Decision in 2018 to use Decennial Pay to determine ongoing survey grade is comparing basic math to college math.
Besides this is not about pay, it’s about Pay-Grade that determines future government position opportunities.

Decennial

• Mandatory 10-question survey.
• Few skills required

Ongoing

• Voluntary survey – up to 6,000 computer pages 1,000+ variations.
• Consumer Expenditures, Employment, Crime, Health SIPP, are voluntary surveys and have up to 6,000 computer pages of questions and may require the FR to interview everyone in the household taking up to 2-hours or more.
• Skills requires selling, building relationships, gaining trust, perseverance, and the ability to navigate difficult situations.
• National Response Rate Standards based on Stratum (6) and Detailed Performance Review