[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 40 (Wednesday, February 28, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 12836-12837]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-4899]



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Part II





National Skill Standards Board





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Solicitation of Comments; Notice

Federal Register / Vol. 66, No. 40 / Wednesday, February 28, 2001 / 
Notices

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NATIONAL SKILL STANDARDS BOARD


Solicitation of Comments

AGENCY: National Skill Standards Board.
SUMMARY: The National Skill Standards Board (NSSB) is building a 
voluntary national system of skill standards, assessments, and 
certification that will enhance the ability of the U.S. to compete 
effectively in a global economy. Industry-led, voluntary coalitions, 
called Voluntary Partnerships, are developing the skill standards, 
assessment, and certification systems within fifteen NSSB-defined 
industry sectors. The NSSB has developed a set of criteria for 
assessment, against which assessments developed by the Voluntary 
Partnerships will be evaluated for approval by the Board. The NSSB 
seeks public comment on these criteria to ensure clarity and 
comprehensiveness. Comments must be submitted in writing as described 
in the ``Request for and Resolution of Comments'' in the 
``Supplementary Information'' section below in order to be considered, 
and details on submitting comments via e-mail, fax, or regular mail are 
provided in the ``Addresses'' section of this announcement.

DATES: The National Skill Standards Board will accept written comments 
on the criteria for assessment on or before April 30, 2001.

ADDRESSES: Please send comments via regular mail to: NSSB, Attention: 
Elizabeth Kolmstetter, Sr. Director for Standards, Assessment, and 
Certification, 1441 L Street, N.W., Suite 9000, Washington, DC 20005-
3512. To submit comments via fax, transmit to Elizabeth Kolmstetter, 
Assessment Criteria, at 202-254-8646. To submit comments via the 
Internet, go to http://www.nssb.org. Click on the icon entitled ``View 
and Comment on Assessment Criteria Here.''

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For further information on the 
Voluntary National System of Industry Skill Standards, Assessment, and 
Certification, contact National Skill Standards Board (NSSB): 1441 L 
Street, N.W., Suite 9000, Washington DC 20005, 202-254-8628, http://www.nssb.org.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Table of Contents

I. Background
II. Authorizing Legislation
III. NSSB Criteria for Assessment
IV. Request for and Resolution of Comments

I. Background

    The National Skill Standards Act of 1994 created ``a National Skill 
Standards Board to serve as a catalyst in stimulating the development 
and adoption of a voluntary national system of skill standards and of 
assessment and certification of attainment of skill standards'' (see 
Section II below). The Act defines a skill standard as one that 
specifies the level of knowledge and skills required to successfully 
perform work-related functions within an industry cluster. Industry 
clusters are broad groups of industries defined by the NSSB to 
delineate the scope of employment covered by skill standards. They are 
based on the federal government's official 1997 North American Industry 
Classification System. Industry coalitions called Voluntary 
Partnerships (VPs) are developing the skill standards, assessment and 
certification systems within fifteen industry clusters. The skill 
standards, and therefore assessments and certifications, are being 
developed to reflect the needs of high-performance organizations.

II. Authorizing Legislation

    Public Law 103-227, Title V, National Skill Standards Act of 1994.

III. NSSB Criteria for Assessment

    The National Skill Standards Board (NSSB) will use the following 
specific criteria to evaluate the degree to which skill standards 
systems include an appropriate assessment system plan, and the degree 
to which this plan adheres to statutory requirements and NSSB policy on 
assessment. Criteria are being developed for certification and will be 
available for public comment before the end of the year. Voluntary 
Partnerships must demonstrate adherence to the criteria in order to 
receive NSSB approval and ultimate endorsement of the entire system.

