Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Providing Reading Interventions for Students in Middle School Toolkit Evaluation, 46377-46378 [2024-11677]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 104 (Wednesday, May 29, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46377-46378]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-11677]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: Docket Search Results ED-2024-SCC-0075]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Providing Reading Interventions for Students in Middle School Toolkit 
Evaluation

AGENCY: Institution of Education Sciences (IES), Department of 
Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, 
the Department is proposing a new information collection request (ICR).

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
July 29, 2024.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use https://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number Docket Search 
Results ED-2024-SCC-0075. Comments submitted in response to this notice 
should be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking 
Portal at https://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number 
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the 
regulations.gov site is not available to the public for any reason, the 
Department will temporarily accept comments at [email protected]. 
Please include the docket ID number and the title of the information 
collection request when requesting documents or submitting comments. 
Please note that comments submitted after the comment period will not 
be accepted. Written requests for information or comments submitted by 
postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the Manager of the 
Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and Strategy Division, 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, LBJ, Room 6W203, 
Washington, DC 20202-8240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:  For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Anousheh Shayestehpour, (202) 
987-1148.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department, in accordance with the 
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), 
provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to 
comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of 
information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its 
information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting 
burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. The Department is soliciting comments on the 
proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. 
The Department is especially interested in public comment addressing 
the following issues: (1) is this collection necessary to the proper 
functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and 
used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) 
how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of 
the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department 
minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including 
through the use of information technology. Please note that written 
comments received in response to this notice will be considered public 
records.
    Title of Collection: Providing Reading Interventions for Students 
in Middle School Toolkit Evaluation.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-NEW.
    Type of Review: New ICR.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 2,647.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 851.
    Abstract: The current authorization for the Regional Educational 
Laboratories (REL) program is under the Education Sciences Reform Act 
of 2002, part D, section 174, (20 U.S.C. 9564), administered by the 
Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences (IES), 
National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance 
(NCEE). The central mission and primary function of the RELs is to 
support applied research and provide technical assistance to state and 
local education agencies within their region (ESRA, part D, section 
174[f]). The REL program's goal is to partner with educators and 
policymakers to conduct work that is change-oriented and supports 
meaningful local, regional, or state decisions about education 
policies, programs, and practices to improve outcomes for students.
    Grades 6-8 mark an extended and crucial period in which students 
are expected to master increasingly complex literacy skills (Biancarosa 
& Snow, 2006; Hagaman et al., 2016). By the middle school grades, 
reading instruction typically shifts from a focus on fundamental 
literacy skills, such as decoding and phonemic awareness, to genre-
specific textual conventions,

[[Page 46378]]

comprehension strategies, and learning curricular content from texts 
(Chall, 1983; Goldman & Snow, 2015). For students without the 
fundamental skills to read fluently, decode accurately, and comprehend 
text, the more advanced literacy practices needed for secondary content 
acquisition and text reading can be out of reach. Students who struggle 
with reading at the middle school level often have limited ability to 
access curricular content aligned to grade-level standards in English 
language arts and other subject areas (Torgesen et al., 2007) and may 
experience adverse educational outcomes with respect to attendance 
(Fisher & Frey, 2014), graduation rates (Daniel et al., 2006), and 
mental health (Daniel et al., 2006; Mugnaini et al., 2009).
    The purpose of this evaluation is to test the efficacy of the 
Providing Reading Interventions for Students in Middle School Toolkit, 
or the PRISMS Toolkit. This toolkit supports the application of 
evidence-based recommendations from the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) 
Providing Reading Interventions for Students in Grades 4-9 Educator's 
Practice Guide (hereafter, practice guide; Vaughn et al., 2022) through 
a suite of professional development activities. We anticipate that the 
toolkit will impact teacher knowledge, self-efficacy, and instructional 
practice. These changes in teacher knowledge, beliefs, and practice, in 
turn, will positively impact student outcomes, including student 
engagement, as measured by student engagement in reading and school 
attendance, and reading proficiency.
    The evaluation team plans to conduct an independent evaluation 
using a school-level, cluster randomized control trial design to assess 
the program's impact on teachers' practices and beliefs and students' 
engagement and literacy outcomes. The evaluation will also assess the 
implementation of the toolkit and how it may be effectively scaled. The 
evaluation will take place in 52 schools across an estimated 10 
districts in Texas and will focus on teachers and students in grade 6-
8. The evaluation will produce a report and presentations to study 
participants, practitioners, policymakers, and researchers, and 
infographics and blog posts for a wider audience of educators and 
policymakers. These will be designed to inform district and school 
leaders and teachers about reading interventions that could be 
beneficial for all students in grade 6-8, but particularly those who 
are reading below grade level expectations.

    Dated: May 22, 2024.
Juliana Pearson,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2024-11677 Filed 5-28-24; 8:45 am]
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