Notice of Public Hearing, 1191-1193 [E9-261]
Download as PDF
<![CDATA[
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 7 / Monday, January 12, 2009 / Notices
please go to https://www.ed.gov/fund/
grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
4. Performance Measures: The
Secretary has established the following
key performance measures for assessing
the effectiveness of the Grants for the
Integration of Schools and Mental
Health Systems program:
a. The percentage of schools served by
the grant that have comprehensive,
detailed linkage protocols in place; and
b. The percentage of school personnel
served by the grant who are trained to
make appropriate referrals to mental
health services.
These two measures constitute the
Department’s measures of success for
this program. Consequently, applicants
for a grant under this program are
advised to give careful consideration to
these two measures in conceptualizing
the approach and evaluation of their
proposed project. If funded, applicants
will be asked to collect and report data
in their performance and final reports
about progress toward these measures.
The Secretary will also use this
information to respond to the evaluation
requirements concerning this program
established in section 5541(f) of the
ESEA. For specific requirements on
grantee reporting, please go to https://
www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/
appforms/appforms.html.
VII. Agency Contact
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Sarah Allen, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW.,
room 10079, Potomac Center Plaza
(PCP), Washington, DC 20202–6450.
Telephone: (202) 245–7875 or by e-mail:
sarah.allen@ed.gov.
If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll
free, at 1–800–877–8339.
VIII. Other Information
Accessible Format: Individuals with
disabilities can obtain this document
and a copy of the application package in
an accessible format (e.g., braille, large
print, audiotape, or computer diskette)
on request to the program contact
person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII of
this notice. Electronic Access to This
Document: You can view this
document, as well as all other
documents of this Department
published in the Federal Register, in
text or Adobe Portable Document
Format (PDF) on the Internet at the
following site: https://www.ed.gov/news/
fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe
Acrobat Reader, which is available free
at this site. If you have questions about
using PDF, call the U.S. Government
Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1–
VerDate Nov<24>2008
20:34 Jan 09, 2009
Jkt 217001
888–293–6498; or in the Washington,
DC, area at (202) 512–1530.
Note: The official version of this document
is the document published in the Federal
Register. Free Internet access to the official
edition of the Federal Register and the Code
of Federal Regulations is available on GPO
Access at: https://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/
index.html.
Dated: January 6, 2009.
Deborah A. Price,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for the Office of
Safe and Drug-Free Schools.
[FR Doc. E9–364 Filed 1–9–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Notice of Public Hearing
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Education,
National Assessment Governing Board.
ACTION: Notice of Public Hearing.
SUMMARY: The National Assessment
Governing Board is announcing a public
hearing on January 30, 2009 to obtain
comment on policy options for testing
and reporting of Students with
Disabilities (SD) and English Language
Learners (ELL) on the National
Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP).
Public and private parties and
organizations are invited to present
written and/or oral testimony. The
hearing will be held at the University of
Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in the El Paso
Natural Gas Conference Center, Wiggins
Road, across from the UTEP Library, El
Paso, TX 79968 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
MST.
This notice sets forth the schedule
and proposed agenda of a forthcoming
public hearing of the National
Assessment Governing Board. This
notice also describes the functions of
the Board. Notice of this meeting is
required under Section 10(a)(2) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act. This
document is intended to notify members
of the general public of their
opportunity to provide comment.
Individuals who will need special
accommodations in order to attend the
hearing (such as interpreting services,
assistive listening devices, materials in
alternative format) should notify Munira
Mwalimu at 202–357–6938 or at
Munira.Mwalimu@ed.gov no later than
January 23, 2009. We will attempt to
meet requests after this date, but cannot
guarantee availability of the requested
accommodation. The meeting site is
accessible to individuals with
disabilities.
DATES: January 30, 2009.
PO 00000
Frm 00025
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
1191
Location: El Paso, Texas. University of
Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in the El Paso
Natural Gas Conference Center, Wiggins
Road, across from the UTEP Library, El
Paso, TX 79968.
