National Assessment Governing Board; Meeting, 70984-70986 [2011-29567]
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70984
Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 221 / Wednesday, November 16, 2011 / Notices
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Budget Requirements section in this
notice.
We remind potential applicants that
in reviewing applications in any
discretionary grant program, the
Secretary may consider, under 34 CFR
75.217(d)(3), the past performance of the
applicant in carrying out a previous
award, such as the applicant’s use of
funds, achievement of project
objectives, and compliance with grant
conditions. The Secretary may also
consider whether the applicant failed to
submit a timely performance report or
submitted a report of unacceptable
quality.
In addition, in making a competitive
grant award, the Secretary also requires
various assurances including those
applicable to Federal civil rights laws
that prohibit discrimination in programs
or activities receiving Federal financial
assistance from the Department of
Education (34 CFR 100.4, 104.5, 106.4,
108.8, and 110.23).
3. Special Conditions: Under 34 CFR
74.14 and 80.12, the Secretary may
impose special conditions on a grant if
the applicant or grantee is not
financially stable; has a history of
unsatisfactory performance; has a
financial or other management system
that does not meet the standards in
34 CFR parts 74 or 80, as applicable; has
not fulfilled the conditions of a prior
grant; or is otherwise not responsible.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: If your application
is successful, we notify your U.S.
Representative and U.S. Senators and
send you a Grant Award Notification
(GAN). We may notify you informally,
also.
If your application is not evaluated or
not selected for funding, we notify you.
2. Administrative and National Policy
Requirements: We identify
administrative and national policy
requirements in the application package
and reference these and other
requirements in the Applicable
Regulations section of this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining
the terms and conditions of an award in
the Applicable Regulations section of
this notice and include these and other
specific conditions in the GAN. The
GAN also incorporates your approved
application as part of your binding
commitments under the grant.
3. Reporting: The Race to the Top
reporting requirements, published in the
Federal Register on November 18, 2009
(74 FR 59688) apply to the Race to the
Top Phase 3 application process.
4. Performance Measures: The Race to
the Top Phase 1 and Phase 2
performance measures, published in the
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Federal Register on November 18, 2009,
(74 FR 59688), apply to the Race to the
Top Phase 3 program. In addition, as
indicated in the Race to the Top Phase
3 application requirements, applicants
must develop and propose for the
Department’s approval, performance
measures for sub-criteria that do not
have performance measures in the Race
to the Top Phase 2 application.
VII. Agency Contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Meredith Farace, Implementation and
Support Unit, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW.,
room 7E208, Washington, DC 20202–
0200. Telephone: (202) 453–6690 or by
email: phase3comments@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 compact disc) on
request to the contact person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION
CONTACT in section VII of this notice.
Electronic Access to This Document:
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 via the Federal Digital System
at: https://www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this
site 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). To use PDF
you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader,
which is available free at the site. You
may also access documents of the
Department published in the Federal
Register by using the article search
feature at: https://
www.federalregister.gov. Specifically,
through the advanced search feature at
this site, you can limit your search to
documents published by the
Department.
Dated: November 9, 2011.
Arne Duncan,
Secretary of Education.
[FR Doc. 2011–29582 Filed 11–15–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
Notice of Open and Closed
Meeting Sessions.
ACTION:
This notice sets forth the
schedule and proposed agenda of the
upcoming meeting of the National
Assessment Governing Board (Board)
and also describes the specific functions
of the Board. Notice of this meeting is
required under Section 10(a)(2) of the
Federal Advisory Committee Act. This
notice is issued to provide members of
the general public with an opportunity
to attend and/or provide comments.
Individuals who will need special
accommodations in order to attend the
meeting (e.g.: 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
November 21, 2011. 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.
SUMMARY:
December 1–3, 2011.
Times:
December 1: Schedule for Ad Hoc,
Assessment Development, and
Executive Committee.
DATES:
Meetings
Ad Hoc Committee: Open Session:
8:30 a.m.–11:15 a.m.
