[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 96 (Monday, May 19, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 28696-28697]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-11434]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Notice of Opportunity for Public Comment and Recommendations for 
Finalizing the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 
Achievement Levels Descriptions

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

ACTION: Notice of opportunity for public comment and recommendations 
for finalizing the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 
Achievement Levels Descriptions.

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SUMMARY: The National Assessment Governing Board is soliciting public 
comment for guidance in finalizing the Achievement Levels Descriptions 
(ALDs) for the NAEP 2014 Technology and Engineering Literacy (TEL) at 
Grade 8. More information on the Governing Board's work is at 
www.nagb.gov/.

Background

    Under Public Law 107-279, the National Assessment Governing Board 
(NAGB) is authorized to formulate policy guidelines for NAEP. The 
legislation specifies that the Governing Board is to develop 
appropriate student achievement levels for each subject and grade 
tested, as provided in section 303(e). Such levels are determined by 
identifying the knowledge that can be measured and verified objectively 
using widely accepted professional assessment standards; and developing 
achievement levels that are consistent with relevant widely accepted 
professional assessment standards and based on the appropriate level of 
subject matter knowledge for grade levels to be assessed, or the age of 
the students, as the case may be.
    The NAEP TEL assessment was administered for the first time in 2014 
to a nationally representative sample of over 22,000 grade 8 students 
(see http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/tel/. The ALDs illustrate 
what students should know and be able to do at each achievement level--
Basic, Proficient, and Advanced--in Technology and Engineering Literacy 
in order to demonstrate student performance on the NAEP assessment. It 
is anticipated that the finalized achievement levels descriptions will 
be presented for approval at the Governing Board meeting on July 31-
August 2, 2014.
    Public and private parties and organizations are invited to provide 
written comments and recommendations. Voluntary participation by all 
interested parties is urged. This notice sets forth the review 
schedule, identifies the kind of information that the Governing Board 
is required to verify regarding achievement levels, and provides 
information for accessing additional materials that will be useful for 
this review.

Resources for Public Comment

    (1) Policy Definitions: The Governing Board adopted policy 
definitions of student performance that identify in very general terms 
what is meant by Basic, Proficient, and Advanced achievement levels. 
These policy definitions apply for any subject and grade assessed in 
NAEP, and they are used for developing the achievement levels 
descriptions to be used in setting achievement levels and reporting 
NAEP results in a specific subject and grade--such as for the 2014 NAEP 
TEL at grade 8. The policy on achievement levels (which includes the 
general policy definitions) can be found at http://www.nagb.org/content/nagb/assets/documents/policies/developing-student-performance.pdf.
    (2) Draft achievement levels descriptions: The draft achievement 
levels descriptions for the 2014 NAEP TEL at the Basic, Proficient, and 
Advanced levels for grade 8 are as follows:
    Basic: 8th grade students performing at a basic level should 
demonstrate an understanding that humans can develop solutions by 
creating and using technologies. They should be able to identify the 
positive and negative effects that technology can have on the natural 
and designed world. They should be able to use a systematic process to 
solve a simple problem that responsibly addresses a human need or want. 
Students should distinguish components in selected technological 
systems and recognize that technologies require maintenance. They 
should select common information and communications technology tools 
and media for specified purposes, tasks, and audiences. Students should 
be able to find and evaluate sources, organize and display information 
to address simple research tasks, give credit for use of the work of 
others, and use feedback from team members.
    Proficient: 8th grade students performing at the proficient level 
should be able to use a variety of technologies and work with others 
using a systematic design process in which they iteratively plan, 
analyze, generate, and communicate solutions. They should be able to 
explain how technology and society influence each other by comparing 
the benefits and limitations of the technologies' impacts. Students 
should be able to analyze the interaction among components in 
technological systems and consider how the behavior of a single part 
affects the whole. They should be able to diagnose the cause of a 
simple technological problem. Students should be able to select and use 
appropriate, more advanced tools and media for a variety of purposes, 
tasks, and audiences. They should be able to contribute to a team and 
provide constructive feedback. Students should be able to find, 
evaluate, organize, and display information to answer research 
questions, solve problems, and achieve goals, giving credit for use of 
the work of others.
    Advanced: 8th grade students performing at an advanced level should 
be able to use a variety of common and specialized information 
technologies to achieve goals, to produce and communicate solutions to 
complex problems, and to explain potential implications for individuals 
and society. 8th grade students performing at the advanced level should 
be able to explain the complex relationships between technologies and 
society and predict the effects of these relationships on society and 
the natural world. Given criteria and constraints, students should be 
able to plan, design, and use evidence to evaluate and refine multiple 
possible solutions to a need or problem and justify their solutions. 
Students should be able to explain the relationship among components in 
technological systems and anticipate maintenance issues, identify root 
causes, and repair faults. Students should be able to integrate the use 
of multiple tools and media, to evaluate and use information, to 
communicate

[[Page 28697]]

with a range of audiences, and to accomplish complex tasks. They should 
be able to explain the ethical and appropriate uses of multimedia 
sources. Students should be able to contribute to a team by organizing, 
monitoring, and refining team processes.
    (3) TEL Framework: In addition to the policy definitions of Basic, 
Proficient, and Advanced achievement, the achievement levels 
descriptions must represent the framework used for developing the NAEP 
TEL assessment. The NAEP TEL Framework can be found at http://www.nagb.org/publications/frameworks/technology/2014-technology-framework.html.
    (4) Informational Webinar: Project staff and content expert 
panelists will be conducting an informational webinar on May 22 at 7:00 
p.m. EDT. Further information about logging on to the webinar can be 
found at http://www.nagb.org/newsroom/press-releases/2014/announcement-tel-achievement-level.html. Materials from the webinar will be archived 
and made available to interested parties who are unable to participate.
    (5) Focus Issues: While all comments are appreciated, project staff 
and content experts working on finalizing the TEL ALDs are particularly 
interested in addressing the following issues:
     Do the ALDs meet the policy definitions of student 
performance that identify in very general terms what is meant by Basic, 
Proficient, and Advanced achievement levels?
     Are the descriptions of what students should know and be 
able to do appropriate for 8th grade as specified by the TEL Framework?
     Is the progression from Basic to Proficient to Advanced 
appropriate for 8th grade as specified by the TEL Framework?
     Are the descriptions clear to you the reader, i.e., do 
they convey a picture of what students should know and be able to do at 
8th grade?
    Timelines: Comments may be provided via email at 
[email protected] no later than May 30, 2014. Comments may also be 
mailed, to be received no later than May 30, 2014, at the following 
address: NAEP TEL Achievement Levels Descriptions, National Assessment 
Governing Board, 800 North Capitol Street NW., Suite 825, Washington, 
DC 20002.
    All responses will be taken into consideration before finalizing 
the NAEP TEL ALDs at grade 8 for Board adoption. Once adopted, these 
descriptions will be used in setting achievement levels for NAEP TEL at 
grade 8 and for reporting performance on NAEP relative to the 
achievement levels in 2014 and for all subsequent assessments until a 
new framework is developed for the NAEP.
    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: May 13, 2014.

Cornelia Orr,
Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), U.S. 
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. 2014-11434 Filed 5-16-14; 8:45 am]
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