[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 83 (Wednesday, April 30, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 24409-24410]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-09872]


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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 May 9, 2014. 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 15-17, 2014.

Times

May 15: Committee Meetings

Assessment Development Committee: Closed Session: Noon-4:00 p.m.
Assessment Literacy Work Group: Open Session: 2:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.
Executive Committee: Open Session: 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m.

May 16: Full Board and Committee Meetings

Full Board: Open Session: 8:30 a.m.-10:00 a.m. and 12:45 p.m.-4:45 p.m.
Committee Meetings:
    Reporting and Dissemination Committee (R&D): Open Session: 10:00 
a.m.-12:30 p.m.
    Assessment Development Committee (ADC): Open Session: 10:00 a.m.-
12:30 p.m.
    Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology (COSDAM): Open 
Session: 10:00 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

May 17: Full Board and Committee Meetings

Nominations Committee: Closed Session: 7:30 a.m.-8:15 a.m.
Full Board: Open Session 8:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

    Location: Omni Parker House, 60 School Street, Boston, MA 02108.

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

[[Page 24410]]

(Board) is established under section 302 of the National Assessment of 
Educational Progress Authorization Act.
    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 May 15, 2014, from 12:00 Noon to 4:00 p.m. the Assessment 
Development Committee will meet in closed session to review secure NAEP 
test questions in grades 4 and 8 for the 2015 operational assessments 
in reading and mathematics. The Committee will review and discuss 
secure test items that cannot be discussed in an open meeting to 
protect the confidentiality of the secure assessment materials. 
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.
    On May 15, 2014, the Assessment Development Committee will meet in 
closed session from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. The Committee will review 
secure NAEP interactive computer tasks and items for the 2015 NAEP 
Science assessment at grades 4, 8, and 12. The Committee will review 
and discuss secure test items that cannot be discussed in an open 
meeting to protect the confidentiality of the secure assessment 
materials. 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.
    The Board's Assessment Literacy Work Group will meet in an open 
session on May 15, 2014 from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. to discuss 
strategies and timelines related to their work to promote better 
understanding of educational tests among parents and members of the 
general public.
    The Board's Executive Committee will convene on May 15, 2014 in 
open session from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. to review and discuss the May 
15-17, 2014 Board meeting agenda, receive an update on the NAEP budget, 
assessment schedule, and reauthorization, and discuss Board Committee 
issues and challenges to be addressed by the respective Board 
Committees.
    On May 16, 2014, the full Board will meet in open session from 8:30 
a.m. to 10:00 a.m. The Board will review and approve the May 2014 Board 
meeting agenda and meeting minutes from the February 27-March 1, 2013 
Quarterly Board meeting. This session will be followed by the oath of 
office administration for new and reappointed Board members from the 
previous nomination cycle. Welcome remarks will be provided by senior 
education policy makers representing Massachusetts and Boston schools. 
Following these remarks, the Executive Director of the Governing Board 
will provide a report, followed by updates on the National Center for 
Education Statistics (NCES) and NAEP from the Director of the Institute 
of Education Sciences (IES). Thereafter, the Board will recess for 
Committee meetings from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
    The Reporting and Dissemination Committee, Assessment Development 
Committee, and the Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology 
(COSDAM) will meet in open session from 10:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
    Following the Committee meetings, the Board will convene in open 
session from 12:45 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. During this session, the full 
Board will receive a briefing on the results of the 2012 Programme for 
International Student Assessment (PISA) administered to 15-year-old 
students in 44 countries. From 1:45 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. the Board will be 
provided with an overview on the NAEP Technology and Engineering 
Literacy assessment, NAEP assessments in Puerto Rico, and strategies 
for extending NAEP reports. The May 16, 2014 session of the Board 
meeting is scheduled to adjourn at 4:45 p.m.
    On May 17, 2014, the Nominations Committee will meet in closed 
session from 7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. to discuss finalists for Board 
terms beginning October 1, 2014, as well as potential candidates for 
Board terms beginning October 1, 2015. The Committee's discussions 
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 May 17, 2014, the Board will meet in open session from 8:30 a.m. 
to 12:00 p.m. to discuss Board initiatives and ongoing work to include 
the NAEP Schedule of Assessments and NAEP's future role. The Board is 
scheduled to receive reports from the standing Committees and take 
action on Committee recommendations from 10:15 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. The 
May 17, 2014 meeting is scheduled to adjourn at 12:00 p.m.
    A verbatim transcript of the meeting, 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, 20002, 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 http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at http://get.adobe.com/reader. 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: April 25, 2014.
Mary Crovo,
Deputy Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), 
U.S. Department of Education.
[FR Doc. 2014-09872 Filed 4-29-14; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P