Practical suggestions to increase the response rate when gathering post-school outcomes data. OSEP Approved January 2007 On the web at: NPSO Tools & Products: Data Collection

National Post-School Outcomes Center National Dropout Prevention Center for Students with Disabilities 2 Collaborative Product

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From the Introduction...  Intended for state and local education agency personnel charged with designing systems to collect post-school outcome data for students with disabilities  Overview of requirements and challenges in data collection  Recommendations and strategies to secure sufficient response rates, especially from youth who drop out of school

Strategies for Survey Design Tailor survey to the intended audience. Make survey user-friendly. Appearance matters! Focus on essential questions.

Strategies for Survey Administration: Ensure Confidentiality Personalize Notification Provide pre-notification Consider alternate means of distribution and collection Express commitment: The respondent should feel as though the survey is valuable and that their responses are valuable. Use incentives Conduct follow-up. Letters, cards, s all increase the likelihood of a response

Strategies for Locating Youth: Before Exiting Keep students’ files current and accurate prior to exiting. Have students complete an exit survey prior to leaving school. Discuss the importance of transition planning and inform students and families that they may be contacted after leaving school. Encourage LEAs to maintain current contact information. Encourage LEAs to recheck fall enrollments annually for students who may have (may not have) returned. Locate and contact LEAs with high response rates to share what they are doing. Prior to exit, ask students: Specifically, what would keep them in touch?

Strategies for Locating Youth: Before Exiting continued Have students develop a resume, providing personal and professional references. At the beginning of each semester provide all students, especially those students at risk for dropping out, with a “pre-correct” message regarding staying in school. Establish district-wide, standardized practices for monitoring and responding to student attendance issues. Improve the quality of exit interviews. During transition planning and exit interviews, ask students about their future plans. Prior to students exiting, verify and update contact information.

Strategies for Locating Youth: After Exiting Keep local data systems current. Send “heads up” letter to youth and families. Attempt to locate students via the Department of Motor Vehicles. Schools may consider hiring police officer liaisons. “Google” students. Go where students are; locate them at their favorite places. Pay students to keep in touch.

Strategies for Locating Youth: After Exiting continued Locate and contact LEAs with high response rates. After students leave school, send written correspondences or correspondences through Telephone and send written correspondences Send postcard with forward service or change of address request. Contact the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation. Consider Aristotle’s Nationwide Voter File.

Other products to help increase Response Rate Student/Parent Flyers  Information on survey process  Available in English & Spanish  Personalize to your district Coming Soon: “Youtube” video for parents/students on PSO Survey coming their way 11

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