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. MST.
Background
Under Public Law 107–279, the
National Assessment Governing Board
(NAGB) is responsible for determining
the content and methodology of the
National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP). The assessment is
required to provide a fair and accurate
measurement of student academic
achievement through a random
sampling process that produces
representative data for the nation, the
states, and other participating
jurisdictions.
Despite changes in policy during the
past decade, variations in inclusion and
accommodation rates continue for
students with disabilities and English
language learners among states and
urban districts participating in the
National Assessment. These
differences—both between jurisdictions
and over time—continue to prompt
concern about the fairness and
comparability of NAEP results.
The Governing Board has established
an Ad Hoc Committee of Board
members to conduct a comprehensive
examination of NAEP testing and
reporting of these two student groups.
The Committee is considering a range of
possible options in formulating
recommendations to better assure that
NAEP samples are fully representative
and produce comparable results. The
Committee is also considering whether
changes are needed in NAEP reporting
to alert the public to significant
variations that persist and the impact
they may have on reported results.
In carrying out its work the Ad Hoc
Committee plans to consult widely with
state and local officials and
representatives of groups concerned
with the populations and issues
involved. It intends to draw on persons
with strong research, policy, and
practical backgrounds.
The policy options being considered
are available under supplementary
information in this notice and on the
Web site of the Governing Board at
https://www.nagb.org. Other related
material on the Governing Board and
NAEP may be found at this Web site and
at https://www.nces.ed.gov/
nationsreportcard.
The Board is seeking comment from
policymakers, teachers, researchers,
state and local school administrators,
specialists in SD and ELL students,
parents of children in elementary and
E:\FR\FM\12JAN1.SGM
12JAN1
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
1192
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 7 / Monday, January 12, 2009 / Notices
secondary schools, representatives of
interested organizations, and members
of the public. Representatives of the
Governing Board will conduct the
hearing to receive testimony, and may
ask clarifying questions or respond to
presentations. Oral presentations should
not exceed ten minutes. Testimony will
become part of the public record.
All views will be considered by the
Ad Hoc Committee and the full Board.
It is anticipated that the Committee will
make recommendations to the
Governing Board at the Board meetings
in March and May 2009.
To register to present oral testimony
on January 30, 2009 at the Conference
Center at the University of El Paso at El
Paso, please call Tessa Regis, of the
National Assessment Governing Board
staff, at 202–357–7500 or send an e-mail
to Tessa.Regis@ed.gov by 4 p.m.
(Eastern Time) on Monday, January 26,
2009. Written testimony should be sent
by mail, fax or e-mail for receipt in the
Board office by February 6, 2009.
The Board will make an effort to hear
testimony from all persons who wish to
address it at the hearing without prior
registration. Speakers are encouraged to
bring written statements for distribution
at the hearing.
Testimony should be sent to: National
Assessment Governing Board, 800 North
Capitol Street, NW.—Suite 825,
Washington, DC 20002, Attention:
Lawrence Feinberg, Fax: (202) 357–
6945, e-mail: larry.feinberg@ed.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lawrence Feinberg, National
Assessment Governing Board, 800 North
Capitol Street, NW., Suite 825,
Washington, DC, 20002–4233,
Telephone: (202) 357–6942.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
National Assessment Governing Board
is established under section 412 of the
National Education Statistics Act of
1994, as amended. The Board
formulates policy guidelines for the
National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP). The Board’s
responsibilities include selecting subject
areas to be assessed, developing
assessment specifications and
frameworks, designing the methodology
of the assessment, developing
appropriate student achievement levels
for each grade and subject tested,
developing standards and procedures
for interstate and national comparisons,
developing guidelines for reporting and
disseminating results, and releasing
initial NAEP results to the public.
The policy options being considered
by the Ad Hoc Committee are presented
below. They are not mutually exclusive.
