81 FR 47376 - National Assessment Governing Board Quarterly Board Meeting

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Federal Register Volume 81, Issue 140 (July 21, 2016)

This notice sets forth the agenda for the August 4-6, 2016 Quarterly Board Meeting of the National Assessment Governing Board (hereafter referred to as Governing Board). This notice provides information to members of the public who may be interested in attending the meeting or providing written comments on the meeting. The notice of this meeting is required under Sec. 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA).

[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 140 (Thursday, July 21, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 47376-47378]
From the Federal Register Online  [www.thefederalregister.org]
[FR Doc No: 2016-17331]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


National Assessment Governing Board Quarterly Board Meeting

AGENCY: National Assessment Governing Board, U.S. Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Announcement of open and closed meetings.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the agenda for the August 4-6, 2016 
Quarterly Board Meeting of the National Assessment Governing Board 
(hereafter referred to as Governing Board). This notice provides 
information to members of the public who may be interested in attending 
the meeting or providing written comments on the meeting. The notice of 
this meeting is required under Sec.  10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act (FACA).

DATES: The Quarterly Board Meeting will be held on the following dates:
     August 4, 2016 from 12:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m.
     August 5, 2016 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
     August 6, 2016 from 7:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

ADDRESSES: Sofitel Chicago Water Tower, 20 East Chestnut Street, 
Chicago, IL 60611

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Munira Mwalimu, Executive Officer/
Designated Federal Official of the Governing Board, 800 North Capitol 
Street NW., Suite 825, Washington, DC 20002, telephone: (202) 357-6938, 
fax: (202) 357-6945.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Statutory Authority and Function: The Governing Board is 
established under the National Assessment of Educational Progress 
Authorization Act, Title III of Public Law 107-279. Information on the 
Governing Board and its work can be found at www.nagb.gov.
    The Governing Board is established to formulate policy for the 
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Governing 
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, improving the form and use of NAEP, developing 
guidelines for reporting and disseminating results, and releasing 
initial NAEP results to the public.

August 4-6, 2016 Committee Meetings

    The Governing Board's standing committees will meet to conduct 
regularly scheduled work based on agenda items planned for this 
Quarterly Board Meeting and follow-up items as reported in the 
Governing Board's committee meeting minutes available at http://nagb.gov/what-we-do/board-committee-reports-and-agendas.html.

Detailed Meeting Agenda: August 4-6, 2016

    August 4: Assessment Development Committee (ADC): Closed Session: 
12:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
    August 4: Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology (COSDAM): 
Open Session: 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
    August 4: Reporting and Dissemination (R&D) Committee: Open 
Session: 1:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
    August 4: Executive Committee: Open Session: 4:30 p.m.-5:20 p.m.; 
Closed Session: 5:20 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
    August 5: Full Governing Board and Committee Meetings:
    Full Governing Board: Open Session: 8:30 a.m.-10:15 a.m.; 12:30 
p.m.-4:30 p.m.
    ADC: Open Session: 10:30 a.m.-11:25 a.m.; Closed Session: 11:25 
a.m.-12:15 p.m.

[[Page 47377]]

