A study of suitable methods for raising response rates in school surveys

There is evidence which suggests that surveys of school pupils in England have been in steady decline over recent years. It is not clear what underlies the apparent downward trend in school response rates, nor why, in the international studies, England has consistently experienced greater difficulty than the majority of its international partners in maintaining response rates and meeting the benchmark criteria. This study was commissioned in order to investigate the apparent downward trend in response rates and identify suitable methods for raising response rates in school surveys. The study had three main aims, one was an investigation of trends and causes of non-response to UK school surveys in general, the second was to focus specifically on the causes of non-response to the PISA survey in its most recent round, 2003, and the third aim was to make recommendations for improving response rates to school surveys in England in the future. This brief contains information on the key findings gathered from the study and the recommendations made.