This 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. Environmental factors included lighting, temperature control, air quality, and structural conditions. The study also provides information on the extent of the match between the enrollment and the capacity of the school buildings. NCES released the results of the survey in the publication Public School Principals Report on Their School Facilities: Fall 2005. Questionnaires and cover letters for the study were mailed to the principal of each sampled school in mid-September 2005. The letter introduced the study, and requested that the questionnaire be completed only by the principal of the school listed on the label. Respondents were also offered the option of completing the survey via the Web. Telephone follow-up for survey nonresponse and data clarification was initiated in early October and completed in late January 2006. The final response rate was 90 percent. Principals were asked about their satisfaction with various environmental factors in classrooms located in permanent buildings and in portable (temporary) buildings (if applicable) in their school, and the extent to which they perceived those environmental factors as interfering with the ability of the school to deliver instruction in those classrooms. They were also asked about the ways in which their school used portable (temporary) buildings and the reasons for using them, and the availability of dedicated room or facilities for particular subjects (science labs, art rooms, music rooms, and gymnasium) and the extent to which these facilities were perceived to support instruction. Principals were also asked about the enrollment and design capacity of their schools, and approaches for coping with overcrowding (if applicable).
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