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NAEP Technical DocumentationSampling of Schools for the 2007 National Private School Assessment

As in the state operational sample of public schools, the general goal was to achieve a self-weighting sample at the student level. The target sample size of students in each school was 62 in fourth- and twelfth-grade schools, and 93 in eighth-grade schools.

The measure of size computation was similar to that used for the fourth- and eighth-grade state assessment. One difference was that the estimated grade enrollment used to create the preliminary measure of size was weighted by the Private School Universe Survey (PSS) school weight from the PSS area sample. As with the state sample, multiple "hits" were allowed per school.

Schools were ordered within each school type, using a serpentine sort by the following variables:

  • urbanicity,
  • race/ethnicity status,
  • and estimated grade enrollment.

A systematic sample was then drawn with probability proportional to size using this serpentine sorted list and the measures of size.

Schools with unknown affiliation were treated separately. A fixed sample of 25 schools with unknown affiliation were selected at each of the three grades.


Last updated 13 April 2010 (GF)

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