Assessment Development Committee:
Closed Session: 11:30 a.m.–2:30 p.m.;
Open Session: 2:30 p.m.–4 p.m.
Executive Committee: Open Session:
4:30 p.m.–5:30 p.m.; Closed Session:
5:30 p.m.–6 p.m.
December 2: Schedule for Full Board
and Committee Meetings
Full Board: Open Session: 8:15 a.m.–
10 a.m.; Closed Session: 12:30 p.m.–2
p.m.; Open Session: 2:15 p.m.–4:45 p.m.
Committee Meetings
Assessment Development Committee
(ADC): Open Session: 10:15 a.m.–11:30
a.m.; Closed Session: 11:30 a.m.–12:30
p.m.
Committee on Standards, Design and
Methodology (COSDAM): Open Session:
10:15 a.m.–12 p.m.; Closed Session: 12
p.m.–12:30 p.m.
Reporting and Dissemination
Committee (R&D): Open Session: 10:15
a.m.–12:30 p.m.
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
December 3: Schedule for Nominations
Committee and Board Meeting
National Assessment Governing
Board; Meeting
Nominations Committee: Closed
Session: 7:15 a.m.–8:15 a.m.
Full Board: Open Session: 8:30 a.m.–
12 p.m.
U.S. Department of Education,
National Assessment Governing Board.
AGENCY:
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 221 / Wednesday, November 16, 2011 / Notices
Location: St. Regis Hotel, 923 16th
and K Streets NW., Washington, DC
20002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Munira Mwalimu, Operations Officer,
National Assessment Governing Board,
800 North Capitol Street NW., Suite 825,
Washington, DC 20002–4233,
Telephone: (202) 357–6938.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The
National Assessment Governing Board
(Board) is established under section 412
of the National Education Statistics Act
of 1994, as amended.
The Board is established to formulate
policy guidelines for the National
Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP). The Board’s responsibilities
include the following: Selecting subject
areas to be assessed, developing
assessment frameworks and
specifications, 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.
On December 1, 2011, a series of
committee meetings will occur. From
8:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., the Ad Hoc
Committee on NAEP Parent Engagement
will meet in open session. From 11:30
a.m. to 2:30 p.m. the Assessment
Development Committee will meet in
closed session to review the secure test
task outlines for the 2014 NAEP
Technology and Engineering Literacy
(TEL) assessment scheduled for 2014 for
grade 8. During the closed session, ADC
members will be provided specific test
materials for review which are not yet
releasable to the general public.
Premature disclosure of these secure test
items and materials would compromise
the integrity and substantially impede
implementation of the NAEP
assessments, and is therefore protected
by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of
Title 5 of the United States Code. This
same committee will meet in an open
session from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
On December 1, 2011 from 4:30 p.m.
to 5:30 p.m., the Executive Committee
will meet in open session and thereafter
in closed session from 5:30 p.m. to
6 p.m. During the closed session, the
Executive Committee will receive a
briefing from the National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES) on options
for NAEP contracts covering assessment
years beyond 2012 and address budget
implications for the NAEP assessment
schedule. The discussion of contract
options and costs will address the
congressionally mandated goals and
Board policies on NAEP assessments.
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This portion of the meeting will be
conducted in closed session because
public discussion of this information
would disclose independent
government cost estimates and
contracting options, adversely
impacting the confidentiality of the
contracting process. Public disclosure of
information discussed would reduce
future contract competition and
significantly impede implementation of
the NAEP contracts, and is therefore
protected by exemption 9(B) of section
552b(c) of Title 5 of the United States
Code.
On December 2, 2011 the full Board
will meet in open session from 8:15 a.m.
to 10 a.m. The Board will review and
approve the meeting agenda and
meeting minutes from the August 2011
Board meeting, followed by the
Chairman’s remarks. The Oath of Office
will then be administered to newly
appointed Board members by the U.S.
Secretary of Education. This session
will be followed by a Panel Discussion
on using NAEP to make a difference.
