[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 163 (Wednesday, August 22, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 42492-42493]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-18102]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2018-ICCD-0087]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; A 
Study of Reliability and Consequential Validity of a Mathematics 
Diagnostic Assessment System in Georgia

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

ACTION: Notice.

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[[Page 42493]]

SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 
proposing a new information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
October 22, 2018.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2018-ICCD-
0087. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal 
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please note that comments 
submitted by fax or email and those 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 
Director of the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. 
Department of Education, 550 12th Street SW, PCP, Room 9089, 
Washington, DC 20202-0023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Felicia Sanders, 202-245-6264.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (ED), 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. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The 
Department of Education 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: A study of reliability and consequential 
validity of a mathematics diagnostic assessment system in Georgia.
    OMB Control Number: 1850--NEW.
    Type of Review: A new information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 44.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 606.
    Abstract: Several school districts in Georgia (including Forsyth 
and Jefferson Counties) currently use the Individual Knowledge 
Assessment of Number (IKAN; New Zealand Ministry of Education, 2011) 
and the Global Strategy Stage (GloSS; New Zealand Ministry of 
Education, 2012) as part of a diagnostic assessment system within their 
multi-tiered systems of support. The IKAN and GloSS assessments were 
designed for use in Grades K-8 (GaDOE, 2015).
    IKAN provides information on students' number knowledge (that is, 
magnitude comparisons, knowledge of base 10 system and meaning of 
decimals and fractions), and the GloSS provides information on 
strategies students use when solving mathematical problems. When used 
together, the IKAN and GloSS assessments furnish teachers with 
information on how students solve mathematics problems and students' 
understanding of whole and rational number concepts. Teachers can then 
use the information from the assessments to tailor their instruction to 
students' levels of understanding and address problems that underlie 
lack of success with grade-level curriculum.
    The Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) has received positive 
feedback through testimonials from district-level personnel and math 
coaches supporting the use of IKAN/GloSS. Yet, very limited 
psychometric data exists to support the use of these measures. GaDOE 
has not conducted reliability or validity studies using its student 
population. While many studies have been conducted in New Zealand by 
the Ministry of Education, participating Georgia school districts and 
the GaDOE are interested in psychometric data using teachers and 
students in their state in the context of their state system of 
standards, assessments, and accountability. Thus, through the Improving 
Mathematics Research Alliance, the GaDOE requested REL Southeast 
conduct a study to determine the reliability and validity of the IKAN/
GloSS diagnostic assessments.
    The three research questions guiding the project relate to the 
inter-assessor reliability of the GloSS and IKAN assessments when 
administered by two assessors within a one-week period and the 
consequential validity of using IKAN and GloSS diagnostic assessments 
(that is, teachers' perception of their instructional utility for 
providing intervention).
    Student data from the IKAN and GloSS assessments administered by 
teachers and mathematics coaches will be used to answer the two 
research questions related to the inter-assessor reliability studies.

    Dated: August 17, 2018.
Stephanie Valentine,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2018-18102 Filed 8-21-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P