National Assessment Governing Board; Meeting, 8236-8238 [2012-3314]
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8236
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 / Notices
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to use this priority, we invite applications
through a notice in the Federal Register.
Executive Order 12866: This notice
has been reviewed in accordance with
Executive Order 12866. Under the terms
of the order, we have assessed the
potential costs and benefits of this final
regulatory action.
The potential costs associated with
this final regulatory action are those
resulting from statutory requirements
and those we have determined as
necessary for administering this
program effectively and efficiently.
In assessing the potential costs and
benefits—both quantitative and
qualitative—of this final regulatory
action, we have determined that the
benefits of the final priority justify the
costs.
Summary of potential costs and
benefits:
The benefits of the Disability and
Rehabilitation Research Projects and
Centers Programs have been well
established over the years in that similar
projects have been completed
successfully. This final priority will
generate new knowledge through
research and development. Another
benefit of this final priority is that the
establishment of new DRRPs will
improve the lives of individuals with
disabilities. The new DRRP will provide
support and assistance for NIDRR
grantees as they generate, disseminate,
and promote the use of new information
that will improve the options for
individuals with disabilities to perform
activities of their choice in the
community.
Accessible Format: Individuals with
disabilities can obtain this document in
an accessible format (e.g., braille, large
print, audiotape, or compact disc) by
contacting the Grants and Contracts
Services Team, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW.,
room 5075, PCP, Washington, DC
20202–2550. Telephone: (202) 245–
7363. If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll
free, at 1–800–877–8339.
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
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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
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Register by using the article search
feature at: https://
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through the advanced search feature at
this site, you can limit your search to
documents published by the
Department.
Dated: February 9, 2012.
Alexa Posny,
Assistant Secretary for Special Education and
Rehabilitative Services.
[FR Doc. 2012–3416 Filed 2–13–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Assessment Governing
Board; Meeting
U.S. Department of Education,
National Assessment Governing Board.
ACTION: Notice of open and closed
meeting sessions.
AGENCY:
This notice sets forth the
schedule and proposed agenda for 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
February 17, 2012. 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:
February 29, 2012 and March 1–
3, 2012.
Times: February 29: Committee
Meeting: Assessment Development
Committee (ADC): Closed Session: 9
a.m.–3 p.m.
Open Session: 3 p.m.–5 p.m.
DATES:
March 1
Committee Meetings
Ad Hoc Committee: Open Session
2:30 p.m.–4 p.m.
Executive Committee: Open Session:
4:30 p.m.–5 p.m.; Closed Session: 5
p.m.–6 p.m.
March 2
Full Board: Open Session: 8:15 a.m.–
9:30 a.m.; Closed Session: 12:15 p.m.–
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1:30 p.m.; Open Session: 1:45 p.m.–4:30
p.m.
Committee Meetings
Assessment Development Committee
(ADC): Open Session: 9:45 a.m.–11:30
a.m.; Closed Session: 11:30 a.m.–12:15
p.m.
Committee on Standards, Design and
Methodology (COSDAM): Open Session:
9:45 a.m. –11:30 a.m. Closed Session:
11:30 a.m.–12:15 p.m.
Reporting and Dissemination
Committee (R&D): Open Session: 9:45
a.m.–12:15 p.m.
March 3
Nominations Committee: Closed
Session: 7:30 a.m.–8:15 a.m.
Full Board: Closed Session: 8:30 a.m.–
9 a.m.; Open Session: 9 a.m.–11:30 a.m.
Location: Hyatt Regency New Orleans,
601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA
70113.
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 February 29, 2012, the Assessment
Development Committee (ADC) will
meet in closed session from 9 a.m. to 3
p.m. to review secure items for three
NAEP assessments—the NAEP 2013
NAEP operational Reading assessment
at grades 4 and 8; secure items for the
NAEP 2014 Pilot Civics Assessment at
grades 4, 8, and 12; and computer-based
tasks for the NAEP 2014 Technology
and Engineering Literacy Assessment.
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
E:\FR\FM\14FEN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 / Notices
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 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. to review
background questions for the NAEP
2014 pilot tests in U.S. History,
Geography, and Civics at grades 4, 8,
and 12
On March 1, 2012, two committee
meetings will occur.
From 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. the Ad Hoc
Committee on NAEP Parent Engagement
will meet in open session. The
Executive Committee will meet in open
session from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., and
thereafter in closed session from 5 p.m.
to 6 p.m. During the closed session, the
Executive Committee will receive a
briefing on government cost estimates
for the NAEP budget during FY 2013
and beyond for various options for the
NAEP schedule of assessments, and the
impact of these options on the NAEP
contracts. The discussion of assessment
schedules 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. In addition, 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 March 2, 2012 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 December
2011 Board meeting, followed by the
Chairman’s remarks and a welcome
from New Orleans Board member Doris
Hicks and Patrick Dobard,
Superintendent, Recovery School
District of Louisiana. On March 2, from
9 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. 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)
from 9:10 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Following
these sessions, the Board will recess for
Committee meetings from 9:45 a.m. to
12:15 p.m.
