Title page
Contents
I. Overview 8
Purpose and Content of the Survey 8
Content of the Documentation 8
II. Frame Creation 9
List Frame 9
Area Frame 10
Certainty PSUs 10
Noncertainty PSUs 10
Total Area Frame Sample 10
Changes in Frame Creation Methodology from 2013-14 to 2015-16 11
III. Data Collection 12
Time Frame of the Survey 12
Data Collection Procedures 12
Initial Mailing and Reminder Post Card 12
Second Mailings and Reminder Postcard 12
Nonresponse Follow-up 13
Interviewer Training 15
Status at the End of Data Collection 15
2015-16 PSS Branding Experiment 16
Changes in Data Collection Procedures from 2013-14 to 2015-16 17
IV. Response Rates 18
Survey Response Rates 18
Unit nonresponse bias analysis 19
Item Response Rates 23
V. Data Preparation and Imputation 25
Questionnaire Check-in 25
Data Capture 25
Reformatting 25
Merging Data Files 25
Name and Address Updates 25
Preliminary Interview Status 25
Computer Pre-Edit 25
Computer Edit 26
Final Interview Status 27
Imputation 28
Donor Imputation 28
Analyst imputation 28
Changes to PSS Variables During Imputation 29
VI. Weighting and Variance Estimation 30
Weighting 30
Variance Estimation 31
Producing Replicate Weights 31
Applying Replicate Weights 31
VII. Quality of PSS Data 33
Reviewing the Quality of PSS Data 33
Area-Frame Contribution to Estimates 33
Capture-Recapture Estimate of PSS Coverage 36
Comparability With Other Estimates 36
Current Population Survey Data 37
National Catholic Educational Association Data 37
Prior PSS Data 37
VIII. Information on Data Files 39
Availability of Data 39
Restricted-Use Data File 39
Public-Use Data File 39
IX. User Notes and Cautions 40
Locale Code (Urbanicity) 40
Race/Ethnicity 40
References 41
Appendix A. Key Terms for PSS 42
Appendix B. 2015-16 PSS Questionnaire 46
Appendix C. Private School Lists Received and Processed 63
Appendix D. 2013-14 PSS Area Frame Counties 65
Appendix E. Selected Weighted Response Rate Tables 71
Appendix F. Pre-Edit Rejections of PSS Data and Changes Made During the Pre-Edit and Edit 76
Appendix G. Changes Made During Imputation 84
Appendix H. Variable Categories Used in Developing Adjustment Factor Cells for Weighting 89
Table 1. Number and percentage of PSS cases, by source: 2015-16 9
Table 2. PSS data collection time schedule: 2015-16 12
Table 3. Number and percentage of PSS cases in telephone follow-up, by response status and telephone center: 2015-16 13
Table 4. Number and percentage of PSS cases in field follow-up, by response status: 2015-16 14
Table 5. Number and percentage of PSS cases, by interview status at end of data collection: 2015-16 15
Table 6. Number and percentage of completed PSS interviews at end of data collection, by mode of data collection: 2015-16 16
Table 7. PSS branding experiment response rates by branding group: 2015-16 17
Table 8. Weighted and unweighted number of PSS interviews and noninterviews, and weighted response rates, by frame: 2015-16 18
Table 9. Weighted and unweighted number of PSS interviews and noninterviews, and weighted response rates for traditional private schools, by frame: 2015-16 18
Table 10. Weighted and unweighted number of PSS interviews and noninterviews, and weighted response rates for kindergarten-terminal private schools, by frame: 2015-16 19
Table 11. Summary of 2015-16 PSS nonresponse bias statistics 20
Table 12. Base-weighted PSS school frame distribution, interviewed distribution, estimated bias, percent relative bias, standard errors, and t statistic, by affiliation membership and reporting characteristics: 2015-16 21
Table 13. Final weighted PSS school frame distribution, interviewed distribution, estimated bias, percent relative bias, standard errors, and t statistic, by affiliation membership and reporting characteristics: 2015-16 22
Table 14. PSS item response rates for private schools: 2015-16 24
Table 15. Summary of changes made to PSS questionnaire variables during the pre-edit and edit: 2015-16 26
Table 16. Number of PSS cases, by preliminary and final interview status and the percentage change between preliminary and final interview status: 2015-16 28
Table 17. Summary of changes made to PSS questionnaire variables during imputation, by type of change: 2015-16 29
Table 18. Weighted number of traditional private schools by frame and percentage of total schools from the area frame, by private school typology: 2015-16 34
Table 19. Weighted number of traditional private school students by frame and percentage of total students from the area frame, by private school typology: 2015-16 34
Table 20. Weighted number of traditional private school teachers (headcount) by frame and percentage of total teachers from the area frame, by private school typology: 2015-16 35
Table 21. Weighted number of kindergarten-terminal private schools, students, and teachers (headcount) by frame and the percentage of schools, students, and teachers from the area frame, by private school three-level typology: 2015-16 35
Table 22. Weighted number of PSS Catholic schools, students, and teachers compared to those of the National Catholic Educational Association, by level: 2015-16 37
Table 23. Weighted number of private schools, students, and teachers, by level: 1999-2000, 2001-02, 2003-04, 2005-06, 2007-08, 2009-10, 2011-12, 2013-14 and 2015-16 38
Table C-1. Private school association lists whether received or processed: 2015-16 64
Table D-1. PSS area frame counties, by PSS county number, state, and certainty/sample status: 2015-16 66
Table E-1. Weighted and unweighted number of PSS interviews and noninterviews, and weighted response rates, by private school typology: 2015-16 72
Table E-2. Weighted and unweighted number of PSS interviews and noninterviews, and weighted response rates, by religious or nonsectarian orientation of school: 2015-16 73
Table E-3. PSS item response rates for traditional private schools: 2015-16 74
Table E-4. PSS item response rates for kindergarten-terminal private schools: 2015-16 75
Table F-1. Number and percentage of pre-edit rejections of PSS data, by rejection reason: 2015-16 77
Table F-2. Number of changes made to PSS variables during the pre-edit: 2015-16 80
Table F-3. Number of changes made to PSS variables during the edit: 2015-16 82
Table G-1. PSS imputation variables: 2015-16 85
Table G-2. PSS imputation matching variables and collapsing order: 2015-16 86
Table G-3. Number of changes made to PSS variables during imputation: 2015-16 87