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HomeTDWNAEP Weighting Procedures2003 Weighting Procedures and Variance EstimationSchool and Student Nonresponse AdjustmentsSchool Nonresponse AdjustmentFinal School Nonresponse Cells

NAEP Technical DocumentationFinal School Nonresponse Cells

Limits were placed on cell sizes and adjustment factors to prevent unstable nonresponse adjustments and resulting weights from becoming too variable. All initial weighting cells with fewer than six cooperating schools or adjustment factors greater than 3.0 were collapsed with suitable adjacent cells, with the exception of those cells related to Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) schools. Since BIA had only two schools in the sample for each grade because of their decision not to participate in the state assessment, cell and factor size constraints were not implemented.

If necessary, initial weighting cells were generally collapsed in reverse order of the cell structure. For public schools, cells with the most similar minority strata within a given urbanicity stratum in a given jurisdiction/Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) district were collapsed first. If further collapsing were required after all levels of minority strata were collapsed, cells with the most similar urbanicity strata were combined next. Cells for public schools were never collapsed across jurisdiction or TUDA district.

Likewise, for private schools, cells with the most similar minority strata were collapsed first. If further collapsing was necessary, cells with the most similar urbanicity strata were combined. Any further collapsing occurred across Census division, and, finally, across private school type (Catholic, Lutheran, Conservative Christian, Other Private).

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