The Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) was established in 1975 to collect issue-oriented data quickly and with minimum response burden. The FRSS, whose surveys collect and report data on key education issues at the elementary and secondary levels, was designed to meet the data needs of Department of Education analysts, planners and decisionmakers when information could not be collected quickly through NCES’s large recurring surveys. Findings from FRSS surveys have been included in congressional reports, testimony to congressional subcommittees, NCES reports, and other Department of Education reports. The findings are also often used by state and local education officials.
Data collected through FRSS surveys are representative at the national level, drawing from a universe that is appropriate for each study. The FRSS collects data from state education agencies and national samples of other educational organizations and participants, including local education agencies, public and private elementary and secondary schools, elementary and secondary school teachers and principals, and public libraries and school libraries. To ensure minimal burden on respondents, the surveys are generally limited to three pages of questions, with a response burden of about 30 minutes per respondent. Sample sizes are relatively small (usually about 1,000 to 1,500 respondents per survey) so that data collection can be completed quickly.
If you have questions about the FRSS program, please reference our FAQ page. If your questions about the FRSS program are not addressed by the information on the website, please send an email to FRSS@ed.gov.
Highlights
Future Publications
Look for FRSS reports on the following topics to be released in coming months: Distance Education in U.S. Public Schools (Summer 2007)
Recent Publications
June 27, 2008:
Technology-Based Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2002–03 and 2004–05This report details findings from "Technology-Based Distance Education Courses for Public Elementary and Secondary School Students: 2004-05," a survey that was designed to provide policymakers, researchers, and educators with information about technology-based distance education courses in public elementary and secondary schools nationwide.
March 27, 2008:
Public-Use Data Files and Documentation: Public School Principals’ Perceptions of Their School Facilities: Fall 2005This file contains data from a 2005 fast-response survey titled "Public School Principals' Perceptions of Their School Facilities: Fall 2005." The study provides information about principals’ satisfaction with various environmental factors in their schools, and the extent to which they perceive those factors as interfering with the ability of the school to deliver instruction.
July 25, 2007:
Status of Education in Rural AmericaThis report presents a series of indicators on the status of education in rural America, using the new NCES locale classification system.
June 6, 2007:
Public-Use Data Files and Documentation: Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools, Fall 2002Public-Use Data Files and Documentation: Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools, Fall 2002 Abstract This file contains data from a fall 2002 fast-response survey titled “Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools, Fall 2002.” This study was included in a series of fast-response surveys that have tracked access to information technology in schools and classrooms since 1994.
