Mail Survey Data Collection

The mail surveys included approximately 100 questions in the following eight categories:

• Context for Monitoring and Improvement (Part C questionnaire only);
• Design for Monitoring and Improvement Activities;
• Data Collection and Analysis;
• Staffing and Training;
• Role of Stakeholders;
• Reporting;
• Process for State and Local Improvement; and
• History of Monitoring and Improvement.

In addition to providing evaluators with an inventory of what states did to monitor local programs and plan improvements, the mail survey data also contributed necessary contextual information for the site visit data collections. To the extent possible, the survey data will also be used to verify whether key findings from the site visits can be generalized to the 50 states and the District of Columbia. Surveys were mailed to Part B state directors and Part C coordinators in fall 2005 and were completed by all 50 states and the District of Columbia (51 of 51 surveys for Part B and 51 of 51 surveys for Part C), with minimal item nonresponse.³ A complete description of the mail survey data collection methodology is provided in Appendix A.

Although the mail survey was originally designed in 2005 and surveyed states about their monitoring and improvement practices prior to the implementation of IDEA 2004, the information collected by the mail survey can be used to inform stakeholders and to provide a baseline regarding the degree to which states' were already implementing the IDEA 2004 monitoring requirements. The highlights discussed in this report are therefore organized in a way to inform key issues and questions about some of the IDEA 2004 requirements.