The Reporting and Dissemination
Committee will meet in open session
from 9:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
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The Assessment Development
Committee (ADC) will meet in open
session from 9:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and
thereafter in closed session from 11:30
a.m. to 12:15 p.m. During the closed
session, the ADC will receive a briefing
on preliminary findings from the NAEP
2011 computer-based mathematics
special study. The Board will be
provided with study results that cannot
be discussed/disclosed in an open
meeting prior to public release.
Premature disclosure of these findings
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.
The Committee on Standards, Design
and Methodology will meet in open
session from 9:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and
in closed session from 11:30 a.m. to
12:15 p.m. During the closed session,
the Committee will receive a briefing on
secure data collected from the NAEP
writing achievement levels-setting pilot
study, second field trial, and operational
studies. 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.
On March 2, 2012 from 12:15 p.m. to
1:30 p.m. the full Board will meet in
closed session to receive a briefing from
NCES and engage in discussions on the
Hands-On and Interactive Computer
Tasks from the 2009 NAEP Science
Assessment. 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.
Following the closed session, the
Board will meet in open sessions as
follows: From 1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., the
Board will receive a briefing on NCES’s
initiative on the Future of NAEP. From
2:30 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. ., the Board will
receive a report of the Expert Panel on
NAEP Background Questions. The
Board will receive a report from the Ad
Hoc Committee on Parent Engagement
from 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., followed by a
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8237
discussion session on Board initiatives
on Making a Difference from 4 p.m. to
4:30 p.m. The March 2, 2012 session of
the Board meeting is scheduled to
conclude at 4:30 p.m.
On March 3, 2011, the Nominations
Committee will meet in closed session
from 7:30 p.m. to 8:15 a.m. to review the
proposed slates of finalists for Board
terms beginning in October 2012.
Thereafter, the full Board will meet in
closed session from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m.
to receive and take action on the
recommendations from the Nominations
Committee on final candidates for Board
vacancies for submission to the Office of
Secretary of Education. Both the
Committee and full Board 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 March 3, from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.
the Board will receive a briefing on the
Program for International Student
Assessment. From 10:15 a.m. to 11 a.m.
the Board will receive briefings and
discuss 12th grade Preparedness
Reporting. The Board will receive
Committee reports and take action on
Committee recommendations from 11
a.m. to 11:30 a.m. upon which the
March 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.
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8238
Federal Register / Vol. 77, No. 30 / Tuesday, February 14, 2012 / Notices
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:February 8, 2011.
Cornelia S. Orr,
Executive Director, National Assessment
Governing Board, U.S. Department of
Education.
[FR Doc. 2012–3314 Filed 2–13–12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy
[Case No. RF–023]
Notice of Petition for Waiver of GE
Appliances From the Department of
Energy Residential Refrigerator and
Refrigerator-Freezer Test Procedure,
and Grant of Interim Waiver
Office of Energy Efficiency and
Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of
Energy.
ACTION: Notice of petition for waiver,
notice of grant of interim waiver, and
request for comments.
AGENCY:
This notice announces receipt
of and publishes the GE Appliances
(GE) petition for waiver (hereafter,
‘‘petition’’) from specified portions of
the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)
test procedure for determining the
energy consumption of certain specific
electric refrigerators and refrigeratorfreezers. In its petition, GE provides an
alternate test procedure and DOE
solicits comments, data, and
information concerning GE’s petition
and the suggested alternate test
procedure. Today’s notice also grants
GE an interim waiver from the electric
refrigerator and refrigerator-freezer test
procedure, subject to use of the
alternative test procedure set forth in
this notice.
DATES: DOE will accept comments, data,
and information with respect to the GE
Petition until March 15, 2012.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments,
identified by case number ‘‘RF–023,’’ by
any of the following methods:
• Federal eRulemaking Portal: https://
www.regulations.gov. Follow the
instructions for submitting comments.
• E-mail:
AS_Waiver_Requests@ee.doe.gov.
Include the case number [Case No. RF–
023] in the subject line of the message.
• Mail: Ms. Brenda Edwards, U.S.
Department of Energy, Building
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SUMMARY:
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Technologies Program, Mailstop EE–2J/
1000 Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20585–0121.
Telephone: (202) 586–2945. Please
submit one signed original paper copy.
