Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 8, 2021 / Notices 50337 

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: Early Childhood 

Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Class 

of 2023–24 (ECLS–K:2024) Kindergarten 

and First-Grade Field Test Data 

Collection, National Sampling, and 

National Recruitment. 

OMB Control Number: 1850–0750. 

Type of Review: A revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: 

Individuals and households. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 20,895. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 15,599. 

Abstract: The Early Childhood 

Longitudinal Study (ECLS) program, 

conducted by the National Center for 

Education Statistics (NCES) within the 

Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of 

the U.S. Department of Education (ED), 

draws together information from 

multiple sources to provide rich, 

descriptive data on child development, 

early learning, and school progress. The 

ECLS program studies deliver national 

data on children’s status at birth and at 

various points thereafter; children’s 

transitions to non-parental care, early 

care and education programs, and 

school; and children’s experiences and 

growth through the elementary grades. 

The Early Childhood Longitudinal 

Study, Kindergarten Class of 2023–24 

(ECLS–K:2024) is the fourth cohort in 

the series of early childhood 

longitudinal studies that began with the 

Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, 

Kindergarten Class of 1998–99 (ECLS– 

K) and continued with the Early 

Childhood Longitudinal Study, Birth 

Cohort (ECLS–B), and the Early 

Childhood Longitudinal Study, 

Kindergarten Class of 2010–11 (ECLS– 

K:2011). 

In preparation for the ECLS–K:2024 

data collections, several OMB packages 

have been cleared or have been planned 

for submission. Prior to the field test 

collection of data from parents of 

preschool-aged children, in-person 

focus groups with parents of 

preschoolers and usability testing of the 

preschool parent survey instruments 

were conducted in 2019 (OMB 1850– 

0803 v.246 and OMB 1850–0803 v.253, 

respectively). The field test with 

preschool parents was conducted in the 

spring of 2020 (OMB 1850–0750 v.19). 

In order to test recruitment messages 

and materials for the field test and 

national data collections, online focus 

groups with school administrators, 

teachers, and parents were conducted in 

fall 2019 and spring 2020 (OMB 1850– 

0803 v.255 & v.264). Additionally, 

usability testing of the kindergarten and 

first-grade field test instruments was 

conducted in early 2021 (OMB 1850– 

0803 v.280). 

This current request is to conduct a 

field test of the ECLS–K:2024 

kindergarten and first-grade data 

collection activities to evaluate the 

design of the national study’s 

kindergarten and first-grade surveys and 

child assessments, as well as the 

operational procedures (that is, 

sampling and recruitment) for the 

national kindergarten and first-grade 

data collections in the fall 2023, spring 

2024, and spring 2025. This data 

collection to evaluate the kindergarten 

and first-grade instruments and 

procedures is referred to throughout the 

remainder of this package as the K–1 

field test. District and school sampling 

and recruitment activities for the K–1 

field test will occur in spring 2022, 

while student sampling will occur in 

August and September 2022. From 

September through November 2022, 

trained study field staff will visit the 

participating schools to conduct inperson, one-on-one child assessments. 

Parents, teachers, and school 

administrators will also be asked to 

complete web surveys. As testing and 

development continues, it is anticipated 

that changes to the surveys, website 

language, and respondent materials will 

be necessary; a change request 

describing these changes will be 

submitted in spring 2022 prior to the K– 

1 field test data collection. Furthermore, 

this package also includes a request to 

conduct national district and school 

sampling and recruitment from fall 2022 

to spring 2023. These recruitment 

activities will closely mimic what will 

be done in the K–1 field test, but will 

occur over a much longer period of 

time. 

Dated: September 2, 2021. 

Stephanie Valentine, 

PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and 

Clearance Governance and Strategy Division, 

Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of 

Planning, Evaluation and Policy 

Development. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19331 Filed 9–7–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

[Docket No.: ED–2021–SCC–0095] 

Agency Information Collection 

Activities; Submission to the Office of 

Management and Budget for Review 

and Approval; Comment Request; 

Trends in International Mathematics 

and Science Study (TIMSS 2023) Field 

Test Data Collection and Main Study 

Sampling, Recruitment, and Data 

Collection 

AGENCY: Institute of Educational Science 

(IES), Department of Education (ED). 

ACTION: Notice. 

SUMMARY: In accordance with the 

Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 

proposing a revision of a currently 

approved collection. 

DATES: Interested persons are invited to 

submit comments on or before October 

8, 2021. 

ADDRESSES: Written comments and 

recommendations for proposed 

information collection requests should 

be sent within 30 days of publication of 

this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/ 

do/PRAMain. Find this information 

collection request by selecting 

‘‘Department of Education’’ under 

‘‘Currently Under Review,’’ then check 

‘‘Only Show ICR for Public Comment’’ 

checkbox. Comments may also be sent 

to ICDocketmgr@ed.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For 

specific questions related to collection 

activities, please contact Carrie Clarady, 

202–245–6347. 

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 


jbell on DSKJLSW7X2PROD with NOTICES
50338 Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 171 / Wednesday, September 8, 2021 / Notices 

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: Trends in 

International Mathematics and Science 

Study (TIMSS 2023) Field Test Data 

Collection and Main Study Sampling, 

Recruitment, and Data Collection. 

OMB Control Number: 1850–0695. 

Type of Review: A revision of a 

currently approved collection. 

Respondents/Affected Public: 

Individuals and households. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Responses: 50,996. 

Total Estimated Number of Annual 

Burden Hours: 20,336. 

