Data on private school finance are not available to inform educational policy discussions about private education. Because of interest in private school finances, the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) contracted with the Pelavin Research Center of the American Institutes for Research to explore the feasibility of collecting data through a new instrument developed with the assistance of private school administrators and association representatives. Development efforts began with focus group interviews with 28 private school administrators regarding budgets and accounting practices. Three preliminary versions were developed, one of which was preferred by private school association members at a meeting convened by the NCES. After refinement by a technical work group, the developed questionnaire was sent to eight schools for an initial pilot test and nine more for a second test. Fourteen schools responded, and specific suggestions by their administrators resulted in modifications to the survey, which has been designed to be part of the NCES Schools and Staffing Survey. The current survey asks for information about school finances, including information about noncash contributions, and takes about 1.5 hours to complete. This report includes sections on the background of survey development, major findings of the pilot tests, and a description of the survey instrument. The final survey product is attached as an appendix. (Contains four exhibits.) (SLD)