Some could go into effect quickly while
VerDate Nov<24>2008
20:34 Jan 09, 2009
Jkt 217001
others would be for medium-term or
long-range implementation. NAEP is a
representative-sample survey, designed
to produce valid, comparable data on
the academic achievement of large
groups of students. It is prohibited by
law from providing results for
individual children or schools. The
options are being considered because of
concern that variations in exclusion and
accommodation rates may jeopardize
the fairness and comparability of NAEP
results.
The options on which public
comment is sought are as follows:
(1) Retain current procedures—
Testing conditions on NAEP for SD and
ELL students follow those on state tests
with limited exceptions.
Accommodation and exclusion rates are
posted in the appendix of NAEP reports.
No adjusted scores or cautionary flags.
(2) Adopt uniform national rules for
accommodations and exclusions:
(a) For Students with Disabilities—
Determine testing conditions according
to the severity, category, and/or nature
of disability or based on brief screener
exam.
(b) For English Language Learners—
Determine whether to take NAEP in
English by English language proficiency
screener. Provide NAEP in Spanish if
below cut-score.
(c) Provide incentive for schools to
encourage testing of SD and ELL
students by scoring excluded students at
the 5th percentile nationwide instead of
the current practice of exclusions not
affecting group average. Incentive may
be needed to accept uniform rules
because student participation in NAEP
is voluntary by law.
(3) Conduct targeted testing at ability
level:
(a) Offer to all students, using
assessment booklets at different levels of
difficulty—low, medium, and high.
(b) Offer less difficult or ‘‘accessible’’
booklets to SD and ELL only. Might be
similar in concept to NCLB ‘‘alternate
assessments’’ but must be on NAEP
scale.
Determine level by brief locator test or
percentile score on state assessment.
Follow standard testing procedures.
(4) Adjust scores—Use full population
estimates or variant to adjust for
exclusions. Present as principal means
of reporting in NAEP Report Cards,
alternate presentation in appendix, or
prominently displayed on NAEP Web
site.
(5) Add cautionary flags:
(a) For exclusions, if 5 percent or
more of sample is excluded from NAEP
testing, a cautionary flag would
accompany a state’s scores. This would
be similar to rule in the TIMSS and
PO 00000
Frm 00026
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
PIRLS international assessments. Might
also flag if exclusion rate changed more
than 3 percentage points from prior
assessment year.
(b) For accommodations, flag if 10
percent or more of sample is tested
under non-standard conditions OR
accommodation rate changed more than
5 percentage points from prior
assessment year.
(c) Use ‘‘reasonable’’ target exclusion
rates (rather than a uniform rate) that
vary by demography and testing practice
of states. Flag if actual rates exceed
targets or change by a defined margin.
(6) Research validity of
accommodations most widely-used on
state tests—Results may expand or
reduce the list of accommodations
prohibited by NAEP because they alter
a fundamental attribute of the
assessment, e.g. reading-aloud the
reading assessment or allowing
calculators on all sections of math.
Studies may include extended time to
help determine if time should be
deemed fundamental.
(7) Offer a screener exam to determine
whether students can ‘‘meaningfully
participate’’ in the National Assessment
without an accommodation that is
provided on state tests but is not
permitted by NAEP. Currently, these
students are routinely excused from the
National Assessment.
(8) Change rules for IEPs to have
NAEP considered separately from state
tests—Rules for preparing
individualized education programs
(IEPs) for SD students may be altered by
state action or revised by federal
regulation, guidance, or law. Separate
consideration for participating in NAEP
from IEP for state tests because the
National Assessment is required to
produce valid representative-sample
group results for the nation, states, and
urban districts and may not provide
data or impose consequences on
individual students and schools.
(9) Make minor changes in NAEP
report language and placement of
information about exclusions and
accommodations.
In addition to commenting on these
options, members of the public are also
encouraged to present other relevant
views and recommendations.
