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[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 157 (Wednesday, August 18, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 46231-46232]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-17676]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

National Assessment Governing Board

Solicitation of Public Comments for Updating the Science 
Assessment Framework for the 2028 National Assessment of Educational 
Progress (NAEP)

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

ACTION: Notice of opportunity for preliminary public comment for the 
Science Assessment Framework for the 2028 National Assessment of 
Educational Progress (NAEP).

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SUMMARY: The National Assessment Governing Board (Governing Board) is 
soliciting public comment for preliminary guidance in updating the 
Assessment Framework for the 2028 National Assessment of Educational 
Progress (NAEP) in Science.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Governing Board is authorized to 
formulate policy guidelines for NAEP. Section 302(e)(1)(c) of Public 
Law 107-279 specifies that the Governing Board determines the content 
to be assessed for each NAEP Assessment. Each NAEP subject area 
assessment is guided by a framework that defines the scope of the 
domain to be measured by delineating the knowledge and skills to be 
tested at each grade and subject, the format of the assessment, and the 
achievement level descriptions--guiding assessments that are valid, 
reliable, and reflective of widely accepted professional standards. The 
NAEP Science Assessment Framework was last revised in 2005 (and most 
recently used for the 2019 NAEP Science Assessment). Comments received 
in response to this notice will be utilized to inform Governing Board 
decisions on the extent of revisions needed to update the NAEP Science 
Assessment Framework. A Governing Board charge to launch the framework 
revision process is anticipated at the March 2022 quarterly Board 
meeting.
    Public and private parties and organizations are invited to provide 
written comments and recommendations relative to the current framework, 
adopted in 2005. Comments

[[Page 46232]]

should specifically address: (a) Whether the 2019 NAEP Science 
Framework needs to be updated; (b) if the framework needs to be 
updated, why a revision is needed; and (c) what should a revision to 
the framework include? This notice sets forth the review schedule and 
provides information for accessing additional materials that will be 
informative and useful for this review.
    Assessment and Item Specifications elaborate on the framework as 
guidance for item development conducted by the National Center for 
Education Statistics (NCES) and the NAEP assessment development 
contractor(s). The framework development and update process also 
produces recommendations for contextual variables, which supports NCES' 
development of the questionnaires administered to students, teachers, 
and schools to help the public understand the achievement results in 
each subject. By engaging NAEP's audiences, partners, and stakeholders 
in the panels that provide recommendations for NAEP frameworks and by 
seeking public comment, NAEP frameworks reflect content valued by the 
public as important to measure. Additional information on the Governing 
Board's work in developing NAEP Frameworks and Specifications can be 
found at https://www.nagb.gov/naep-frameworks/frameworks-overview.html.
    All responses will be taken into consideration before finalizing 
the recommendations for updating the NAEP Science Assessment Framework. 
Once finalized, recommendations will be used to guide a framework 
update process, if an update is needed for the 2028 NAEP Science 
Assessment.
    Comments shall be submitted via email to [email protected] with the email 
subject header NAEP Science Framework no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern 
Time on Thursday, September 30. It is anticipated that public comments 
will be shared and discussed publicly in upcoming Governing Board 
meetings and materials. When providing comment, please indicate if you 
are not comfortable with your name and affiliation being included with 
the comments that will be shared publicly by the Governing Board in its 
deliberations.
    Additional information (including the materials referenced below) 
can be found on the project website at https://www.nagb.gov/naep-frameworks/science/science-framework-feedback.html.

Existing Science Framework for the NAEP

    The existing framework (adopted in 2005) can be downloaded from the 
Governing Board website at https://www.nagb.gov/naep-frameworks/science.html.

Governing Board's Periodic Review and Updating of NAEP Frameworks

    Governing Board policy articulates the Board's commitment to a 
comprehensive, inclusive, and deliberative process to determine and 
update the content and format of all NAEP assessments. For each NAEP 
assessment, this process results in a NAEP framework, outlining what is 
to be measured and how it will be measured. Periodically, the Governing 
Board reviews existing NAEP frameworks to determine if changes are 
warranted. Each NAEP framework development and update process considers 
a wide set of factors, including but not limited to reviews of recent 
research on teaching and learning, changes in state and local standards 
and assessments, and the latest perspectives on the nation's future 
needs and desirable levels of achievement.
    In 2021, the Board is initiating a preliminary review of the NAEP 
Science Framework. The Governing Board's NAEP Science Framework review 
will use general public comment collected through this notice as well 
as expert commentary to determine whether a framework update is 
required and the type of updates that may be needed. Learn more about 
framework update processes at https://www.nagb.gov/content/dam/nagb/en/documents/naep/NAEP-Frameworks-FAQ_FINAL.pdf.
    Electronic Access to this Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. 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.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can 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). To use PDF, 
you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the 
Adobe website. You may also access documents of the Department 
published in the Federal Register by using the article search feature 
at: www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.
    Authority: Pub. L. 107-279, Title III--National Assessment of 
Educational Progress Sec.  301.

Lesley Muldoon,
Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), U. S. 
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. 2021-17676 Filed 8-17-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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