Sept 2 -- The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U.S. Department of Education, requests OMB approval to conduct the High School and Beyond 2021 study (HS&B:21), the sixth in a series of longitudinal studies at the high school level. HS&B:21 will follow a nationally representative sample of ninth grade students from the start of high school in the fall of 2021 to the spring of 2024 when most will be in twelfth grade. NCES invites the public to submit comments to OMB by October 2, 2020.
The NCES secondary longitudinal studies examine issues such as students’ readiness for high school; the risk factors associated with dropping out of high school; high school completion; the transition into postsecondary education and access/choice of institution; the shift from school to work; and the pipeline into science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). They have informed education policy by tracking long-term trends and elucidating relationships among student, family, and school characteristics and experiences. They have also helped establish new methodologies, designs, and measures that have influenced the practice of education research. HS&B:21 will follow the Middle Grades Longitudinal Study of 2017/18 (MGLS:2017) which followed the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:2011). This allows for the study of all transitions from elementary school through high school and into higher education and/or the workforce.
Understanding what factors propel some students to successful completion of high school and entry into work or postsecondary education while leaving others behind is a critical function of high school longitudinal studies such as HS&B:21. HS&B:21 will include surveys of students, parents, students’ math teachers, counselors, and administrators, plus a student assessment in mathematics and reading and a brief hearing and vision test.
A field test will be conducted one year prior to the full-scale study. The study sample will be freshened in 2024 to create a nationally representative sample of twelfth-grade students. A high school transcript collection and additional follow-up data collections beyond high school are also planned.
HS&B website:
https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/hsb/
Proposed survey forms, supporting statement:
https://beta.regulations.gov/docket/ED-2020-SCC-0038/document
FR notice inviting comments:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/09/02/2020-19420/agency-information-collection-activities-submission-to-the-office-of-management-and-budget-for
Point of contact: Elise Christopher, Statistician, NCES Elise.Christopher@ed.gov (202) 245-7098
For AEA members wishing to provide comments, "A Primer on How to Respond to Calls for Comment on Federal Data Collections" is available at
https://www.aeaweb.org/content/file?id=5806