A detailed summary of the hearing
that is informative to the public and
consistent with the policy of section 5
U.S.C. 552b(c) will be available to the
public within 14 days of the meeting.
Records are kept of all Board
proceedings and are available for public
inspection at the U.S. Department of
Education, National Assessment
Governing Board, Suite #825, 800 North
Capitol Street, NW., Washington, DC,
E:\FR\FM\12JAN1.SGM
12JAN1
Federal Register / Vol. 74, No. 7 / Monday, January 12, 2009 / Notices
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time,
Monday through Friday.
Electronic Access to This Document:
You may view this document, as well as
all other documents of this Department
published in the Federal Register, in
text or Adobe Portable Document
Format (PDF) on the Internet at the
following site: https://www.ed.gov/news/
fedregister/. To use PDF you
must have Adobe Acrobat Reader,
which is available free at this site. If you
have questions about using PDF, call the
U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO),
toll free at 1–888–293–6498; or in the
Washington, DC, area at (202) 512–1530.
Note: The official version of this document
is the document published in the Federal
Register. Free Internet access to the official
edition of the Federal Register and the Code
of Federal Regulations is available on GPO
Access at: https://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/
index.html.
Dated: January 6, 2009.
Mary Crovo,
Interim Executive Director, National
Assessment Governing Board, U.S.
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. E9–261 Filed 1–9–09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Notice of Public Hearing
sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Education,
National Assessment Governing Board.
ACTION: Notice of Public Hearing.
SUMMARY: The National Assessment
Governing Board is announcing a public
hearing on February 4, 2009 to obtain
comment on policy options for testing
and reporting of Students with
Disabilities (SD) and English Language
Learners (ELL) on the National
Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP).
Public and private parties and
organizations are invited to present
written and/or oral testimony. The
hearing will be held in the Great Hall at
the Charles Sumner School, 1201 17th
Street, NW., Washington, DC from 9:30
a.m. to 3:00 p.m. est.
This notice sets forth the schedule
and proposed agenda of a forthcoming
public hearing of the National
Assessment Governing Board. This
notice also describes the functions of
the Board. Notice of this meeting is
required under Section 10 (a) (2) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act. This
document is intended to notify members
of the general public of their
opportunity to provide comment.
Individuals who will need special
accommodations in order to attend the
VerDate Nov<24>2008
20:34 Jan 09, 2009
Jkt 217001
hearing (such as interpreting services,
assistive listening devices, materials in
alternative format) should notify Munira
Mwalimu at 202–357–6938 or at
Munira.Mwalimu@ed.gov no later than
January 28, 2009. We will attempt to
meet requests after this date, but cannot
guarantee availability of the requested
accommodation. The meeting site is
accessible to individuals with
disabilities.
February 4, 2009.
Location: Washington, DC Charles
Sumner School, 1201 17th Street, NW.,
Washington, DC 20036.
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. est.
DATES:
Background
Under Public Law 107–279, the
National Assessment Governing Board
(NAGB) is responsible for determining
the content and methodology of the
National Assessment of Educational
Progress. The assessment is required to
provide a fair and accurate
measurement of student academic
achievement through a random
sampling process that produces
representative data for the nation, the
states, and other participating
jurisdictions.
Despite changes in policy during the
past decade, variations in inclusion and
accommodation rates continue for
students with disabilities and English
language learners among states and
urban districts participating in the
National Assessment. These
differences—both between jurisdictions
and over time—continue to prompt
concern about the fairness and
comparability of NAEP results.
The Governing Board has established
an Ad Hoc Committee of Board
members to conduct a comprehensive
examination of NAEP testing and
reporting of these two student groups.
The Committee is considering a range of
possible options in formulating
recommendations to better assure that
NAEP samples are fully representative
and produce comparable results. The
Committee is also considering whether
changes are needed in NAEP reporting
to alert the public to significant
variations that persist and the impact
they may have on reported results.