• Hand Delivery/Courier: Ms. Brenda
Edwards, U.S. Department of Energy,
Building Technologies Program, 950
L’Enfant Plaza SW., Suite 600,
Washington, DC 20024. Please submit
one signed original paper copy.
Docket: For access to the docket to
review the background documents
relevant to this matter, you may visit the
U.S. Department of Energy, 950 L’Enfant
Plaza SW., Washington, DC, 20024;
(202) 586–2945, between 9 a.m. and 4
p.m., Monday through Friday, except
Federal holidays. Available documents
include the following items: (1) This
notice; (2) public comments received;
(3) the petition for waiver and
application for interim waiver; and (4)
prior DOE waivers and rulemakings
regarding similar refrigerator-freezer
products. Please call Ms. Brenda
Edwards at the above telephone number
for additional information.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr.
Bryan Berringer, U.S. Department of
Energy, Building Technologies Program,
Mail Stop EE–2J, Forrestal Building,
1000 Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20585–0121.
Telephone: (202) 586–0371. E-mail:
AS_Waiver_Requests@ee.doe.gov.
Ms. Elizabeth Kohl, U.S. Department of
Energy, Office of the General Counsel,
Mail Stop GC–71, Forrestal Building,
1000 Independence Avenue SW.,
Washington, DC 20585–0103.
Telephone: (202) 586–7796. E-mail:
Elizabeth.Kohl@hq.doe.gov.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background and Authority
Title III, Part B of the Energy Policy
and Conservation Act of 1975 (EPCA),
Public Law 94–163 (42 U.S.C. 6291–
6309, as codified), established the
Energy Conservation Program for
Consumer Products Other Than
Automobiles, a program covering most
major household appliances, which
includes the electric refrigerators and
refrigerator-freezers that are the focus of
this notice.1 Part B includes definitions,
test procedures, labeling provisions,
energy conservation standards, and the
authority to require information and
reports from manufacturers. Further,
Part B authorizes the Secretary of
Energy to prescribe test procedures that
are reasonably designed to produce
results that measure the energy
1 For editorial reasons, upon codification in the
U.S. Code, Part B was re-designated Part A.
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efficiency, energy use, or estimated
annual operating costs of a covered
product, and that are not unduly
burdensome to conduct. (42 U.S.C.
6293(b)(3)) The test procedure for
automatic electric refrigerators and
refrigerator-freezers is contained in 10
CFR part 430, subpart B, appendix A1.
The regulations set forth in 10 CFR
430.27 contain provisions that enable a
person to seek a waiver from the test
procedure requirements for covered
products under certain conditions. In
particular, the Assistant Secretary for
Energy Efficiency and Renewable
Energy (the Assistant Secretary) may
grant a waiver if it is determined that (1)
the basic model for which the petition
for waiver was submitted contains one
or more design characteristics that
prevents testing of the basic model
according to the prescribed test
procedures, or (2) the prescribed test
procedures may evaluate the basic
model in a manner so unrepresentative
of its true energy consumption
characteristics as to provide materially
inaccurate comparative data. 10 CFR
430.27(l). Petitioners must include in
their petition any alternate test
procedures known to the petitioner to
evaluate the basic model in a manner
representative of its energy
consumption. 10 CFR 430.27(b)(1)(iii).
The Assistant Secretary may grant the
waiver subject to conditions, including
adherence to alternate test procedures.
10 CFR 430.27(l). Waivers remain in
effect pursuant to the provisions of 10
CFR 430.27(m).
Any interested person who has
submitted a petition for waiver may also
file an application for interim waiver of
the applicable test procedure
requirements. 10 CFR 430.27(a)(2). The
Assistant Secretary may grant an interim
waiver request if it is determined that
the applicant will experience economic
hardship if the interim waiver is denied,
if it appears likely that the petition for
waiver will be granted, and/or the
Assistant Secretary determines that it
would be desirable for public policy
reasons to grant immediate relief
pending a determination on the petition
for waiver. 10 CFR 430.27(g). If granted,
an interim waiver remains in effect for
180 days or until DOE issues its
determination on the petition for
waiver, whichever is sooner. DOE may
extend an interim waiver for an
additional 180 days. 10 CFR 430.27(h).
II. Petition for Waiver of Test Procedure
and Application for Interim Waiver
On January 26, 2012, GE submitted a
petition for waiver from the test
procedure applicable to residential
electric refrigerators and refrigerator-
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Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8236-8238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-3314]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 for
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 February 17, 2012.
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: February 29, 2012 and March 1-3, 2012.
Times: February 29: Committee Meeting: Assessment Development
Committee (ADC): Closed Session: 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Open Session: 3 p.m.-5 p.m.
March 1
Committee Meetings
Ad Hoc Committee: Open Session 2:30 p.m.-4 p.m.
