19478 Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 75 / Monday, April 20, 1998 / Notices

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The

National Assessment Governing Board

is established under section 412 of the

National Education Statistics Act of

1994 (Title IV of the Improving

America’s Schools Act of 1994) (Pub. L.

103–382).

The Board is established to formulate

policy guidelines for the National

Assessment of Educational Progress.

The Board is responsible for selecting

subject areas to be assessed, developing

assessment objectives, identifying

appropriate achievement goals for each

grade and subject tested, and

establishing standards and procedures

for interstate and national comparisons.

Under P.L. 105–78, the National

Assessment Governing Board is also

granted exclusive authority over

developing the Voluntary National Tests

pursuant to contract number

RJ97153001.

On May 7, the Design and

Methodology Committee will meet in

open session from 9:00–11:30 a.m. The

Committee will be reviewing the plan

for research studies on the Voluntary

National Tests, and the pilot test design.

From 11:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m. the Design

and Methodology and Reporting and

Dissemination Committees will meet

jointly in open session. The Committees

will be reviewing the work plan for

accommodations and adaptations on the

Voluntary National Tests. There will be

an open meeting of Subject Area

Committee #2 from 2:00–4:00 p.m. The

agenda for this meeting includes review

of math issues and timeliness for the

Voluntary National Tests, and an update

on 1998 NAEP assessment in civics.

Also on May 7, the Executive

Committee will meet in open session

from 4:00–6:00 p.m. The Executive

Committee will receive updates on

Voluntary National Tests activities and

decisions on the Voluntary National

Tests contract. Also, the Committee will

hear updates on reauthorization and

NAEP redesign activities. The

Committee will begin discussion on

augmenting the schedule of NAEP

assessments to include grade 4 reading

in the year 2000.

On May 8, the full Board will convene

in open session from 8:30–10:00 a.m. In

addition to a report from the Executive

Director of the National Assessment

Governing Board, and an update on

NAEP activities, the agenda for this

session of the meeting includes the

release of the NAEP—TIMSS Linking

Report on 8th Grade Mathematics and

Science.

Beginning at 10:00 a.m. there will be

meetings of the standing committees.

Subject Area Committee #1 will meet in

partially closed session. From 10:00–

10:30 a.m., the meeting will be closed to

permit the Committee to review

proposed items for the Voluntary

National Test in reading. This portion of

the meeting must be closed because

references will be made to specific items

from the assessment and premature

disclosure of the information presented

for review would be likely to

significantly frustrate implementation of

a proposed agency action. Such matters

are protected by exemption (9) (B) of

Section 552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.

In open session, 10:30 a.m.–12:00

p.m., the Committee will review

Voluntary National Test reading issues

and timelines. Also, the Committee will

receive an update on the 1998 NAEP

assessment in reading and writing.

The Reporting and Dissemination

Committee will meet from 10:00 a.m.–

12:00 p.m. The Committee will be

considering the schedule and plans for

the release of NAEP reports; reporting

district-level results from existing state

samples; and work plans for reporting

and utilization of the results for the

Voluntary National Tests.

There will be open meetings of the

Achievement Levels Committee and the

Design and Methodology Committee.

The Achievement Levels Committee

will meet from 10:00–11:00 a.m. to

prepare recommendations to the Board

on the preliminary achievement levels

descriptions for NAEP. The Committee

will receive a briefing on the status of

the 1998 achievement levels setting

activities. The Committee will discuss

the achievement levels issues on the

Voluntary National Tests, such as

reliable classification of individual

student performance.

The Design and Methodology

Committee will meet from 11:00 a.m.–

12:00 p.m. to review the plans for

research studies on the Voluntary

National Tests, and the pilot test design.

The Full Board will reconvene in

partially closed session from 12:00–4:00

p.m. The meeting will be closed to the

public from 12:00–1:30 p.m. for the

Board to hear a presentation on the

results of the NAEP Instructional

Reports for Mathematics and Science.

