[Federal Register Volume 71, Number 84 (Tuesday, May 2, 2006)]
[Notices]
[Pages 25823-25824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 06-4092]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


National Assessment Governing Board; Meeting

AGENCY: National Assessment Governing Board, Education.

ACTION: Notice of open meeting and partially closed meeting.

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SUMMARY: The notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a 
forthcoming meeting of the National Assessment Governing Board. This 
notice also describes the functions of the Board. Notice of this 
meeting is required under section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act. This document is intended to notify members of the 
general public of their opportunity to attend. Individuals who will 
need special accommodations in order to attend the meeting (i.e., 
interpreting services, assistive listening devices, materials in 
alternative format) should notify Munira Mwalimu at 202-357-6938 or at 
[email protected] no later than May 1, 2006. We will attempt to 
meet requests after this date, but cannot guarantee availability of the 
requested accommodation. The meeting site is accessible to individuals 
with disabilities.

DATES: May 18-20, 2006.

Times

May 18

Committee Meetings
    Ad Hoc Committee on Planning for NAEP 12th Grade Assessments in 
2009: Open Session--12 p.m. to 2 p.m.
    Assessment Development Committee: Open Session--2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
    Reporting and Dissemination Committee: Open Session--2 p.m. to 4:30 
p.m.
    Executive Committee: Open Session--4:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.; Closed 
Session 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m.

May 19

    Full Board: Open Session--8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Committee Meetings
    Assessment Development Committee: Open Session--9:45 a.m. to 12:15 
p.m.
    Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology: Open Session--9:45 
a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
    Reporting and Dissemination Committee: Open Session--9:45 a.m. to 
12:15 p.m.

May 20

    Nominations Committee: Closed Session--7:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m.
    Full Board: Closed Session--9 a.m. to 9:15 a.m.; Open Session--9:15 
a.m. to 12 p.m.
    Location: The Ritz-Carlton Dearborn, 300 Town Center Drive, 
Fairlane Plaza, Dearborn, MI 48126.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION: Munira Mwalimu, Operations Officer, National 
Assessment Governing Board, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., Suite 825, 
Washington, DC, 20002-4233, Telephone: (202) 357-6938.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Assessment Governing Board is 
established under section 412 of the National Education Statistics Act 
of 1994, as amended.
    The Board is established to formulate policy guidelines for the 
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Board's 
responsibilities include selecting subject areas to be assessed, 
developing assessment objectives, developing appropriate student 
achievement levels for each grade and subject tested, developing 
guidelines for reporting and disseminating results, and developing 
standards and procedures for interstate and national comparisons.
    The Ad Hoc Committee on Planning for NAEP 12th Grade Assessments in 
2009 will meet in open session on may 18 from 12 p.m. to 2 p.m. The 
Assessment Development Committee will meet in Open Session on May 18 
from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. and the Reporting and Dissemination Committee 
will meet in open session on May 18 from 2 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. 
Thereafter, the Executive Committee will meet in open session from 4:45 
p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
    The Executive Committee will meet in closed session on May 18, 2006 
from 5:15 p.m. to 6:15 p.m. The Committee will receive independent 
government cost estimates from the Associate Commissioner, National 
Center for Education Statistics (NCES), for current contracts and 
proposed contracts for item development, sample selection, analysis, 
and reporting of NAEP testing for 2007-2012, and their implications on 
future NAEP activities. The discussion of independent government cost 
estimates prior to the development of the Request for Proposals for the 
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2007-2012 contracts 
is necessary for ensuring that NAEP contracts meet congressionally 
mandated goals and adhere to Board policies on NAEP assessments. This 
part of the meeting must be conducted in closed session because public 
disclosure of this information would likely have an adverse financial 
effect on the NAEP program and will provide an advantage to potential 
bidders attending the meeting. Discussion of this information would be 
likely to significantly impede implementation of a proposed agency 
action is conducted in open session. Such matters are protected by 
exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
    On May 19, the full Board will meet in open session from 8:30 a.m. 
to 4:30 p.m. From 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. the Board will approve the 
agenda, receive the Executive Director's report, and hear an update on 
the work of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES).
    From 9:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. on May 19, the Board's standing 
committees--the Assessment Development Committee; the Committee on 
Standards, Design and Methodology;

[[Page 25824]]

and the Reporting and Dissemination Committee--will meet in open 
session.
    On May 19, the full Board will meet in closed session from 12:15 
p.m. to 1:30 p.m. The Board will receive a briefing provided by the 
Associate Commissioner, NCES, on the NAEP 2005 Science results for 
grades 4, 8, and 12. The NAEP 2005 Science data constitute a major 
basis for the national release of the Science Report Card in late May 
2006, and cannot be released in an open meeting prior to the official 
release of the reports. The meeting must therefore be conducted in 
closed session as disclosure of data would significantly impede 
implementation of the NAEP release activities, and is therefore 
protected by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
    On May 19, from 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. the Board will discuss and 
take action on the NAEP 12th Grade Mathematics Objectives. This session 
will be followed by a panel presentation and discussion of the Michigan 
High School initiative, upon which the May 19 session of the Board 
meeting will conclude.
    On May 20, 2006 from 7:45 a.m. to 8:30 a.m. the Nominations 
Committee will meet in closed session to discuss nominations for Board 
vacancies. Following this meeting on May 20 form 9 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. 
the full Board will meet in closed session to review the final list of 
nominations prior to submission to the Secretary of Education. Board 
action on the nominations will follow thereafter in open session. The 
May 20 discussions of the Nominations Committee and of the full Board 
in closed sessions pertain solely to internal personnel rules and 
practices of an agency and will disclose information of a personal 
nature where disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of 
personal privacy. As such, the discussion are protected by exemptions 2 
and 6 of section 552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
    The full Board will convene in open session on May 20 from 9:15 
a.m. to 12 p.m. At 9 a.m., the Board will receive a briefing on how 
sampling works in NAEP. This will be followed by an update on the NAEP 
2011 Writing Framework project from 9:45 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. Board 
actions on policies and Committee reports are scheduled to take place 
between 10:45 a.m. and 12 p.m., upon which the May 20, 2006 session of 
the Board meeting will adjourn.
    Detailed minutes of the meeting, including summaries of the 
activities of the closed sessions and related matters that are 
informative to the public and consistent with the policy of section 5 
U.S.C. 552b(c) will be available to the public within 14 days of the 
meeting. Records are kept of all Board proceedings and are available 
for public inspection at the U.S. Department of Education, National 
Assessment Governing Board, Suite 825, 800 North Capitol Street, NW., 
Washington, DC, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. eastern standard time.

    Dated: April 26, 2006.
Charles E. Smith,
Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board.
[FR Doc. 06-4092 Filed 5-1-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-M