[Federal Register Volume 73, Number 211 (Thursday, October 30, 2008)]
[Notices]
[Pages 64606-64608]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E8-25912]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


National Assessment Governing Board; Meeting

AGENCY: Department of Education, National Assessment Governing Board.

ACTION: Notice of open meeting and partially closed meetings.

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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 November 10, 2008. 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: November 20-22, 2008.

Times

November 20

Committee Meetings:
    Ad Hoc Committee on NAEP Testing and Reporting on Students with 
Disabilities and English Language Learners: Open Session--2 p.m. to 4 
p.m.
    Executive Committee: Open Session--4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Closed

[[Page 64607]]

Session--5 p.m. to 6 p.m.

November 21

Full Board: Open Session--8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.; Closed Session--12:30 
p.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Open Session--1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Committee Meetings:
Assessment Development Committee: Open Session--9:45 a.m. to 11:45 
a.m.; Closed Session--11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology: Open Session--9:45 a.m. 
to 11:30 a.m.; Closed Session 11:30 a.m.--12:15 p.m.
Reporting and Dissemination Committee: Open Session--9:45 a.m. to 12:15 
p.m.

November 22

Nominations Committee: Closed Session--7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.
Full Board: Open Session--9 a.m. to 12 p.m.

    Location: The Westin Arlington Gateway, 801 North Glebe Road, 
Arlington, VA 20024.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 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 specifications and frameworks, developing 
appropriate student achievement levels for each grade and subject 
tested, developing standards and procedures for interstate and national 
comparisons, developing guidelines for reporting and disseminating 
results, and releasing initial NAEP results to the public.
    On November 20, the Ad Hoc Committee on NAEP Testing and Reporting 
on Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners will meet 
in open session from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thereafter, the Executive 
Committee will meet in open session from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and in 
closed session from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
    During the closed session the Executive Committee will receive a 
briefing from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on 
options for NAEP contracts covering the 2008-2012 assessment years, 
based on funding for Fiscal Year 2009-2010. The discussion of contract 
options and costs will address the implications for congressionally 
mandated goals and adherence to Board policies on NAEP assessments. 
This part of the meeting must be conducted in closed session because 
public discussion of this information would disclose independent 
government cost estimates and contracting options, adversely impacting 
the confidentiality of the contracting process. Public disclosure of 
information discussed would significantly impede implementation of the 
NAEP contracts, and is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section 
552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
    The second portion of the closed session of the Executive Committee 
is for discussion of personnel matters. These discussions 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 
discussions are protected by exemptions 2 and 6 of section 552b(c) of 
Title 5 U.S.C.
    On November 21, the full Board will meet in open session from 8:30 
a.m. to 9 a.m. The Board will approve the agenda and the August 2008 
Board minutes. The Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings will 
address the Governing Board and administer the oath of office to new 
and reappointed members. Thereafter, the Governing Board will receive a 
report from the Interim Executive Director of the Governing Board, and 
hear an update on the work of the National Center for Education 
Statistics (NCES).
    On November 21, the Board's standing committees--the Assessment 
Development Committee, the Committee on Standards, Design and 
Methodology, and the Reporting and Dissemination Committee will meet 
from 9:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
    The Assessment Development Committee will meet in open session on 
November 21, 2008 from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. From 11:45 a.m. to 12:15 
p.m. the Assessment Development Committee will meet in closed session 
to review secure accessible booklet items at grades 4 and 8 for the 
NAEP 2009 reading and mathematics assessments. The meeting must be 
conducted in closed session as disclosure of test items would 
significantly impede implementation of the NAEP program, and is 
therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of Title 5 
U.S.C.
    On Friday, November 22, the Committee on Standards, Design and 
Methodology will meet in open session from 9:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and 
in closed session from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. During the closed 
session, the Committee will review results from the final trend 
analysis for the 2008 NAEP reading field trial data at grades 4 and 8. 
The results are sensitive and confidential and will be utilized to make 
a decision on development of work statements for the 2009 achievement 
level setting contracts in reading and mathematics. The meeting must 
therefore be conducted in closed session in order to allow the 
Committee to receive and discuss confidential acquisition planning and 
not provide an undue advantage to potential bidders which would 
significantly impede implementation of the NAEP program, and is 
therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of Title 5 
U.S.C.
    The Reporting and Dissemination Committee will meet in open session 
on November 21 from 9:45 a.m.--12:15 p.m.
    On November 21 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. the full Board will 
meet in closed session to receive a briefing on the NAEP Achievement 
Gaps Report from the Associate Commissioner of NCES. The Governing 
Board will be provided with embargoed data on the report that cannot be 
discussed in an open meeting prior to their official release. The 
meeting must therefore be conducted in closed session as premature 
disclosure of data would significantly impede implementation of the 
NAEP program, and is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section 
552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
    From 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., the Board will receive the final 
report from the Chair of the Board's 12th Grade Technical Panel on 
Preparedness Research. From 2:45 p.m. to 4 p.m., the Board will hear a 
presentation on Common Core Standards and International Benchmarking. 
This session will be followed by an ethics briefing for members of the 
Governing Board. The November 21 session of the Board meeting is 
scheduled to adjourn at 4:30 p.m.
    On November 22, the Nominations Committee will meet in closed 
session from 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. to review candidate applications 
for vacant Board positions for terms beginning in October 2009. These 
discussions 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 discussions are

[[Page 64608]]

protected by exemptions 2 and 6 of section 552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
    The full Board will meet in open session on November 22 from 9 a.m. 
to 10 a.m. to hear a presentation on ``Inside NAEP: Plausible Values 
Methodology.'' From 10:15 a.m. to 12 p.m., the Board will receive and 
take action on Committee reports. The November 22, 2008 session of the 
Board meeting is scheduled to adjourn at 12 p.m.
    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, Monday through Friday.
    Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as 
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the 
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister/index.html. To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 
available free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, 
call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free at 1-888-293-
6498; or in the Washington, DC area at (202) 512-1530.

    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.


    Dated: October 27, 2008.
Mary Crovo,
Interim Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board, U.S. 
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. E8-25912 Filed 10-29-08; 8:45 am]
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