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[Federal Register Volume 77, Number 30 (Tuesday, February 14, 2012)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8236-8238]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2012-3314]

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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.

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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 [email protected] 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: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister/index.html. 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/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
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