Methodology

The Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) was established in 1975 by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), U. S. Department of Education. FRSS is designed to collect small amounts of issue-oriented data with minimal burden on respondents and with a relatively short timeframe.

The sample of elementary and secondary schools for the FRSS survey on Internet access in public schools was selected from the 1997- 1998 NCES Common Core of Data (CCD) Public School Universe File, the most up-to-date file available at the time the sample was drawn.

Over 84,000 regular schools are contained in the 1997-1998 CCD Public School Universe File. For this survey, regular elementary and secondary/ combined schools were selected. Special education, vocational education, and alternative schools were excluded from the sampling frame, along with schools with a highest grade below first grade and those outside the 50 states and the District of Columbia. With these exclusions, the final sampling frame consisted of about 81,400 schools, of which about 61,000 were classified as "elementary" schools and about 20,400 as "secondary/ combined" schools.

A sample of 1,218 schools was selected from the public school frame. To select the sample, the frame of schools was stratified by instructional level (elementary and secondary/ combined schools), enrollment size class (less than 300 students, 300 to 999, 1,000 to 1,499, and 1,500 or more), and percentage of students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch (less than 35 percent, 35 to 49 percent, 50 to 74 percent, 75 percent or more). Schools in the highest poverty category (schools with 75 percent or more students eligible for free or reduced-price lunch) were oversampled to permit analyses for that category.

The two-page survey instrument was designed by Westat and NCES. The questions included on the survey addressed access to Internet in public schools and classrooms, the types of Internet connections used, student access to the Internet outside of regular school hours, and acceptable use policies. In September 2000, questionnaires were mailed to the principals of the 1,218 sampled schools. The principal was asked to forward the questionnaire to the person at the school most knowledgeable about Internet access and other advanced telecommunications offered at the school. Telephone followup of nonrespondents was initiated in early October, and data collection was completed in December. Six schools were closed, two were outside the scope of the survey, and 1,104 schools completed the survey. Thus, the final response rate was 90.6 percent (1,104 of 1,210 eligible schools). The weighted response rate was 90.7 percent. The weighted nonresponse rate for individual questionnaire items ranged from 0 to 1.3 percent; imputation for item nonresponse was not implemented.

The survey responses were weighted to produce national estimates (Table A). The weights were designed to adjust for the variable probabilities of selection and differential nonresponse. The findings in this report are based on the sample selected and, consequently, are subject to sampling variability. The standard error is the measure of the variability of estimates due to sampling. It indicates the variability of a sample estimate that would be obtained from all possible samples of a given design and size. Standard errors are used as a measure of the precision expected from a particular sample. If all possible samples were surveyed under similar conditions, intervals of 1.96 standard errors below to 1.96 standard errors above a particular statistic would include the true population parameter being estimated in about 95 percent of the samples. This is a 95 percent confidence interval. For example, the estimated percentage of public schools with Internet access in 2000 is 98 percent, and the estimated standard error is 0.5 percent. The 95 percent confidence interval for the statistics extends from 98 - (0.5 times 1.96) to 98 + (0.5 times 1.96), or from 97 to 99 percent. Estimates of standard errors for this report were computed using a technique known as the jackknife replication method (standard error tables are found in the appendix). All specific statements of comparison made in this report have been tested for statistical significance using chi-square tests and t-tests adjusted for multiple comparisons using the Bonferroni adjustment and are significant at the 95 percent confidence level or better. However, not all significant differences are reported.

The survey estimates are also subject to nonsampling errors that can arise because of nonobservation (nonresponse or noncoverage) errors, errors of reporting, and errors made in collection of the data. These errors can sometimes bias the data. Nonsampling errors may include such problems as the difference in the respondents' interpretation of the meaning of the question; memory effects; misrecording of responses; incorrect editing, coding, or data entry; differences related to the particular time the survey was conducted; or errors in data preparation. While general sampling theory can be used in part to determine how to estimate the sampling variability of a statistic, nonsampling errors are not easy to measure and, for measurement purposes, usually require that an experiment be conducted as part of the data collection procedures or that data external to the study be used. To minimize the potential for nonsampling errors, the questionnaire on Internet access in public schools was pretested in 1994, and again each time it was substantially modified. The pretesting was done with public school technology coordinators and other knowledgeable respondents like those who completed the survey. No pretesting was necessary in 2000. During the design of the survey, an effort was made to check for consistency of interpretation of questions and to eliminate ambiguous items. The questionnaire and instructions were intensively reviewed by the National Center for Education Statistics. Manual and machine editing of the questionnaire responses were conducted to check the data for accuracy and consistency. Cases with missing or inconsistent items were recontacted by telephone to resolve problems. Data were keyed with 100 percent verification.

The survey was performed under contract with Westat, using the NCES Fast Response Survey System (FRSS). Westat's Project Director was Elizabeth Farris, and the Survey Manager was Anne Cattagni. Catrina Williams was the Survey Manager during the design phase of the survey. Bernie Greene was the NCES Project Officer.

To obtain definitions of terms for this Statistics in Brief, a copy of the questionnaire, or additional information about the Fast Response Survey System or the FRSS Internet surveys, contact Bernie Greene at NCES, 202- 502- 7348. To order additional copies of this Statistics in Brief or other NCES publications, call 1- 800- 424- 1616. NCES publications are also available on the Internet (http:// www. nces. ed. gov/ pub search). This report was reviewed by the following individuals:

Outside NCES

• Cindy Prince, National Education Goals Pane


• Stephanie Cronen, American Institutes for Research


• Laura Johns, Office of Educational Technology, U. S. Department of Education


• Lawrence Lanahan, American Institutes for Research


• Jackie Shrago, Tennessee Department of Education

Inside NCES

• Arnold Goldstein, Analysis and Reporting Program Assessment Division


• Bill Hussar, Early Childhood, International, and Crosscutting Studies Division


• Paula Knepper, Postsecondary Studies Division


• Marilyn McMillen, Chief Statistician


• Valena Plisko, Associate Commissioner, Early Childhood, International, and Crosscutting Studies Division


• Susan Wiley, Elementary/ Secondary and Libraries Studies Division

Related information

This survey is part of an overall NCES effort to track the availability and use of technology in schools. The references below contain the source information about publications for the series of public school surveys on advanced telecommunications and Internet access. In addition to collecting information from public schools, NCES surveyed private schools about advanced telecommunications in 1995 and 1999. NCES has also collected information on teachers' use of technology. A report on this topic was released in summer 2000.

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