[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 29 (Tuesday, February 12, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9900-9901]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-03143]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


National Assessment Governing Board; Meeting

AGENCY: National Assessment Governing Board, U.S. Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Notice of Open and Closed Meeting Sessions.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda for 
the upcoming meeting of the National Assessment Governing Board (Board) 
and also describes the specific functions of the Board. Notice of this 
meeting is required under Section 10 (a) (2) of the Federal Advisory 
Committee Act. This notice is issued to provide members of the general 
public with an opportunity to attend and/or provide comments. 
Individuals who will need special accommodations in order to attend the 
meeting (e.g. interpreting services, assistive listening devices, 
materials in alternative format) should notify Munira Mwalimu at 202-
357-6938 or at [email protected] no later than February 19, 2013. 
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: February 28-March 2, 2013.
    Times:
    February 28: Committee Meetings:
    Assessment Development Committee: 8:30 a.m.-1:45 p.m.
    Ad Hoc Committee on NAEP Background Information: 2:00 p.m.-4:00 
p.m.
    Executive Committee: Open Session: 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.; Closed 
Session: 5:30 p.m.-6:00 p.m.
    March 1: Full Board and Committee Meetings:
    Full Board: Open Session: 8:30 a.m.-9:45 a.m.; Closed Session: 
12:30 p.m.-1:30 p.m.;
    Open Session: 1:45 p.m.-4:45 p.m.
    Committee Meetings:
    Assessment Development Committee (ADC): Open Session: 10:00 a.m.-
12:15 p.m.;
    Reporting and Dissemination Committee (R&D): Open Session: 10:00 
a.m.-12:15 p.m.
    Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology (COSDAM): Open 
Session: 10:00 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
    March 2: Full Board and Committee Meetings:
    Nominations Committee: Closed Session: 7:30 a.m.-8:15 a.m.
    Full Board: Closed Session: 8:30 a.m.-9:15 a.m.; Open Session: 9:30 
a.m.-12:00 p.m.
    Location: The Ritz-Carlton Tysons Corner, 1700 Tysons Boulevard, 
McLean, VA 22102

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Munira Mwalimu, Executive 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 
(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 the following: Selecting subject areas to be 
assessed, developing assessment frameworks and specifications, 
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 February 28, 2013, the Assessment Development Committee (ADC) 
will meet in closed session from 8:30 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. to review 
secure NAEP test materials for Science Interactive Computer Tasks 
(ICTs) at grades 4, 8, and 12 for the 2014 pilot test, in preparation 
for the 2015 NAEP Science assessment. The review of secure ICTs for 
grades 4, 8, and 12 must be conducted in closed session because the ADC 
members will be provided with secure items and materials which are not 
yet available for release to the general public. Premature disclosure 
of the secure test items and materials would compromise the integrity 
and substantially impede implementation of the secure NAEP assessments 
and is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of 
Title 5 of the United States Code.
    On February 28, 2013, the Ad Hoc Committee on NAEP Background 
Information will meet in open session from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. 
Thereafter, the Executive Committee will convene in open session from 
4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. and in closed session from 5:30 p.m. to 6:00 
p.m. During the closed session, the Executive Committee will receive 
and discuss current procurement plans and independent government cost 
estimates from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) 
staff for proposed item development, data collection, scoring and 
analysis, and reporting of National Assessment of Educational Progress

[[Page 9901]]

(NAEP) results for 2013-2017, and their implications on future NAEP 
activities. The discussion of independent government cost estimates for 
the NAEP 2013-2017 contracts is necessary for ensuring that NAEP 
contracts meet congressionally mandated goals and adhere to Board 
policies on NAEP assessments available at www.nagb.org/policies.html. 
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 by providing contractors attending 
an unfair advantage in procurement and contract negotiations for NAEP. 
Discussion of this information would be likely to significantly impede 
implementation of a proposed agency action if conducted in open 
session. Such matters are protected by exemption 9(B) of section 
552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
    On March 1, 2013, the full Board will meet in open session from 
8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m., followed by a closed session from 12:30 p.m. to 
1:30 p.m., and an open session from 1:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
    From 8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. on March 1, 2013 the Board will review 
and approve the February 28-March 2, 2013 Board meeting agenda and 
meeting minutes from the December 2012 Quarterly Board meeting. 
Thereafter, the Superintendent from Fairfax County Public Schools will 
provide welcome remarks. This session will be followed by a report from 
the Executive Director of the Governing Board, and updates from the 
Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) and 
the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). Following 
these sessions, the Board will recess for Committee meetings.
    On March 1, 2013, the Reporting and Dissemination Committee, the 
Assessment Development Committee and the Committee on Standards, Design 
and Methodology will meet in open sessions from 10:00 a.m. to 12:15 
p.m. Following the Committee meetings, 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 2012 Economics Report. The Board will receive an embargoed 
briefing on preliminary results which will include secure test items, 
embargoed assessment data, and results that cannot be discussed in an 
open meeting prior to their official release. Premature disclosure of 
these results would significantly impede implementation of the NAEP 
assessment program, and is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of 
section 552b(c) of Title 5 United States Code.
    After the closed session briefing, the Board will meet in open 
session from 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. to receive a panel briefing on the 
NCES workshop on the Future of NAEP. From 3:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. the 
Board will discuss two policy issues under consideration by the 
Executive Committee: the NAEP Schedule of Assessments and reviewing and 
updating the Governing Board's Policy on NAEP Redesign. From 4:00 p.m. 
to 4:30 p.m., the Board will receive a demonstration of the new web-
based format of the NAEP Mega-States Report. The March 1, 2013 Board 
meeting is scheduled to adjourn at 4:30 p.m.
    On March 2, 2013, the Nominations Committee will meet in closed 
session from 7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. to discuss potential candidates for 
Board terms beginning October 1, 2013. The Nomination Committee's 
recommendations will be presented for full Board action from 8:30 a.m. 
to 8:50 a.m. The Committee's discussions and Board review and action 
pertain solely to internal personnel rules and practices of an agency 
and 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 of 
the United States Code.
    On March 2, 2013, from 8:50 a.m. to 9:15 a.m. the full Board will 
receive an update in closed session on the NAEP/TIMSS Linking Report. 
During this closed session, Board members will be provided with data 
which are not yet available for release to the general public. 
Premature disclosure of the secure data would compromise the integrity 
and substantially impede implementation of the NAEP/TIMSS Linking Study 
and is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of 
Title 5 of the United States Code.
    Following this closed session, from 9:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., the 
full Board will meet in open session to receive a briefing on the 
Inside NAEP series on how NAEP scores are calculated. From 10:30 a.m. 
to 12:00 p.m. the Board will receive Committee reports and take action 
on Committee recommendations. The March 2, 2013 meeting is scheduled to 
adjourn at 12:00 p.m.
    A verbatim transcript 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 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Eastern 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 1-866-512-1800; or in 
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-0000. 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: 
www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.

    Dated: February 6, 2013.
Cornelia S. Orr,
Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), U.S. 
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. 2013-03143 Filed 2-11-13; 8:45 am]
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