Supplemental Analyses of ISBA Survey Responses

Researchers from the RAND Corporation have been conducting the Implementing Standards-Based Accountability (ISBA) project, funded by the National Science Foundation, to examine the implementation of the NCLB standards-based accountability provisions in three states. Findings from this study have been reported in two documents, Standards- Based Accountability Under No Child Left Behind: Experiences of Teachers and Administrators in Three States, MG-589-NSF; and Pain and Gain: Implementing No Child Left Behind in Three States, 2004 to 2006, MG-784-NSF. Staff members from the Government Accountability Office (GAO) have expressed interest in using analyses of teacher survey data from the ISBA study in a report they are preparing to examine the effects of state accountability testing on instruction. Many of the specific analyses in which GAO was interested were not included in the published RAND reports. GAO staff sent RAND a list of requested analyses, and RAND staff produced this report in response to their request. This report reproduces key sections of the earlier reports dealing with the development of the surveys, the sampling of teachers, and the application of non-response and sampling weights. The published reports also discuss the limitations of the study, some of which stem from the self-report nature of the survey data. Users of these analyses should keep these limitations in mind and should apply appropriate caution when interpreting these results.