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###### Department of Education

          - [Docket No.: ED-2021-SCC-0136]

# 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 21, 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 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:*                     National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2022 Materials Update #2.                

*OMB Control Number:*                     1850-0928.                

*Type of Review:*                     A revision of a currently approved collection.                

*Respondents/Affected Public:*                     Individuals and Households.                

*Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses:*                     690,917.                

*Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours:*                     422,683.                

*Abstract:*                     The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), is a federally authorized survey of student achievement at grades 4, 8, and 12 in various subject areas, such as mathematics, reading, writing, science, U.S. history, civics, geography, economics, technology and engineering literacy (TEL), and the arts. The National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act (Pub. L. 107-279 Title III, section 303) requires the assessment to collect data on specified student groups and                           ( print page 52451)                        characteristics, including information organized by race/ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, disability, and limited English proficiency. It requires fair and accurate presentation of achievement data and permits the collection of background, noncognitive, or descriptive information that is related to academic achievement and aids in fair reporting of results. The intent of the law is to provide representative sample data on student achievement for the nation, the states, and subpopulations of students and to monitor progress over time. NAEP consists of two assessment programs: The NAEP long-term trend (LTT) assessment and the main NAEP assessment. The LTT assessments are given at the national level only and are administered to students at ages 9, 13, and 17 in a manner that is very different from that used for the main NAEP assessments. LTT reports mathematics and reading results that present trend data since the 1970s.                

The request to conduct NAEP 2021, including operational assessments and pilot tests: Operational national/state/TUDA Digitally Based Assessments (DBA) in mathematics and reading at grades 4 and 8, and Puerto Rico in mathematics at grades 4 and 8; and operational national DBA in U.S. history and civics at grade 8 was approved in April 2020, with further updates to the materials approved in July and November 2020. Throughout 2020 NCES worked with its contractors and with OMB to find the best way to plan for a data collection in schools in 2021, and as the coronavirus pandemic progressed over the course of the year, plans for NAEP 2020 data collection changed multiple times. In November 2020, the NCES Commissioner announced the delay of NAEP 2021 by one year to early 2022.

Since then, NAEP has continued to work to salvage any pieces of their data collection plans for 2021 and begin planning for NAEP 2022. NCES has used the drawn and notified sample from 2021 for two data collections that don't include the student assessment that is central to the NAEP program, instead using that sample to collect information about basic school operations during the coronavirus pandemic (NAEP 2021 School Survey; OMB# 1850-0957) and the experiences of teachers and school staff over the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years (NAEP 2021 School and Teacher Questionnaire Special Study; OMB# 1850-0956).

The request to conduct NAEP operational assessments in 2022, which will follow the traditional NAEP design which assesses each student in 60-minutes for one cognitive subject, was approved in May 2021, and the first update to the NAEP 2022 materials was approved in August 2021. The 2022 data collection will consist of operational national/state/TUDA DBA in mathematics and reading at grades 4 and 8, and Puerto Rico in mathematics at grades 4 and 8; and operational national DBA in U.S. history and civics at grade 8. In addition to the regular NAEP operational assessments delayed from 2021, this submission also contains materials for the LTT, which will be administered to 9-year-olds in 2022. This package finalizes all materials in time for the data collection in early 2022.

Dated: September 16, 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. 2021-20367 Filed 9-20-21; 8:45 am]

BILLING CODE 4000-01-P