[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 188 (Friday, September 27, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Page 59660]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-23535]



[[Page 59660]]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2013-ICCD-0126]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Alternative Student Outcomes for Growth Measures Case Studies

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences/National Center for Education 
Statistics (IES), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing a new information 
collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
November 26, 2013.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted in response to this notice should be 
submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ED-2013-ICCD-
0126 or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. Please 
note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after 
the comment period will not be accepted. Written requests for 
information or comments submitted by postal mail or delivery should be 
addressed to the Acting Director of the Information Collection 
Clearance Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue 
SW., LBJ, Room 2E105, Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For questions related to collection 
activities or burden, please call Kathy Axt, 540-776-7742 or 
electronically mail [email protected]. Please do not send comments 
here.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department of Education (ED), in 
accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 
3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with 
an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing 
collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact 
of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's 
reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's 
information collection requirements and provide the requested data in 
the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed 
information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The 
Department of Education is especially interested in public comment 
addressing the following issues: (1) is this collection necessary to 
the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be 
processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden 
accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, 
and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the 
Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, 
including through the use of information technology. Please note that 
written comments received in response to this notice will be considered 
public records.
    Title of Collection: Alternative Student Outcomes for Growth 
Measures Case Studies.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-NEW.
    Type of Review: A new information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 182.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 364.
    Abstract: This submission is a request for approval of data 
collection activities that will be used to support the Mid-Atlantic 
Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Alternative Student Outcomes for 
Growth Measures Case Studies. The study is being funded by the 
Institute of Education Sciences (IES) U.S. Department of Education and 
is being implemented by ICF International and its subcontractor, 
Mathematica Policy Research. This submission requests approval to 
recruit districts for the study and conduct in person and telephone 
interviews with staff in participating districts.
    This study aims to fill the gap in information available to 
districts and policymakers on measures of student growth that do not 
use state standardized tests via qualitative case studies of up to nine 
districts that are using alternative measures of student achievement 
growth in teacher performance ratings. The studies will address what 
alternative measures of student achievement growth in teacher 
performance ratings. The case studies will address what alternative 
outcome measures are used, how the alternative growth measures are 
implemented, challenges and obstacles in implementation, how the 
measures are being used. Where possible, the Department will examine 
the extent of differentiation produced by the measures--specifically, 
the distribution of teacher performance on the measures, as compared 
with the distribution of teacher performance on conventional value 
added measures that are based on state assessments. The Department will 
conduct semi-structured interviews with district administrators leading 
teacher evaluation or effectiveness efforts, teacher representatives 
(such as union leaders), teachers (including both classroom teachers 
and instructional coaches), and principals. The data collected will be 
summarized and analyzed using a case study approach.

    Dated: September 23, 2013.
Stephanie Valentine,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, 
Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2013-23535 Filed 9-26-13; 8:45 am]
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