Criteria Related to Methodology

    A1. Assessments are reliable, fair, and valid, accurately measuring 
the skills they are designed to measure, and are consistent with 
federal civil rights laws with respect to race, color, gender, age, 
religion, ethnicity, disability, and national origin. To achieve these 
goals of reliability, validity, and fairness, the assessments are 
developed in a manner consistent with relevant professional and 
technical standards and government guidelines. Professional standards 
include the APA/AERA/NCME Standards for Educational and Psychological 
Tests and the Society for Industrial and Organizational Psychology's 
Principles for the Validation and Use of Employee Selection Procedures. 
Government guidelines are found in 29 Code of Federal Regulations 1607, 
Uniform Guidelines on Employee Selection Procedures.
    A2. Assessments are neutral on their face with respect to the 
groups protected by civil rights law.
    A3. Assessments are manifestly job-related and consistent with 
business necessity, reflecting only the knowledge and skills (including 
language and physical skills) actually required for competent 
performance.
    A4. Assessments are as objective as possible. When subjective 
measures are necessary, techniques (for example, administrator and 
rater training, rating guides or scales, checklists, structured 
assessments, scripts, etc.) are applied to increase the consistency of 
judgments.
    A5. The assessments are practical in terms of time, expense, and 
resource requirements involved in both their development (that is, 
creation and validation of the assessments) and delivery (that is, 
ongoing administration, scoring, and maintenance/updating of the 
assessments).

Criteria Related to Components of the Assessment System

    B1. Assessments capture the full richness of the skill standards. 
This means knowledge and skills are measured in the context of the work 
described by the critical work functions, key activities, and 
performance indicators.
    B2. Assessments incorporate measures of performance that reflect 
the characteristics of best-practice, high-performance workplaces. In 
addition, assessment content and format are designed to maximize the 
acceptability of the assessments to users and to maximize the value of 
the assessments as signals of the types of skills, knowledge, and 
performance required by high-performance workplaces.
    B3. Assessments are modular, allowing individuals to demonstrate 
proficiency in and receive credit for attainment of a portion of a 
skill standard.
    B4. Assessments are not limited to a single assessment tool or 
method and may include multiple measures of the same skill, as long as 
they are consistent with NSSB assessment criteria.
    B5. Innovative methods of assessment (for example, new types of 
simulations or performance measures), as well as innovative methods of 
assessment delivery (for example, computer- or video-based assessment), 
are encouraged, as long as they are

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consistent with the NSSB assessment criteria.

Criteria Related to the Use of Assessment

    C1. Assessments are analyzed for their adverse impact on the groups 
protected by civil rights law and the Voluntary Partnership selects the 
assessments with the least adverse impact without sacrificing validity.
    C2. Assessments are accessible to people who are able to 
demonstrate their competence by virtue of their experience, self-
instruction, or formal programs of instruction.
    C3. Alternative formats, assistance, or other provisions are made 
for assessments in order to reasonably accommodate persons with 
disabilities, consistent with the American with Disabilities Act of 
1990 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended in 1992.
    C4. In order to assure the greatest possible access, pre-assessment 
information is provided to potential candidates and other users 
including information about the actual assessments and the assessment 
process (for example, topics covered, how much it costs, how long it 
takes, where it is available, and any preparation materials available). 
Information about the assessments does not include disclosure of the 
assessments themselves.
    C5. To the extent economically feasible, assessments are available 
in locations which do not necessitate undue travel time or costs for 
individuals.
    C6. All individuals who are assessed are provided feedback on their 
performance. At a minimum, feedback includes whether the candidate 
passed or failed certification and whether the candidate passed or 
failed each assessment module. Mechanisms are established to offer 
feedback and scoring results as quickly as possible. This criterion 
does not require Voluntary Partnerships to divulge information about 
assessments, either through feedback or re-assessment, which is so 
specific as to endanger the security of the assessment.
    C7. Individuals who do not successfully complete an assessment are 
afforded some opportunity to be assessed again.
    C8. Assessment systems are administered in a manner consistent with 
NSSB criteria and as approved by the NSSB. Administration of the 
assessment system includes its development, oversight, quality control, 
and routine operation.

V. Request for and Resolution of Comments

    The National Skill Standards Board (NSSB) requests that comments 
submitted address one or more of the following areas:
    <bullet> The adequacy and completeness of this list of criteria;
    <bullet> The clarity of the criteria;
    <bullet> Examples or descriptions of how the VPs can meet the 
criteria; and,
    <bullet> Examples of how to document compliance with the criteria.
    The NSSB shall review and take into consideration all comments; 
will respond in writing to comments as appropriate; and, will make 
revisions as deemed appropriate. At the end of the comment period the 
NSSB will post a summary of comments on the NSSB Website www.nssb.org. 
A summary of the response to comments and a notice of revision will be 
posted at a later date.

    Signed at Washington DC this 23rd day of February 2001.
Edie West,
Executive Director, National Skill Standards Board.
[FR Doc. 01-4899 Filed 2-27-01; 8:45 am]
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