In carrying out its work the Ad Hoc
Committee is to consult widely with
state and local officials and
representatives of groups concerned
with the populations and issues
involved. It intends to draw on persons
with strong research, policy, and
practical backgrounds.
The policy options being considered
are available under supplementary
information in this notice and on the
PO 00000
Frm 00027
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
1193
Web site of the Governing Board at
www.nagb.org. Other related material on
the Governing Board and the National
Assessment of Educational Progress may
be found at this Web site and at
www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard.
The Board is seeking comment from
policymakers, teachers, researchers,
state and local school administrators,
specialists in SD and ELL students,
parents of children in elementary and
secondary schools, representatives of
interested organizations, and members
of the public. Representatives of the
Governing Board will conduct the
hearing to receive testimony, and may
ask clarifying questions or respond to
presentations. Oral presentations should
not exceed ten minutes. Testimony will
become part of the public record.
All views will be considered by the
Ad Committee and by the full Board. It
is anticipated that the Committee will
make recommendations to the
Governing Board at the NAGB meetings
in March and May 2009.
To register to present oral testimony
on February 4, 2009 at the Charles
Sumner School in Washington, DC,
please call Tessa Regis, of the NAGB
staff, at 202–357–7500 or send an e-mail
to Tessa.Regis@ed.gov by Friday,
January 30, 2009. Written testimony
should be sent by mail, fax or e-mail for
receipt in the Board office by February
6, 2009.
The Board will make an effort to hear
testimony from all persons who wish to
address it at the hearing without prior
registration. Speakers are encouraged to
bring written statements for distribution
at the hearing.
Testimony should be sent to: National
Assessment Governing Board, 800 North
Capitol Street, NW.—Suite 825,
Washington, DC 20002, Attn: Lawrence
Feinberg, Fax: (202) 357–6945, E-mail:
Larry.Feinberg@ed.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Lawrence Feinberg, National
Assessment Governing Board, 800 North
Capitol Street, NW., Suite 825,
Washington, DC, 20002–4233,
Telephone: (202) 357–6942.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
National Assessment Governing Board
is established under section 412 of the
National Education Statistics Act of
1994, as amended. The Board
formulates policy guidelines for the
National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP). The Board’s
responsibilities include selecting subject
areas to be assessed, developing
assessment specifications and
frameworks, designing the methodology
of the assessment, developing
appropriate student achievement levels
E:\FR\FM\12JAN1.SGM
12JAN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 74, Number 7 (Monday, January 12, 2009)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1191-1193]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E9-261]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Notice of Public Hearing
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Education, National Assessment Governing
Board.
ACTION: Notice of Public Hearing.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The National Assessment Governing Board is announcing a public
hearing on January 30, 2009 to obtain comment on policy options for
testing and reporting of Students with Disabilities (SD) and English
Language Learners (ELL) on the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP).
Public and private parties and organizations are invited to present
written and/or oral testimony. The hearing will be held at the
University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in the El Paso Natural Gas
Conference Center, Wiggins Road, across from the UTEP Library, El Paso,
TX 79968 from 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. MST.
This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a
forthcoming public hearing of the National Assessment Governing Board.
This notice also describes the functions of the Board. Notice of this
meeting is required under Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act. This document is intended to notify members of the
general public of their opportunity to provide comment. Individuals who
will need special accommodations in order to attend the hearing (such
as interpreting services, assistive listening devices, materials in
alternative format) should notify Munira Mwalimu at 202-357-6938 or at
Munira.Mwalimu@ed.gov no later than January 23, 2009. We will attempt
to meet requests after this date, but cannot guarantee availability of
the requested accommodation. The meeting site is accessible to
individuals with disabilities.
DATES: January 30, 2009.
Location: El Paso, Texas. University of Texas at El Paso (UTEP) in
the El Paso Natural Gas Conference Center, Wiggins Road, across from
the UTEP Library, El Paso, TX 79968.