Abstract: The Trends in International 

Mathematics and Science Study 

(TIMSS), conducted by the National 

Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 

within the U.S. Department of 

Education (ED), is an international 

assessment of fourth and eighth grade 

students’ achievement in mathematics 

and science. Since its inception in 1995, 

TIMSS has continued to assess students 

every 4 years (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 

2011, 2015, and 2019), with the next 

TIMSS assessment, TIMSS 2023, being 

the eighth iteration of the study. In 

TIMSS 2023, approximately 65 

countries or education systems will 

participate. The United States will 

participate in TIMSS 2023 to continue 

to monitor the progress of its students 

compared to that of other nations and to 

provide data on factors that may 

influence student achievement. 

TIMSS is led by the International 

Association for the Evaluation of 

Educational Achievement (IEA), an 

international collective of research 

organizations and government agencies 

that create the frameworks used to 

develop the assessment, the survey 

instruments, and the study timeline. 

IEA decides and agrees upon a common 

set of standards, procedures, and 

timelines for collecting and reporting 

data, all of which must be followed by 

all participating countries. As a result, 

TIMSS is able to provide a reliable and 

comparable measure of student skills in 

participating countries. In the U.S., 

NCES conducts this study in 

collaboration with the IEA and a 

number of contractors to ensure proper 

implementation of the study and 

adoption of practices in adherence to 

the IEA’s standards. Participation in 

TIMSS is consistent with NCES’s 

mandate of acquiring and disseminating 

data on educational activities and 

student achievement in the United 

States compared with foreign nations 

[The Educational Sciences Reform Act 

of 2002 (ESRA 2002, 20 U.S.C. 9543)]. 

A previous request to conduct 

sampling and recruitment activities 

associated with the TIMSS 2023 field 

test, which will be conducted in March 

and April 2022, was approved by OMB 

in May 2021 (OMB #1850–0695 v.16). 

Because TIMSS is a collaborative effort 

among many parties, the United States 

must adhere to the international 

schedule set forth by the IEA, including 

the availability of final field test and 

main study plans as well as draft and 

final questionnaires. In order to meet 

the international data collection 

schedule, to align with recruitment for 

other NCES studies (e.g., the National 

Assessment of Education Progress, 

NAEP), and for schools to put the 

TIMSS 2023 field test assessment on 

their Spring 2022 calendars, recruitment 

activities for the field test will begin in 

June of 2021. This package requests 

approval for the field test data collection 

materials and the main study sampling, 

recruiting, and data collection plans. 

Recruitment activities for the main 

study will begin in January 2022, with 

the data collection activities currently 

scheduled to begin in March 2023. 

Dated: September 2, 2021. 

Stephanie Valentine, 

PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and 

Clearance Governance and Strategy Division, 

Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of 

Planning, Evaluation and Policy 

Development. 

[FR Doc. 2021–19330 Filed 9–7–21; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 

Environmental Management SiteSpecific Advisory Board Chairs 

AGENCY: Office of Environmental 

Management, Department of Energy. 

ACTION: Notice of open virtual meeting 

SUMMARY: This notice announces an 

online virtual meeting of the 

Environmental Management SiteSpecific Advisory Board (EM SSAB) 

Chairs. The Federal Advisory 

Committee Act requires that public 

notice of this online virtual meeting be 

announced in the Federal Register. 

DATES: Wednesday, October 6, 2021; 

12:00 p.m.–4:15 p.m. EDT, and 

Thursday, October 7, 2021; 12:00 p.m.– 

4:00 p.m. EDT 

ADDRESSES: Online Virtual Meeting. To 

attend, please contact Alyssa Harris by 

email, Alyssa.Harris@em.doe.gov, no 

later than 5:00 p.m. EDT on Monday, 

October 4, 2021. 

To Submit Public Comment: Public 

comments will be accepted via email 

prior to and after the meeting. 

Comments received no later than 5:00 

p.m. EDT on Wednesday, September 29, 

2021 will be read aloud during the 

virtual meeting. Comments will also be 

accepted after the meeting by no later 

than 5:00 p.m. EDT on Wednesday, 

October 13, 2021 to be included in the 

official meeting record. Please send 

comments to Alyssa Harris at 

Alyssa.Harris@em.doe.gov. 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Alyssa Harris, EM SSAB Federal 

Coordinator. U.S. Department of Energy, 

1000 Independence Avenue SW, 

Washington, DC 20585. Email: 

Alyssa.Harris@em.doe.gov. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 

Purpose of the Board: The purpose of 

the Board is to make recommendations 

to DOE–EM and site management in the 

areas of environmental restoration, 

waste management, and related 

activities. 

Tentative Agenda Topics 

Wednesday, October 6, 2021 

• Update from Principal Deputy 

Assistant Secretary 

• Chairs Round Robin 

• Public Comment 

• EM–4 Update 

• Membership Recruitment and Package 

Education 

• Board Business/Open Discussion 

Thursday, October 7, 2021 

• FY 2022 Budget Update 

• Office of Technology Development 

Overview 

• Public Comment 

• Charge #1 Discussion and Path 

Forward 

• Charge #2 Discussion and Path 

Forward 

• Board Business/Open Discussion 

Public Participation: The online 

virtual meeting is open to the public. 

Written statements may be filed with 

the Board either before or after the 

meeting by sending them to Alyssa 

Harris at the aforementioned email 

address. The Designated Federal Officer 

is empowered to conduct the conference 

call in a fashion that will facilitate the 

orderly conduct of business. Individuals 

wishing to make public comments 

should email them as directed above. 

Minutes: Minutes will be available by 

writing Alyssa Harris at the email 

address listed above. Minutes will also 

be available at the following website: 

https://energy.gov/em/listings/chairsmeetings. 


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