[Federal Register Volume 61, Number 57 (Friday, March 22, 1996)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11815-11816]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 96-6830]



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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


National Assessment Governing Board; Public Forum

AGENCY: National Assessment Governing Board, Education.

ACTION: Notice of information collection activity.

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SUMMARY: In compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (44 U.S.C. 3501 
et seq.), this notice announces that the National Assessment Governing 
Board (NAGB) has submitted an Information Collection Request (ICR) to 
the Office of Management and Budget for approval of the collection 
abstracted below. The ICR describes the nature of the information 
collection and its expected cost and burden; it includes the actual 
data collection instrument and explanatory materials.

DATES: Comments must be submitted on or before April 22, 1996.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION OR A COPY CONTACT: Susan Cooper Loomis, NAEP 
ALS Project Director, American College Testing, 2201 N. Dodge Street, 
Iowa City, Iowa 52243. Copies of the complete ICR and accompanying 
appendices may be obtained from the NAEP ALS Project Director at the 
address above.

[[Page 11816]]


SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

    Title: NAEP Consumer Survey Research Study of the Achievement 
Levels for the U.S. History NAEP and the Geography NAEP.
    Abstract: The purpose of this information collection activity is to 
gather information for NAGB regarding the achievement levels set for 
the 1994 NAEP in U.S. History and in Geography. In particular, Congress 
has deemed that the achievement levels must be shown to be reasonable, 
valid, and informative to the public. This survey is designed to 
collect responses from individuals who are likely to have some interest 
in the ALS process (having been invited in 1994 to nominate individuals 
to serve as panelists for the ALS process) and individuals who are 
likely to have some interest in the subjects for which achievement 
levels have been developed.
    A report has been developed in the form of a newspaper (The NAEP 
Reporter) to provide respondents information about the NAEP, and about 
the achievement levels. The ``newspaper'' report was developed as a 
means of providing information in a format that would be interesting to 
the respondent. Unlike actual newspaper articles that have reported on 
the recently-released results of the NAEP, this account does not judge 
the outcomes regarding student performances. That is, this report is 
objective and neither applauds nor decries the performance of students 
on the NAEP.
    A brief questionnaire elicits responses to questions regarding the 
usefulness and informativeness of the achievement levels for reporting 
NAEP results. The survey is printed on a postage-paid, self-mailer 
card.
    No third party notification or public disclosure burden is 
associated with this collection.
    An agency may not conduct or sponsor, and a person is not required 
to respond to a collection of information unless it displays a 
currently valid OMB control number. The Federal Register notice with a 
60-day comment period soliciting comments on this collection of 
information was published on December 20, 1995.
    Burden Statement: The estimated total respondent burden is 924 
hours, and the average burden per respondent is .44 hours. This is a 
one-time survey. Individuals included in the survey will not be 
contacted for follow-up comments. This burden estimate includes .33 
hours to read the stimulus piece (newspaper) and .11 hours to read and 
respond to the questionnaire.
    No small businesses nor other small entities are included in the 
survey.
    Respondents/Affected Entities: Parties affected by this information 
collection are persons included in a broadly representative sample 
including persons identified as nominators of achievement levels-
setting (ALS) panelists for pilot studies and ALS, as well as samples 
of subscribers to The Smithsonian magazine (for U.S. History) and The 
National Geographic for geography.
    Estimated Number of Respondents: 2100 in this collection.
    Estimated Total Annual Burden of Respondents: 924 hours for this 
collection.
    Frequency of Collection: One time only.
    Send comments regarding the burden estimate, or any other aspect of 
the information collection, including suggestions for reducing the 
burden, to the following address. Office of Information and Regulatory 
Affairs, Office of Management and Budget, Attention: Wendy Taylor, Desk 
Officer for NAGB, 725 17th Street, NW., Washington, DC 20503.

    Dated: March 18, 1996.
Roy Truby,
Executive Director.
[FR Doc. 96-6830 Filed 3-21-96; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-M