Time: 9:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. MST.
Background
Under Public Law 107-279, the National Assessment Governing Board
(NAGB) is responsible for determining the content and methodology of
the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The assessment
is required to provide a fair and accurate measurement of student
academic achievement through a random sampling process that produces
representative data for the nation, the states, and other participating
jurisdictions.
Despite changes in policy during the past decade, variations in
inclusion and accommodation rates continue for students with
disabilities and English language learners among states and urban
districts participating in the National Assessment. These differences--
both between jurisdictions and over time--continue to prompt concern
about the fairness and comparability of NAEP results.
The Governing Board has established an Ad Hoc Committee of Board
members to conduct a comprehensive examination of NAEP testing and
reporting of these two student groups. The Committee is considering a
range of possible options in formulating recommendations to better
assure that NAEP samples are fully representative and produce
comparable results. The Committee is also considering whether changes
are needed in NAEP reporting to alert the public to significant
variations that persist and the impact they may have on reported
results.
In carrying out its work the Ad Hoc Committee plans to consult
widely with state and local officials and representatives of groups
concerned with the populations and issues involved. It intends to draw
on persons with strong research, policy, and practical backgrounds.
The policy options being considered are available under
supplementary information in this notice and on the Web site of the
Governing Board at https://www.nagb.org. Other related material on the
Governing Board and NAEP may be found at this Web site and at https://
www.nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard.
The Board is seeking comment from policymakers, teachers,
researchers, state and local school administrators, specialists in SD
and ELL students, parents of children in elementary and
[[Page 1192]]
secondary schools, representatives of interested organizations, and
members of the public. Representatives of the Governing Board will
conduct the hearing to receive testimony, and may ask clarifying
questions or respond to presentations. Oral presentations should not
exceed ten minutes. Testimony will become part of the public record.
All views will be considered by the Ad Hoc Committee and the full
Board. It is anticipated that the Committee will make recommendations
to the Governing Board at the Board meetings in March and May 2009.
To register to present oral testimony on January 30, 2009 at the
Conference Center at the University of El Paso at El Paso, please call
Tessa Regis, of the National Assessment Governing Board staff, at 202-
357-7500 or send an e-mail to Tessa.Regis@ed.gov by 4 p.m. (Eastern
Time) on Monday, January 26, 2009. Written testimony should be sent by
mail, fax or e-mail for receipt in the Board office by February 6,
2009.
The Board will make an effort to hear testimony from all persons
who wish to address it at the hearing without prior registration.
Speakers are encouraged to bring written statements for distribution at
the hearing.
Testimony should be sent to: National Assessment Governing Board,
800 North Capitol Street, NW.--Suite 825, Washington, DC 20002,
Attention: Lawrence Feinberg, Fax: (202) 357-6945, e-mail:
larry.feinberg@ed.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Lawrence Feinberg, National Assessment
Governing Board, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., Suite 825, Washington,
DC, 20002-4233, Telephone: (202) 357-6942.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Assessment Governing Board is
established under section 412 of the National Education Statistics Act
of 1994, as amended. The Board formulates policy guidelines for the
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Board's
responsibilities include selecting subject areas to be assessed,
developing assessment specifications and frameworks, designing the
methodology of the assessment, developing appropriate student
achievement levels for each grade and subject tested, developing
standards and procedures for interstate and national comparisons,
developing guidelines for reporting and disseminating results, and
releasing initial NAEP results to the public.
The policy options being considered by the Ad Hoc Committee are
presented below. They are not mutually exclusive. Some could go into
effect quickly while others would be for medium-term or long-range
implementation. NAEP is a representative-sample survey, designed to
produce valid, comparable data on the academic achievement of large
groups of students. It is prohibited by law from providing results for
individual children or schools. The options are being considered
because of concern that variations in exclusion and accommodation rates
may jeopardize the fairness and comparability of NAEP results.