Executive Committee: Open Session: 4:30 p.m.-5 p.m.; Closed
Session: 5 p.m.-6 p.m.
March 2
Full Board: Open Session: 8:15 a.m.-9:30 a.m.; Closed Session:
12:15 p.m.-1:30 p.m.; Open Session: 1:45 p.m.-4:30 p.m.
Committee Meetings
Assessment Development Committee (ADC): Open Session: 9:45 a.m.-
11:30 a.m.; Closed Session: 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology (COSDAM): Open
Session: 9:45 a.m. -11:30 a.m. Closed Session: 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Reporting and Dissemination Committee (R&D): Open Session: 9:45
a.m.-12:15 p.m.
March 3
Nominations Committee: Closed Session: 7:30 a.m.-8:15 a.m.
Full Board: Closed Session: 8:30 a.m.-9 a.m.; Open Session: 9 a.m.-
11:30 a.m.
Location: Hyatt Regency New Orleans, 601 Loyola Avenue, New
Orleans, LA 70113.
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 February 29, 2012, the Assessment Development Committee (ADC)
will meet in closed session from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. to review secure
items for three NAEP assessments--the NAEP 2013 NAEP operational
Reading assessment at grades 4 and 8; secure items for the NAEP 2014
Pilot Civics Assessment at grades 4, 8, and 12; and computer-based
tasks for the NAEP 2014 Technology and Engineering Literacy Assessment.
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
[[Page 8237]]
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 3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
to review background questions for the NAEP 2014 pilot tests in U.S.
History, Geography, and Civics at grades 4, 8, and 12
On March 1, 2012, two committee meetings will occur.
From 2:30 p.m. to 4 p.m. the Ad Hoc Committee on NAEP Parent
Engagement will meet in open session. The Executive Committee will meet
in open session from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., and thereafter in closed
session from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. During the closed session, the Executive
Committee will receive a briefing on government cost estimates for the
NAEP budget during FY 2013 and beyond for various options for the NAEP
schedule of assessments, and the impact of these options on the NAEP
contracts. The discussion of assessment schedules 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. In
addition, 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 March 2, 2012 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 December 2011 Board meeting, followed by
the Chairman's remarks and a welcome from New Orleans Board member
Doris Hicks and Patrick Dobard, Superintendent, Recovery School
District of Louisiana. On March 2, from 9 a.m. to 9:10 a.m. 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) from 9:10 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. Following these
sessions, the Board will recess for Committee meetings from 9:45 a.m.
to 12:15 p.m.
The Reporting and Dissemination Committee will meet in open session
from 9:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
The Assessment Development Committee (ADC) will meet in open
session from 9:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and thereafter in closed session
from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. During the closed session, the ADC will
receive a briefing on preliminary findings from the NAEP 2011 computer-
based mathematics special study. The Board will be provided with study
results that cannot be discussed/disclosed in an open meeting prior to
public release. Premature disclosure of these findings 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.
The Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology will meet in
open session from 9:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and in closed session from
11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. During the closed session, the Committee will
receive a briefing on secure data collected from the NAEP writing
achievement levels-setting pilot study, second field trial, and
operational studies. 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.
On March 2, 2012 from 12:15 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. the full Board will
meet in closed session to receive a briefing from NCES and engage in
discussions on the Hands-On and Interactive Computer Tasks from the
2009 NAEP Science Assessment. 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.
Following the closed session, the Board will meet in open sessions
as follows: From 1:45 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., the Board will receive a
briefing on NCES's initiative on the Future of NAEP. From 2:30 p.m. to
3:15 p.m. ., the Board will receive a report of the Expert Panel on
NAEP Background Questions. The Board will receive a report from the Ad
Hoc Committee on Parent Engagement from 3:30 p.m. to 4 p.m., followed
by a discussion session on Board initiatives on Making a Difference
from 4 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The March 2, 2012 session of the Board meeting
is scheduled to conclude at 4:30 p.m.
On March 3, 2011, the Nominations Committee will meet in closed
session from 7:30 p.m. to 8:15 a.m. to review the proposed slates of
finalists for Board terms beginning in October 2012. Thereafter, the
full Board will meet in closed session from 8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m. to
receive and take action on the recommendations from the Nominations
Committee on final candidates for Board vacancies for submission to the
Office of Secretary of Education. Both the Committee and full Board
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 March 3, from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. the Board will receive a
briefing on the Program for International Student Assessment. From
10:15 a.m. to 11 a.m. the Board will receive briefings and discuss 12th
grade Preparedness Reporting. The Board will receive Committee reports
and take action on Committee recommendations from 11 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
upon which the March 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.
[[Page 8238]]
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:February 8, 2011.
Cornelia S. Orr,
Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board, U.S.
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. 2012-3314 Filed 2-13-12; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P