Consent Form Return Rates for Third-Grade Urban Elementary Students

Diagnostic efficiency of several methods of identifying socially rejected children and effect of participation rate on classification accuracy

“…In the fall, consent forms and letters of invitation for a study of children's social-emotional learning (SEL) skill were distributed to parents of 322 children in grades K through 8 in both schools. Following procedures outlined by Ji et al (2006), consent forms were constructed so parents could indicate that they did or did not want their child to participate. Although the principal at School A did not wish to use incentives, School B children were offered a classroom pizza party if at least 90% of children returned consent forms, whether parents gave consent or not.…”

Active Parent Consent for Health Surveys With Urban Middle School Students: Processes and Outcomes

“…In a study involving 143 schools participating in the national 2001 Youth Risk Behavior Survey, Eaton and colleagues 17 reported survey participation rates of 86.7% in passive permission schools and 77.3% in active permission schools. These researchers found no significant differences in estimated prevalence of self‐reported risk behaviors between schools that employed active versus passive consent.Several researchers have documented methods to increase parent response rates in school‐based studies requiring active parental consent 1,2,6,18 . Findings suggest that in order to achieve high response rates from parents, repeated contact with students and incentives may be needed.…”

“…These researchers found no significant differences in estimated prevalence of self-reported risk behaviors between schools that employed active versus passive consent.Several researchers have documented methods to increase parent response rates in school-based studies requiring active parental consent. 1,2,6,18 Findings suggest that in order to achieve high response rates from parents, repeated contact with students and incentives may be needed. For example, in a study involving an urban, economically disadvantaged, ethnically diverse group of seventh-grade students, O'Donnell and colleagues 1 achieved high rates of parental consent forms returned (89-95%) and parental permission for students to be involved in research (73-84%).…”

“…Other methods associated with high rates of parent response include repeated contact with parents through procedures such as mailing consent materials and reminder postcards, follow-up telephone calls, and face-to-face contact at school events. 2,6,16,19,20 In populations where English is a second language for a number of parents, key considerations include using materials written in parents' first languages 1,18 and involving staff who are experienced in working with non-English-speaking parents. 20 In addition to incentives for individuals, classroom incentives for reaching goals might encourage students to remind each other to return forms.…”

“…20 In addition to incentives for individuals, classroom incentives for reaching goals might encourage students to remind each other to return forms. 1,18 Given the effort required of school staff to conduct an informed consent campaign, studies have provided incentives to schools and teachers involved in distribution and collection of consent forms when target return rates are reached. 1,18 In addition, the cooperation of school officials is paramount to ensure the success of an active parent consent campaign.…”