This portion of the meeting must be

closed because references may be made

to data, which may be misinterpreted,

incorrect, or incomplete. Such matters

are protected by exemption 9(B) of

Section 552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C. The

agenda for the open portion of this

session of the Full Board meeting

includes an update on work plans for

the Voluntary National Tests and

comments about the NAEP and the

Voluntary National Tests by

representatives of the National Alliance

of Business.

On May 9, the Full Board will meet

in partially closed session. In open

session, from 8:00–11:30 a.m., the Board

will receive a briefing on the

Mathematics Content Analysis Project;

hear a presentation from ACHIEVE, Inc.

on the work being conducted in

Benchmarking, and be given reports

from the NAGB standing committees.

The Board will meet in closed session

from 11:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m. to receive

the report from the Nominations

Committee regarding recommendations

to submit to the Secretary of Education

for Board appointments in the following

categories: general public, secondary

school principal, elementary school

principal, eighth grade teacher, fourth

grade teacher, chief state school officer,

and state legislator (Democrat). This

session must be closed because the

Board will be considering qualifications

of nominees for appointment to Board

membership. The review and

subsequent discussion of this

information will touch upon matters

that relate solely to the internal rules

and practices of an agency and would

disclose information of a personal

nature where disclosure would

constitute a clearly unwarranted

invasion of personal privacy if

conducted in open session. Such

matters are protected by exemptions (2)

and (6) of Section 552b(c) of Title 5

U.S.C.

Summaries of the activities of the

closed sessions and related matters,

which 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 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Dated: April 15, 1998.

Roy Truby,

Executive Director, National Assessment

Governing Board.

[FR Doc. 98–10298 Filed 4–17–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000–01–M

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Notice of Intent To Conduct Policy

Analysis; Request for Public Comment

AGENCY: Department of Energy.

ACTION: Notice of intent to conduct

policy analysis; request for public

comment.
Federal Register / Vol. 63, No. 75 / Monday, April 20, 1998 / Notices 19479

Correction

In Notice document 98–7155,

beginning on page 13396, in the issue of

Thursday, March 19, 1998, make the

following correction: on page 13397, in

the first column, in the fourth line, ‘‘1–

800–635–4080’’ should read ‘‘1–888–

635–4080.’’

Dated: April 14, 1998.

James M. Owendoff,

Acting Assistant Secretary for Environmental

Management.

[FR Doc. 98–10317 Filed 4–17–98; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 6450–01–P

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY

Office of Energy Research

Energy Research Financial Assistance

Program Notice 98–16; Genome

Instrumentation Research Program

AGENCY: Department of Energy

ACTION: Notice inviting grant

applications.

SUMMARY: The Office of Biological and

Environmental Research (BER) of the

Office of Energy Research (ER) of the

U.S. Department of Energy (DOE),

hereby announces its interest in

receiving applications in

Instrumentation Research supporting

the Human Genome Program.

Applications are sought from a broad

range of scientists with backgrounds in

biology, chemistry, physics, and

engineering including those not

presently involved in the Human

Genome Program. Both substantive

improvements to current systems and

novel and creative new strategies are

needed in preparation for the needs of

biology in the next century. New

instrumentation and technical

approaches are sought for DNA

sequencing, automation and integration

of DNA sequencing systems, validation

of DNA sequencing accuracy, and the

determination of gene function of newly

sequenced DNA. The goals are to reduce

costs and increase the throughput while

maintaining accuracy for production

DNA sequencing and related analyses.

DATES: Potential applicants are strongly

encouraged to submit a brief

preapplication. All preapplications

should be received by DOE by 4:30 p.m.,

e.d.t., June 8, 1998. Early submissions

are encouraged. A response encouraging

or discouraging a formal application

will be communicated to the applicant

within two weeks of receipt.

Formal applications, in response to

this notice, must be received by 4:30

p.m., e.d.t., August 19, 1998, in order to

be accepted for merit review and to

permit timely consideration for award

in Fiscal Year 1999.

