Instruments and Assessments

ECLS-K Interviews and Questionnaires

The ECLS-K interviews and questionnaires are available below to view, download, and print as PDF files. Please note that some of the items have been redacted to comply with copyright restrictions.

ECLS-K Direct Child Assessments

The ECLS-K direct child assessments include items that are adapted from several copyrighted assessment batteries; the assessment batteries are not posted here due to copyright restrictions. However, the Direct Child Assessments page provides an overview of the different domains covered by the assessments. Detailed descriptions of the direct child assessments also are available in the ECLS-K User's Manuals and Psychometric Reports.

Researchers who are interested in obtaining item-level direct child assessment data (with or without the copyright-protected item wording included), viewing the assessment easels, or administering the ECLS-K assessments in their own studies should follow the guidance provided below in the “Accessing ECLS-K Direct Child Assessments, Copyright-Protected Survey Items, and/or Item-Level Data” section of this website.

ECLS-K Copyright-Protected Survey Items

The ECLS-K instruments available on the Instruments and Assessments page present only the non-redacted items.  These items may be used by researchers in their own studies without seeking NCES permission. It is recommended that researchers cite the ECLS-K or the original source of the items, if noted in the instruments, when including item wording that appears in the non-redacted survey instruments in a research publication. However, items that are redacted do not appear on the website due to copyright restrictions; permission to view these items and/or administer them in one’s own study requires NCES approval (see the “Accessing ECLS-K Direct Child Assessments, Copyright-Protected Survey Items, and/or Item-Level Data” section below).

The ECLS-K included the Social Rating Scale (SRS) in multiple rounds of data collection. The SRS includes many items taken directly or adapted from the Social Skills Rating System (SSRS) (Gresham and Elliott 1990). These items are copyright protected and redacted in the teacher and parent questionnaires available online. A detailed description of the SRS is available in the ECLS-K User's Manuals and Psychometric Reports.

Most analysts will find that the SRS scores provided in the main ECLS-K data files meet their research needs. However, researchers interested in obtaining the item wording or item-level data for the SRS items taken directly or adapted from the SSRS, or who would like to administer these items in their own study, should follow the guidance provided in the next sections of this website to gain access.

Note that the SRS included a subset of items, the Approaches to Learning items, that are not copyright protected. The item wording and item-level data are publicly available, and researchers may use these items in their own studies without express NCES permission. For more information, see the ECLS Approaches to Learning Items tip sheet.

Accessing ECLS-K Direct Child Assessments, Copyright-Protected Survey Items, and/or Item-Level Data

Researchers interested in obtaining access to or using ECLS-K direct child assessments, copyright-protected SRS items, and/or ECLS-K item-level assessment data are required to receive publisher permission, NCES ECLS study permission, and/or a restricted-use data license, depending on the specific information requested. The table below shows the required permissions. Researchers who are interested in administering the ECLS-K assessments in their own studies should follow the guidance provided below. Requesters who are interested only in viewing the assessment easels and individual items (i.e., not seeking access to the assessments to administer them in their own studies) will not be sent electronic copies of the materials. The assessments may be viewed at the NCES offices in Washington, DC by appointment. Appointment requests should be sent to ECLS@ed.gov.

Data or Assessment Items Requested	NCES/ECLS permission	Publisher permission	Restricted-use license
Copyright-protected Social Rating Scale (SRS) item wording
Copyright-protected Social Rating Scale (SRS) item-level data			1
Direct child assessment (to administer the items in one’s own study)
Direct child assessment (to view the assessment easels)	2
Direct child assessment item-level data (without associated item wording)
Direct child assessment item-level data (with associated item wording)			1

¹ The IES Data Security Office will not process requests for item-level data until publisher and NCES permission is secured.
² Easels available for viewing at NCES offices in Washington, DC, by appointment only. Requests for appointments should be sent to ECLS@ed.gov.

For detailed information about accessing data, assessments, or items that require additional permissions, refer to the Guidelines for Obtaining Access to and Using ECLS-K Direct Child Assessment Items and Copyrighted Survey Items. (153 KB)

In addition to complying with the above guidelines, requesters must complete the following forms:

• Application for the Use of ECLS-K Direct Child Assessment Items and/or Copyrighted Items (297 KB)
• Conditions of Use and Nondisclosure Agreement: ECLS-K Assessment Battery and Select Non-Assessment Items (156 KB)

Requesters must submit these documents as well as all copies of granted copyright permissions (if applicable) to ECLS@ed.gov in order to gain access to these items and/or the item-level data.

ECLS staff will review the completed application and (if required) the publisher permission documentation. If a restricted-use license is needed, ECLS staff will inform the IES Data Security Office when a requester has obtained required publisher and ECLS staff permissions for access. The requester must then obtain an IES restricted-use license or add the new data in a license amendment request through a separate application process. Requesters will be informed by ECLS staff when their application has been approved and they may begin the process of requesting data from the IES Data Security Office. Note that the IES Data Security Office will not process requests for item-level data until publisher and NCES permission is secured. Information about restricted-use licenses is available here. Questions about the licensing process are best directed to IESData.Security@ed.gov.

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