generate the required number of students for the sample. However, we believe that an explanation of events and processes that led to the delay is desirable and will be informative for future efforts.

PLANNED ACTIVITIES

To achieve the LEA recruitment goals, we propose the following activities and decision rules:

CONCLUSION

The SEELS LEA recruitment process is proceeding more slowly than originally planned in the design task, but approximately at the same rate as our previous experience in the NLTS. We expect that the proposed strategy will result in an LEA sample by the end of 1999 that will both generate sufficient numbers of students and not delay the SEELS data collection timetable.

 

 

 

Appendix A

 

STATE SCHOOL CHIEF CONTACT MEMO


 

 

Appendix B

 

SEA CONTACT MATERIALS


 

 

Appendix C

 

LEA CONTACT MATERIALS


 

 

 

 

Appendix D

 

 

 

 

SEA PARTICIPATION AGREEMENTS AS OF 6/24/99