After the panel discussion concludes,
the Executive Director of the Governing
Board will provide a report to the Board,
followed by updates from the
Commissioner of the National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES) and the
Director of the Institute of Education
Sciences (IES). Following these
sessions, the Board will recess for
Committee meetings from 10:15 a.m. to
12:30 p.m.
The Governing Board’s standing
committee, the Reporting and
Dissemination Committee will meet on
in open session on December 2 from
10:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Committee on Standards, Design
and Methodology will meet in open
session from 10:15 a.m. to 12 p.m. and
in closed session from 12 p.m. to
12:30 p.m. During the closed session,
COSDAM members will receive a
briefing on secure data collected from
the NAEP writing achievement levelssetting field trial and pilot study. The
Board will be provided with specific
assessment data and achievement levels
results that have not been approved for
release by the NCES Commissioner and
therefore cannot be disclosed to the
public at this time. Premature disclosure
of these secure test results would
significantly impede implementation of
the NAEP assessments and reporting,
and is therefore protected by exemption
9(B) of section 552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
The Assessment Development
Committee (ADC) will meet in open
session from 10:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
and thereafter in closed session from
11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. During the
closed session, the ADC will receive a
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briefing on embargoed data from
cognitive lab studies of 4th grade
students in preparation for the 2012
computer-based Writing Pilot
assessment. The Board will be provided
with specific test materials for review
that cannot be discussed/disclosed in an
open meeting. Premature disclosure of
these secure test items and materials
would significantly compromise the
integrity and significantly impede
implementation of the NAEP
assessments, and is therefore protected
by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of
Title 5 United States Code.
On December 2, 2011 from 12:30 p.m.
to 2 p.m. the full Board will meet in
closed session to receive a briefing from
NCES on the 2011 Reading and
Mathematics Report Cards for the Trial
Urban District Assessment (TUDA). The
Board will be provided with embargoed
data and results that cannot be
discussed in an open meeting prior to
their official release by the National
Center for Education Statistics on a date
to be determined. Premature disclosure
of these results would significantly
impede implementation of the NAEP
assessment program, and is therefore
protected by exemption 9(B) of section
552b(c) of Title 5 United States Code.
From 2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m., the
Board will receive a briefing on
education policy perspectives from
Senate and House staff from Capitol
Hill. Following this session, from 3:15
p.m. to 4 p.m., the Board will receive an
update from the Governing Board/
Council of Chief State School Officers
(CCSSO) Task Force. From 4:15 p.m. to
4:45 p.m. Board members will receive
the annual ethics briefing from the U.S.
Department of Education’s Office of
General Council staff. The December 2,
2011 session of the Board meeting is
scheduled to conclude at 4:45 p.m.
On December 3, 2011, the
Nominations Committee will meet in
closed session from 7:15 a.m. to 8:15
a.m. to review nominations for Board
terms beginning on October 1, 2012.
These discussions pertain solely to
internal personnel rules and practices of
an agency and will disclose information
of a personal nature where disclosure
would constitute an unwarranted
invasion of personal privacy. As such,
the discussions are protected by
exemptions 2 and 6 of section 552b(c)
of Title 5 of the United States Code.
On December 3, the full Board will
meet in open session from 8:30 a.m. to
12 p.m. From 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., the
Board will receive a briefing on the
Program for International Student
Assessment (PISA) and at 10:15 a.m. the
Board will receive a briefing from the
standing committees’ discussions on
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Federal Register / Vol. 76, No. 221 / Wednesday, November 16, 2011 / Notices
Making a Difference. The Board will
receive Committee reports and take
action on Committee recommendations
from 11:15 a.m. to 12 p.m. upon which
the December 3, 2011 meeting will
conclude.
Detailed minutes of the meeting,
including summaries of the activities of
the closed sessions and related matters
that are 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,
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–(866) 512–1800; or in the
Washington, DC, area at (202) 512–0000.
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: www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/
index.html.
Dated: November 10, 2011.
Cornelia S. Orr,
Executive Director, National Assessment
Governing Board, U. S. Department of
Education.
[FR Doc. 2011–29567 Filed 11–15–11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket ID ED–2011–OS–0008]
RIN 1894–AA01
Race to the Top Fund Phase 3
Department of Education.
