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ECLS-K utilized a multistage probability sample design to select a nationally representative sample of children attending kindergarten in 1998-1999. The Third Grade sample consisted of all children who were base year respondents and children who were brought into the sample in spring-first-grade wave through the sample freshening procedure described in section 4.3 of the manual and their families, teachers, and schools. The first-grade data collection targeted base-year respondents, in which a case was considered responding if there was a completed child assessment or parent interview in fall- or spring-kindergarten. While all base-year respondents were eligible for the spring-first-grade data collection, the effort for fall-first-grade was limited to a 30-percent subsample. The spring student sample was freshened to include current first graders who had not been enrolled in kindergarten in 1998-1999 and, therefore, had no chance of being included in the ECLS-K base-year kindergarten sample. For both fall- and spring-first grade, only a subsample of students who had transferred from their kindergarten school was followed. The third-grade data collection targeted base-year respondents and children sampled in first grade through the freshening operation. As in the first-grade data collection, only a subsample of students who had transferred from their kindergarten school was followed. In third grade, however, the subsampling rate applied to transferred children was slightly higher: children whose home language was non-English (also known as children belonging to the language minority group) and who moved for the first time in third grade were followed at 100 percent. In other words, children belonging to the language minority group who did not move in first grade but moved in third grade were all followed into their new third grade schools. The Third Grade User Manual is provided as part of the documentation for this collection.

Universe View help for Universe

Children and their families, teachers, and schools in the United States.

Data Source View help for Data Source

Data Type(s) View help for Data Type(s)

Original Release Date View help for Original Release Date

2005-01-07

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Weight View help for Weight

List of Weights

Each SDA file is set up to use a different weight. There are several sets of K-1 longitudinal weights computed for children with complete data from different combinations of rounds. All K-1 longitudinal weights are child-level weights. There are no K-1 longitudinal weights at the school or teacher level since school- and teacher-level weights are not computed for the first grade year due to lack of representativeness.

Weight to be used for analysis ...

• C5CW0 - of third grade direct child assessment data, alone or in conjunction with any combination of (a) a limited set of child characteristics (e.g., age, sex, race/ethnicity), (b) any third grade teacher questionnaire A, B or C data, and (c) data from the school administrator questionnaire or school fact sheet
• C5PW0 - of third grade parent interview data alone or in combination with (a) third grade child assessment data, (b) third grade teacher questionnaire A, B, or C data, and (c) data from the school administrator questionnaire or school fact sheet. Exception: If data from the parent AND child assessment AND teacher questionnaire A or B (not C) are used then C5CPTW0 should be used.
• C5CPTW0 - of third grade direct child assessment data combined with third grade parent interview data AND third grade teacher data alone or in conjunction with data from the school administrator or school fact sheet or facilities checklist.
• C45CW0 - if assessment data are present for both spring-first grade and spring-third grade, or if the child was excluded from direct assessment in both of these rounds of data collection due to a disability
• C45PW0 - if parent interview data are present for both spring-first grade and spring-third grade
• C245CW0 - if assessment data are present for spring-kindergarten and spring-first grade and spring-third grade, or if the child was excluded from direct assessment in all of these three rounds of data collection due to a disability.
• C245PW0 - if parent interview data are present for spring-kindergarten and spring-first grade and spring-third grade.
• C1_5FC0 - if assessment data are present for four rounds of data collections involving the full sample of children (fall-kindergarten, spring-kindergarten, springfirst grade, and spring-third grade), or if the child was excluded from direct assessment in all four of these rounds of data collection due to a disability.
• C1_5FP0 - if parent interview data are present for four rounds of data collections involving the full sample of children (fall-kindergarten, springkindergarten, spring-first grade, and spring-third grade).
• C1_5SC0 - if assessment data are present for all five rounds of data collection (fall-kindergarten, spring-kindergarten, fall-first grade, spring-first grade, and spring-third grade), or if the child was excluded from direct assessment in all five rounds of data collection due to a disability.
• C1_5SP0 - if parent interview data are present for all five rounds of data collection (fall-kindergarten, spring-kindergarten, fall-first grade, spring-first grade, and spring-third grade).

Choosing a Weight

To choose the appropriate file/weight for your analysis, first decide which two or more points in time are the focus of your analysis. The analysis could pertain to two points in time (e.g., spring-kindergarten and fall-first grade, or spring kindergarten and spring-first grade), three points in time (any three of fall-kindergarten, spring-kindergarten, fall-first grade, and spring-first grade), or four points in time (all four rounds of data). For example, if the analysis uses spring-kindergarten and fall-first grade data, then the appropriate weight would be one that begins with C23 (denoting child-level data from round 2 AND round 3). Second, consider the source of the data, which also affects the choice of the weight, based on whether the data were collected through the child assessments, parent interviews, or teacher questionnaires A or B.

Examples

K-1 longitudinal weights are used to produce estimates of differences between two or more rounds of data collection spanning across both kindergarten and first grade.

1. Less complex decision examples involving two rounds of data collection are as follows: (1) Estimates of the differences in children's mean assessment scores between spring kindergarten and spring first grade would use C24CW0 (2) estimates of the difference in social rating scores as reported by parents during the same time period would use C24PW0.
2. A more complex decision example involving more than two rounds of data follows: Examining whether gains children make in their reading knowledge and skills during the kindergarten year and from the end of kindergarten to the end of first grade are related to parents' and teachers' beliefs about kindergarten readiness and parental educational expectations. In this case, the weight Y2COMW0 would be appropriate.