ADDRESSES: Preapplications, referencing

Program Notice 98–16, should be

forwarded to: Dr. Charles G. Edmonds,

Medical Applications and Biophysical

Research Division, ER–73, U.S.

Department of Energy, 19901

Germantown Road, Germantown, MD

20874–1290, Attn: Program Notice 98–

16. Preapplications will also be

accepted by Fax and E-mail: Fax

number: (301) 903–0567 and E-mail:

charles.edmonds@oer.doe.gov.

Formal applications, referencing

Program Notice 98–16, should be

forwarded to: U.S. Department of

Energy, Office of Energy Research,

Grants and Contracts Division, ER–64,

19901 Germantown Road, Germantown,

MD 20874–1290, Attn: Program Notice

98–16. This address also must be used

when submitting applications by U.S.

Postal Service Express Mail, or any

commercial mail delivery service, or

when hand-carried by the applicant. An

original and seven copies of the

application must be submitted.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

Charles G. Edmonds, Medical

Applications and Biophysical Research

Division, ER–73, 19901 Germantown

Road, Germantown, MD 20874–1290;

telephone: (301) 903–0042; E-mail:

charles.edmonds@oer.doe.gov. The full

text of Program Notice 98–16 is

available via the Internet using the

following web site address: http://

www.er.doe.gov/production/grants/

grants.html.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Office

of Biological and Environmental

Research of the U. S. Department of

Energy and the National Human

Genome Research Institute of the

National Institutes of Health are

participating in a coordinated

international program to ‘‘determine the

complete sequence of the human

genome, discover all the human genes

and render them accessible for further

biological study.’’ As this program

continues, improvement of sequencing

technology is essential to complete the

sequence of the 3 billion subunits of the

human genome by the target year of

2005. Functional analyses of the

displayed genes and their encoded

proteins will continue long thereafter.

In December of 1997 a DOE-sponsored

review of the DOE Human Genome

Program was published by the JASON

Program Office of the MITRE

Corporation. A summary and related

discussion has been printed: Science,

279(5347), (1998) 36–37; Science,

279(5347), (1989) 23; and Science,

279(5354), (1989) 1115–1116. The full

report can be accessed on the Internet

using the following web address: http:/

/www.ornl.gov/hgmis/publicat/

miscpubs/jason/index.html. A more

general discussion of the Human

Genome Program may be found in

Primer on Molecular Genetics available

on the Internet using the following web

address: http://www.ornl.gov/

TechResources/HumanlGenome/

publicat/primer/intro.html.

These documents and companion

references will be particularly useful to

scientists and engineers less

knowledgeable regarding current

genomic technologies and projected

needs.

Production scale sequencing has been

initiated based largely on gel

electrophoresis with data acquisition by

laser induced fluorescence.

Additionally, sequence comparison

tasks are performed using ‘‘sequencing

by hybridization’’ technologies.

However, it may not be possible to

achieve the desired goal within the

available budget and project period

without substantial improvements in

speed and reliability of sequencing

methods and other techniques currently

in widespread use. Continuing

developments of existing approaches to

address the necessities of the

production environment will be

required.

Further, with an eye to the future,

basic research is also needed that will

substantially speed and enhance

genomic analyses in the years following

the projected completion of the human

genome in the year 2005. After this date,

the need for fast and cost-effective

determination of DNA sequence for the

comparison of sequences among human

individuals and also for the

determination of the genomes of

numerous organisms of biomedical and

commercial interest will be ongoing.

Additionally, with the continuing

acquisition of this remarkable base of

biological data, high throughput

experimental tools will be required to

assist conversion into a practical and

useful understanding of the function for

the encoded gene products.

Both substantial evolutionary

improvements in current systems and

also revolutionary technologies for the

post-2005 era are sought under this

solicitation.

Research applications are invited:

• To develop approaches to more

rapidly, accurately, and economically

determine DNA sequence. Cost-effective

approaches that increase current

maximum read lengths of 800–1000

bases by at least a factor of 2.5, i.e., to

at least 2000–2500 bases, are

particularly desired.