Notice of final requirements.
AGENCY:
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ACTION:
The Secretary of Education
(Secretary) announces requirements for
Phase 3 of the Race to the Top program.
In this phase the Department intends to
make awards to States that were finalists
but did not receive funding under the
Race to the Top Fund Phase 2
competition held in fiscal year (FY)
SUMMARY:
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2010. These States are Arizona,
California, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky,
Louisiana, New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
and South Carolina. We take this action
to establish the information and
assurances that applicants must provide
in order to receive Race to the Top Fund
Phase 3 awards.
DATES: Effective Date: These
requirements are effective November 16,
2011.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Meredith Farace, Implementation and
Support Unit, 400 Maryland Avenue
SW., Washington, DC 20202–6200.
Telephone: (202) 453–6690 or by email:
phase3comments@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications
device for the deaf (TDD) or a text
telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay
Service (FRS), toll free, at 1–(800) 877–
8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Purpose of Program: The Race to the
Top program, the largest competitive
education grant program in U.S. history,
is designed to provide incentives to
States to implement system-changing
reforms that result in improved student
achievement, narrowed achievement
gaps, and increased high school
graduation and college enrollment rates.
Program Authority: American
Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
(ARRA), Division A, Section 14006,
Public Law 111–5, as amended by
section 310 of Division D, Title III of
Public Law 111–117, the Consolidated
Appropriations Act, 2010, and section
1832(a)(2) of Public Law 112–10, the
Department of Defense and Full-Year
Continuing Appropriations Act, 2011
(FY 2011 Appropriations Act). (Note: In
the ARRA, the Race to the Top program
is referred to as ‘‘State Incentive
Grants.’’)
We published a notice of proposed
requirements for this program in the
Federal Register on September 12, 2011
(76 FR 56183) and a notice correcting
the notice of proposed requirements in
the Federal Register on September 23,
2011 (76 FR 59124). For purposes of this
notice, the notice of proposed
requirements and correction notice
collectively are referred to as the
‘‘NPR’’. The NPR contained background
information and our reasons for
proposing the particular requirements.
There are two significant differences
between the requirements proposed in
the NPR and these final requirements. In
response to a comment, we have added
an application requirement for
performance measures for activities
proposed for funding under Race to the
Top Phase 3 for which there were no
such measures included in a State’s
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Race to the Top Phase 2 application. We
also have removed a requirement from
the Proposed Budget Requirements that
would have required States to include
in Part II of their applications a
description of their processes for
allocating at least 50 percent of their
Race to the Top Phase 3 funds to
participating LEAs. These changes are
described in greater detail below in the
Analysis of Comments and Changes
section.
Public Comment: In response to our
invitation in the NPR, 10 parties
submitted comments on the proposed
requirements. In the following section,
we have summarized and provided
responses to the comments received. We
group major issues addressed in these
comments according to subject.
Generally, we do not address technical
and other minor changes.
Analysis of Comments and Changes:
An analysis of the comments and any
changes in the requirements since
publication of the NPR follows.
Eligible States
Comment: One commenter
recommended opening the Race to the
Top Phase 3 application process to all
States. The commenter claimed that
many States that were not finalists
under the Race to the Top Phase 2
competition have made progress in the
four ARRA assurance areas since the
Phase 2 competition and would be in a
stronger position to compete under a
Phase 3 award process open to all
applicants.
Discussion: The notice of proposed
requirements included a discussion of
the reasons for the Department’s
decision to use Race to the Top Phase
3 funds to make awards only to States
that were finalists, but did not receive
funding, under the 2010 Race to the Top
Phase 2 competition. First, the Secretary
stated that the number of competitive,
high-quality applications submitted
during the Phase 2 competition greatly
exceeded the number that could be
supported with available ARRA funds
and indicated his hope that additional
funding would be made available to
fund those applications. Second, the FY
2011 Appropriations Act specifically
authorizes the Secretary to make awards
‘‘on the basis of previously submitted
applications,’’ thus specifically allowing
the Department to use FY 2011 Race to
the Top Phase 3 funds for awards to
unfunded finalists from the Phase 2
competition. And third, consistent with
the Secretary’s emphasis on making
rewards and incentives an integral part
of Federal education policy and
programs, the Department views Race to
the Top Phase 3 as a unique opportunity
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]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 221 (Wednesday, November 16, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70984-70986]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-29567]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Assessment Governing Board; Meeting
AGENCY: U.S. Department of Education, National Assessment Governing
Board.