    R&D Committee: Open Session 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
    COSDAM: Open Session: 10:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
    August 6: Full Governing Board and Committee Meetings:
    Nominations Committee: Closed Session: 7:30 a.m.-8:15 a.m.
    Full Governing Board: Open Session: 8:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.
    On August 4, 2016, the ADC will meet in closed session from 12:00 
p.m.-4:00 p.m. to review the following secure NAEP test items: 2017 
reading items at grades 4 and 8; 2017 writing items at grades 4 and 8; 
2017 mathematics items at grades 4 and 8; and 2019 reading pilot items 
for grade 4. This meeting must be conducted in closed session because 
the test items are secure and have not been released to the public. 
Public disclosure of the secure test items would significantly impede 
implementation of the NAEP assessment program if conducted in open 
session. Such matters are protected by exemption 9(B) of Sec.  552b(c) 
of Title 5 of the United States Code.
    On August 4, the COSDAM will meet in open session from 1:00 p.m. to 
4:00 p.m. to conduct regularly scheduled work and the R&D Committee 
will meet in open session from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. to conduct 
regularly scheduled work.
    The Executive Committee will meet in open session on August 4 from 
4:30 p.m. to 5:20 p.m. to discuss the nomination of the Governing 
Board's Vice Chair, the Strategic Vision initiative, and NAEP research 
grants. The Executive Committee will meet thereafter in closed session 
from 5:20 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. During the closed session, the Executive 
Committee will receive and discuss independent government cost 
estimates and implications for implementing NAEP's Assessment Schedule 
through 2024. This meeting must be conducted in closed session because 
public disclosure of this information would likely have an adverse 
financial effect on the NAEP program by providing confidential cost 
details and proprietary contract costs of current contractors to the 
public. Discussion of this information would be likely to significantly 
impede implementation of a proposed agency action if conducted in open 
session. Such matters are protected by exemption 9(B) of Sec.  552b(c) 
of Title 5 of the United States Code.
    On August 5, the full Governing Board will meet in open session 
from 8:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. The Governing Board will review and 
approve the August 4-6, 2016 Governing Board meeting agenda and meeting 
minutes from the May 2016 Quarterly Board Meeting. The Governing Board 
will then receive welcoming remarks from policymakers representing the 
Illinois Department of Education and Chicago Public Schools. This 
session will be followed by a report from the Executive Director of the 
Governing Board, William Bushaw, followed by updates on the work of the 
Institute of Education Sciences (IES) and National Center for Education 
Statistics (NCES) provided by the Acting Commissioner of NCES, Peggy 
Carr. The Governing Board will recess for committee meetings at 10:15 
a.m. which are scheduled to take place from 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
    The COSDAM and R&D Committees will meet in open session from 10:30 
a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The ADC will meet in open session from 10:30 a.m. to 
11:25 a.m. and thereafter in closed session from 11:25 a.m. to 12:15 
p.m. to review assessment items for the NAEP transition to digital-
based assessments (DBA). The review will include secure items in 
reading, mathematics and science at grades 4 and 8 from the 2016 pilot, 
in preparation for the 2017 operational assessment. The committee's 
reviews and discussions on secure test items cannot be discussed in an 
open meeting to protect the confidentiality of the secure assessment 
materials. Premature disclosure of these results would significantly 
impede implementation of the NAEP assessment program, and is therefore 
protected by exemption 9(B) of Sec.  552b(c) of Title 5 of the United 
States Code.
    Following the committee meetings on August 5, the full Governing 
Board will meet in open session from 12:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
    From 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., the Governing Board will have a panel 
discussion on secondary researchers' use of NAEP data, to be moderated 
by Governing Board member Andrew Ho, Chair of the COSDAM. Following 
this session and a break of 30 minutes, the Governing Board will 
discuss the draft Strategic Vision document from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 
p.m., with an overview provided by the Governing Board's Vice Chair, 
Lucille Davy. After the overview, the Governing Board will convene in 
three small groups to discuss the draft Strategic Vision. Members of 
the public are welcome to observe the breakout sessions. The August 5 
session of the Governing Board meeting will adjourn at 4:30 p.m.
    On August 6, the Nominations Committee will meet in closed session 
from 7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. The committee will discuss planning for the 
Governing Board's annual call for nominations for Governing Board terms 
beginning in October 2017. The 2017 call for nominations is scheduled 
to start in September 2016. The Nominations Committee's discussions 
pertain solely to internal personnel rules and practices of an agency 
and information of a personal nature where disclosure would constitute 
a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. As such, the 
discussions are protected by exemptions 2 and 6 of Sec.  552b(c) of 
Title 5 of the United States Code.
    The full Governing Board will meet in open session on August 6, 
from 8:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The session will begin with remarks by 
outgoing Governing Board member Anitere Flores from 8:30 a.m. to 8:40 
a.m., followed by full Governing Board discussion on the Strategic 
Vision from 8:40 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. Thereafter, the Governing Board will 
have a short break and reconvene from 10:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. The 
Governing Board will receive an update on committee reports and take 
action on the election of the Board Vice Chair. From 10:45 a.m. to 
12:00 p.m. the Governing Board will receive a briefing from NCES staff 
on contextual variables, an Inside NAEP series. The August 6, 2016 
meeting is scheduled to adjourn at 12:00 p.m.
    Access to Records of the Meeting: Pursuant to FACA requirements, 
the public may also inspect the meeting materials at www.nagb.gov 
beginning on Thursday, August 5, 2016 by 10:00 a.m. ET. The official 
verbatim transcripts of the public meeting sessions will be available 
for public inspection no later than 30 calendar days following the 
meeting.
    Reasonable Accommodations: The meeting site is accessible to 
individuals with disabilities. If you will need an auxiliary aid or 
service to participate in the meeting (e.g., interpreting service, 
assistive listening device, or materials in an alternate format), 
notify the contact person listed in this notice at least two weeks 
before the scheduled meeting date. Although we will attempt to meet a 
request received after that date, we may not be able to make available 
the requested auxiliary aid or service because of insufficient time to 
arrange it.
    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: www.thefederalregister.org/fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well 
as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in

[[Page 47378]]

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by the Department.

    Authority:  Pub. L. 107-279, Title III--National Assessment of 
Educational Progress Sec.  301.

     Dated: July 18, 2016.
William J. Bushaw,
Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), U.S. 
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. 2016-17331 Filed 7-20-16; 8:45 am]
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