[Federal Register: December 1, 1998 (Volume 63, Number 230)]
[Notices]               
[Page 66135-66136]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01de98-58]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

 
National Assessment Governing Board; Public Forum

AGENCY: National Assessment Governing Board; Education.

ACTION: Notice of information collection activity.

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SUMMARY: This notice announces that the National Assessment Governing 
Board (NAGB) will submit an Information Collection Request (ICR) to the 
Office of Management and Budget for approval.
    The ICR is: Similarities Classification Validation Research Study 
of the Achievement Levels for the Writing National Assessment of 
Educational Progress (NAEP) and the Civics National Assessment of 
Educational Progress.

DATES: Public comments must be submitted on or before February 1, 1999.

ADDRESSES: Written comments should be submitted by February 1, 1999. 
Mail to Patricia Hanick, NAEP ALS Project Manager, ACT, Inc., 2255 
North Dubuque Road, P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, IA 52243-0168. Copies of 
the complete ICR and accompanying appendices may be obtained from the 
NAEP ALS Project Manager at the address above.
    Comments may also be submitted electronically by sending electronic 
mail (e-mail) to Hanick@ACT.org. Electronic comments must be identified 
by the title of the ICR. No confidential business information should be 
submitted through e-mail.
    Information submitted as a comment concerning this document may be 
claimed confidential by marketing any part or all of that information 
as confidential business information (CBI). Information so market will 
not be disclosed except in accordance with procedures set forth in 40 
CFR part 2. A copy of the comment that does not contain CBI must be 
submitted for inclusion in the public record. Information not market 
confidential may be disclosed publicly by NAGB without prior notice.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Patricia Hanick, NAEP ALS Project Manager, ACT, Inc., 2255 North 
Dubuque Road, P.O. Box 168, Iowa City, IA 52243-0168, Telephone: (319) 
337-1452 or (800) 525-6930, e-mail: Hanick@ACT.org.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Electronic copies of this ICR can be 
obtained from the contact person listed above.

I. Information Collection Request

    NAGB is seeking comments on the following Information Collection 
Request (ICR).
    Title: Similarities Classification Validation Research Study of the 
Achievement Levels for the Writing NAEP and the Civics NAEP.
    Affected Entities: Parties affected by this information collection 
are civics and writing teachers who served as grade 8 achievement 
levels-setting (ALS) panelists for pilot studies and ALS meetings. 
Additional parties include the eighth grade students of these teachers 
as well as their school administrators.
    Abstract: The purpose of this information collection activity is to 
gather information for NAGB relating to the issue of the validity of 
the achievement levels and the achievement levels-setting process for 
the 1998 NAEP in Writing and in Civics. In particular, Congress has 
denied that the achievement levels must be shown to be reasonable, 
valid, and informative to the public. The research design class for 
administration of an extended NAEP. The students to be assessed are 
currently enrolled in courses taught by

[[Page 66136]]

teachers who participate in setting the achievement levels. The focus 
of the study is to assess the correspondence between the teachers' 
estimates of the performance of their students on this assessment and 
the empirical performance of the student on the assessment. The 
teachers who will be asked to participate in this study are familiar 
with the content of the assessment framework and with the pool of items 
developed for the 1998 assessment. They also are familiar with the 
meaning of the achievement levels describing what students should know 
and be able to do and the abilities of the students who will be 
assessed. Teachers will not know how their individual students 
performed on the assessment. If the achievement levels are 
``reasonable, valid, and informative,'' there should be relatively high 
correspondence between the teachers' estimates of performance and the 
actual performance of students with respect to the achievement levels.
    No third party notification or public disclosure burden is 
associated with this collection.
    Burden Statement: The estimated maximum total respondent burden is 
6957 hours, and the average burden per student is 1.92 hours. This is a 
one-time data collection effort. Neither small businesses nor other 
small entities are included in the survey.

II. Request for Comments

    NAGB solicits comments to:
    (i) Evaluate whether the proposed data collection is an appropriate 
method to determine whether the achievement levels are valid.
    (ii) Enhance the accuracy, quality, and utility of the information 
to be collected.
    Records are kept of all public comments and are available for 
public inspection at the U.S. Department of Education, National 
Assessment Governing Board, Suite 825, 800 North Capitol Street, N.W., 
Washington, D.C. from 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

    Dated: November 25, 1998.
Roy Truby,
Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board.
[FR Doc. 98-31913 Filed 11-30-98; 8:45 am]
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