ACTION: Notice of Open and Closed Meeting Sessions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of the
upcoming meeting of the National Assessment Governing Board (Board) and
also describes the specific functions of the Board. Notice of this
meeting is required under Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act. This notice is issued to provide members of the general
public with an opportunity to attend and/or provide comments.
Individuals who will need special accommodations in order to attend the
meeting (e.g.: 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 November 21, 2011.
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: December 1-3, 2011.
Times:
December 1: Schedule for Ad Hoc, Assessment Development, and
Executive Committee.
Meetings
Ad Hoc Committee: Open Session: 8:30 a.m.-11:15 a.m.
Assessment Development Committee: Closed Session: 11:30 a.m.-2:30
p.m.; Open Session: 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
Executive Committee: Open Session: 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.; Closed
Session: 5:30 p.m.-6 p.m.
December 2: Schedule for Full Board and Committee Meetings
Full Board: Open Session: 8:15 a.m.-10 a.m.; Closed Session: 12:30
p.m.-2 p.m.; Open Session: 2:15 p.m.-4:45 p.m.
Committee Meetings
Assessment Development Committee (ADC): Open Session: 10:15 a.m.-
11:30 a.m.; Closed Session: 11:30 a.m.-12:30 p.m.
Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology (COSDAM): Open
Session: 10:15 a.m.-12 p.m.; Closed Session: 12 p.m.-12:30 p.m.
Reporting and Dissemination Committee (R&D): Open Session: 10:15
a.m.-12:30 p.m.
December 3: Schedule for Nominations Committee and Board Meeting
Nominations Committee: Closed Session: 7:15 a.m.-8:15 a.m.
Full Board: Open Session: 8:30 a.m.-12 p.m.
[[Page 70985]]
Location: St. Regis Hotel, 923 16th and K Streets NW., Washington,
DC 20002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Munira Mwalimu, Operations Officer,
National Assessment Governing Board, 800 North Capitol Street NW.,
Suite 825, Washington, DC 20002-4233, Telephone: (202) 357-6938.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Assessment Governing Board
(Board) is established under section 412 of the National Education
Statistics Act of 1994, as amended.
The Board is established to formulate policy guidelines for the
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Board's
responsibilities include the following: Selecting subject areas to be
assessed, developing assessment frameworks and specifications,
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.
On December 1, 2011, a series of committee meetings will occur.
From 8:30 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., the Ad Hoc Committee on NAEP Parent
Engagement will meet in open session. From 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. the
Assessment Development Committee will meet in closed session to review
the secure test task outlines for the 2014 NAEP Technology and
Engineering Literacy (TEL) assessment scheduled for 2014 for grade 8.
During the closed session, ADC members will be provided specific test
materials for review which are not yet releasable to the general
public. Premature disclosure of these secure test items and materials
would compromise the integrity and substantially impede implementation
of the NAEP assessments, and is therefore protected by exemption 9(B)
of section 552b(c) of Title 5 of the United States Code. This same
committee will meet in an open session from 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m.
On December 1, 2011 from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., the Executive
Committee will meet in open session and thereafter in closed session
from 5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. During the closed session, the Executive
Committee will receive a briefing from the National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES) on options for NAEP contracts covering
assessment years beyond 2012 and address budget implications for the
NAEP assessment schedule. The discussion of contract options and costs
will address the congressionally mandated goals and Board policies on
NAEP assessments. This portion of the meeting will be conducted in
closed session because public discussion of this information would
disclose independent government cost estimates and contracting options,
adversely impacting the confidentiality of the contracting process.
