[Notices] [Page 23639-23640] From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov] [DOCID:fr29ap98-128] [[Page 23639]] _______________________________________________________________________ Part VII Department of Education _______________________________________________________________________ National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Program; Applications Invitation for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 1998; Notice [[Page 23640]] DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION [CFDA No.: 84.902E] The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 1998 Purpose of Program: To conduct the sampling and data collection component for the 1999, 2000, 2001, and 2002 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). NAEP supports the National Education Goals by providing measures of progress toward the Goals. Eligible Applicants: Individuals, public, private, for-profit, and non-profit institutions, agencies, and other qualified organizations or consortia of such institutions, agencies, and organizations. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: July 1, 1998. Applications Available: May 1, 1998. Available Funds: In FY 1998, $700,000 will be available for the sampling and data collection component. It is anticipated that in FYs 1999 through 2002, an average amount of $7,500,000 will be available annually. Estimated Number of Awards: 1. Project Period: Up to 60 months. Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 80, 81, 82, 85, and 86; (b) the regulations in 34 CFR 700.30 and 34 CFR part 98; and (c) 48 CFR part 31 (Contracts with Commercial Organizations). Supplementary Information: NAEP is authorized by section 411 of the National Education Statistics Act of 1994 (20 U.S.C. 9010). Section 412 of this law provides for the establishment of the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB)(20 U.S.C. 9011). The law requires the NAGB, among other responsibilities, to formulate the policy guidelines for the National Assessment and select the subject areas to be assessed. A cooperative agreement is currently in operation to develop assessment instruments for the 2000 assessment. Priority Absolute Priority Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) and 20 U.S.C. 9010-9011, the Secretary gives an absolute preference to applications that meet the priority in the next paragraph. The Secretary funds under this competition only applications that meet this absolute priority. Sampling and Data Collection for the National Assessment of Educational Progress The grantee must use sampling techniques that produce data that are representative on a national, regional, and State basis. The grantee must collect data for mathematics, science, history, geography, reading and writing in grades 4, 8, and 12 from a nationally representative sample. The grantee must also monitor data collection in each participating State in mathematics, science, reading and writing in fourth and eighth grades. In carrying out the National Assessment, the grantee shall not collect any data that are not directly related to the appraisal of educational performance, achievement, and traditional demographic reporting variables, and shall ensure that all personally identifying information about students, their educational performance, and their families remains confidential. Evaluation Criteria The Secretary selects from the criteria in 34 CFR 700.30(e) to evaluate applications for new grants under this competition. Under 34 CFR 700.30(a), the Secretary announces in the application package the evaluation criteria selected for this competition and the maximum weight assigned to each criterion. For Applications or Information Contact: Laurence Ogle, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Office of Educational Research and Improvement, room 404A, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., Washington, DC 20208-5653. E-mail: laurence__ogle@ed.gov. Telephone: (202) 219-1761. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through Friday. Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding paragraph. Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application package in an alternative format, also, by contacting that person. However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative format the standard forms included in the application package. Electronic Access to This Document Anyone may view this document, as well as all other Department of Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or portable document format (pdf) on the World Wide Web at either of the following sites: http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm http://www.ed.gov/news.html To use the pdf you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you have questions about using the pdf, call the U.S. Government Printing Office toll free at 1-888-293-6498. Anyone may also view these documents in text copy only on an electronic bulletin board of the Department. Telephone: (202) 219-1511 or, toll free, 1-800-222-4922. The documents are located under Option G--Files/Announcements, Bulletins and Press Releases. Note: The official version of a document is the document published in the Federal Register. Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 1221e-1. Dated: April 24, 1998. Ricky Takai, Acting Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement. [FR Doc. 98-11374 Filed 4-28-98; 8:45 am] BILLING CODE 4000-01-P