The options on which public comment is sought are as follows:
(1) Retain current procedures--Testing conditions on NAEP for SD
and ELL students follow those on state tests with limited exceptions.
Accommodation and exclusion rates are posted in the appendix of NAEP
reports. No adjusted scores or cautionary flags.
(2) Adopt uniform national rules for accommodations and exclusions:
(a) For Students with Disabilities--Determine testing conditions
according to the severity, category, and/or nature of disability or
based on brief screener exam.
(b) For English Language Learners--Determine whether to take NAEP
in English by English language proficiency screener. Provide NAEP in
Spanish if below cut-score.
(c) Provide incentive for schools to encourage testing of SD and
ELL students by scoring excluded students at the 5th percentile
nationwide instead of the current practice of exclusions not affecting
group average. Incentive may be needed to accept uniform rules because
student participation in NAEP is voluntary by law.
(3) Conduct targeted testing at ability level:
(a) Offer to all students, using assessment booklets at different
levels of difficulty--low, medium, and high.
(b) Offer less difficult or ``accessible'' booklets to SD and ELL
only. Might be similar in concept to NCLB ``alternate assessments'' but
must be on NAEP scale.
Determine level by brief locator test or percentile score on state
assessment. Follow standard testing procedures.
(4) Adjust scores--Use full population estimates or variant to
adjust for exclusions. Present as principal means of reporting in NAEP
Report Cards, alternate presentation in appendix, or prominently
displayed on NAEP Web site.
(5) Add cautionary flags:
(a) For exclusions, if 5 percent or more of sample is excluded from
NAEP testing, a cautionary flag would accompany a state's scores. This
would be similar to rule in the TIMSS and PIRLS international
assessments. Might also flag if exclusion rate changed more than 3
percentage points from prior assessment year.
(b) For accommodations, flag if 10 percent or more of sample is
tested under non-standard conditions OR accommodation rate changed more
than 5 percentage points from prior assessment year.
(c) Use ``reasonable'' target exclusion rates (rather than a
uniform rate) that vary by demography and testing practice of states.
Flag if actual rates exceed targets or change by a defined margin.
(6) Research validity of accommodations most widely-used on state
tests--Results may expand or reduce the list of accommodations
prohibited by NAEP because they alter a fundamental attribute of the
assessment, e.g. reading-aloud the reading assessment or allowing
calculators on all sections of math. Studies may include extended time
to help determine if time should be deemed fundamental.
(7) Offer a screener exam to determine whether students can
``meaningfully participate'' in the National Assessment without an
accommodation that is provided on state tests but is not permitted by
NAEP. Currently, these students are routinely excused from the National
Assessment.
(8) Change rules for IEPs to have NAEP considered separately from
state tests--Rules for preparing individualized education programs
(IEPs) for SD students may be altered by state action or revised by
federal regulation, guidance, or law. Separate consideration for
participating in NAEP from IEP for state tests because the National
Assessment is required to produce valid representative-sample group
results for the nation, states, and urban districts and may not provide
data or impose consequences on individual students and schools.
(9) Make minor changes in NAEP report language and placement of
information about exclusions and accommodations.
In addition to commenting on these options, members of the public
are also encouraged to present other relevant views and
recommendations.
A detailed summary of the hearing that is informative to the public
and consistent with the policy of section 5 U.S.C. 552b(c) will be
available to the public within 14 days of the meeting. Records are kept
of all Board proceedings and are available for public inspection at the
U.S. Department of Education, National Assessment Governing Board,
Suite 825, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., Washington, DC,
[[Page 1193]]
from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday through Friday.
Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site: https://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister/
index.html. To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is
available free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF,
call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free at 1-888-293-
6498; or in the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: https://www.gpoaccess.gov/
nara/.
Dated: January 6, 2009.
Mary Crovo,
Interim Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board, U.S.
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. E9-261 Filed 1-9-09; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