Public disclosure of information discussed would reduce future contract
competition and significantly impede implementation of the NAEP
contracts, and is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section
552b(c) of Title 5 of the United States Code.
On December 2, 2011 the full Board will meet in open session from
8:15 a.m. to 10 a.m. The Board will review and approve the meeting
agenda and meeting minutes from the August 2011 Board meeting, followed
by the Chairman's remarks. The Oath of Office will then be administered
to newly appointed Board members by the U.S. Secretary of Education.
This session will be followed by a Panel Discussion on using NAEP to
make a difference.
After the panel discussion concludes, the Executive Director of the
Governing Board will provide a report to the Board, followed by updates
from the Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) and the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
Following these sessions, the Board will recess for Committee meetings
from 10:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Governing Board's standing committee, the Reporting and
Dissemination Committee will meet on in open session on December 2 from
10:15 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
The Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology will meet in
open session from 10:15 a.m. to 12 p.m. and in closed session from 12
p.m. to 12:30 p.m. During the closed session, COSDAM members will
receive a briefing on secure data collected from the NAEP writing
achievement levels-setting field trial and pilot study. The Board will
be provided with specific assessment data and achievement levels
results that have not been approved for release by the NCES
Commissioner and therefore cannot be disclosed to the public at this
time. Premature disclosure of these secure test results would
significantly impede implementation of the NAEP assessments and
reporting, and is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section
552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
The Assessment Development Committee (ADC) will meet in open
session from 10:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and thereafter in closed session
from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. During the closed session, the ADC will
receive a briefing on embargoed data from cognitive lab studies of 4th
grade students in preparation for the 2012 computer-based Writing Pilot
assessment. The Board will be provided with specific test materials for
review that cannot be discussed/disclosed in an open meeting. Premature
disclosure of these secure test items and materials would significantly
compromise the integrity and significantly impede implementation of the
NAEP assessments, and is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of
section 552b(c) of Title 5 United States Code.
On December 2, 2011 from 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. the full Board will
meet in closed session to receive a briefing from NCES on the 2011
Reading and Mathematics Report Cards for the Trial Urban District
Assessment (TUDA). The Board will be provided with embargoed data and
results that cannot be discussed in an open meeting prior to their
official release by the National Center for Education Statistics on a
date to be determined. Premature disclosure of these results would
significantly impede implementation of the NAEP assessment program, and
is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of Title 5
United States Code.
From 2:15 p.m. to 3:15 p.m., the Board will receive a briefing on
education policy perspectives from Senate and House staff from Capitol
Hill. Following this session, from 3:15 p.m. to 4 p.m., the Board will
receive an update from the Governing Board/Council of Chief State
School Officers (CCSSO) Task Force. From 4:15 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. Board
members will receive the annual ethics briefing from the U.S.
Department of Education's Office of General Council staff. The December
2, 2011 session of the Board meeting is scheduled to conclude at 4:45
p.m.
On December 3, 2011, the Nominations Committee will meet in closed
session from 7:15 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. to review nominations for Board
terms beginning on October 1, 2012. These discussions pertain solely to
internal personnel rules and practices of an agency and will disclose
information of a personal nature where disclosure would constitute an
unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. As such, the discussions are
protected by exemptions 2 and 6 of section 552b(c) of Title 5 of the
United States Code.
On December 3, the full Board will meet in open session from 8:30
a.m. to 12 p.m. From 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m., the Board will receive a
briefing on the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) and
at 10:15 a.m. the Board will receive a briefing from the standing
committees' discussions on
[[Page 70986]]
Making a Difference. The Board will receive Committee reports and take
action on Committee recommendations from 11:15 a.m. to 12 p.m. upon
which the December 3, 2011 meeting will conclude.
Detailed minutes of the meeting, including summaries of the
activities of the closed sessions and related matters that are
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, 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-(866)
512-1800; or in the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-0000.
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: www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/.
Dated: November 10, 2011.
Cornelia S. Orr,
Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board, U. S.
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. 2011-29567 Filed 11-15-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
