[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 27 (Tuesday, February 10, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7422-7423]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-02661]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2014-ICCD-0156]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Program for International Student Assessment 2012 (PISA:2012) 
Validation Study 2015 Field Test and Main Study

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

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 revision of an existing 
information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
March 12, 2015.

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-2014-ICCD-
0156 or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the 
regulations.gov site is not available to the public for any reason, ED 
will temporarily accept comments at [email protected]. Please note 
that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the 
comment period will not be accepted; ED will only accept comments 
during the comment period in this mailbox when the regulations.gov site 
is not available. Written requests for information or comments 
submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the 
Director of the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Mailstop L-OM-2-
2E319, Room 2E105, Washington, DC 20202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Kashka Kubzdela, 202-502-7411.

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

[[Page 7423]]

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: Program for International Student Assessment 
2012 (PISA:2012) Validation Study 2015 Field Test and Main Study.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0900.
    Type of Review: A revision of an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 6,260.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 2,086.
    Abstract: PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) is an 
international assessment of 15-year-olds designed to evaluate, at the 
end of compulsory education, how well students are prepared for the 
challenges of further education and the workforce (OMB# 1850-0755). To 
date, in the United States, PISA has been administered only as a cross-
sectional study, and thus it has not been possible to evaluate how well 
it assesses key competencies of 15-year-olds for their later success. 
NCES proposes to conduct a follow-up study with students who 
participated in PISA 2012 to learn how performance on PISA relates to 
subsequent outcomes and skills of young adults. The follow-up study--
referred to in materials to potential respondents as the PISA Young 
Adult Follow-Up Study, and in this request as the PISA Validation 
Study--will provide information about how students' skills and 
experiences at age 15, collected through PISA, relate to subsequent 
literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills, as well as educational 
attainment, education and work experiences, skills used in daily life, 
career intentions, and aspects of well-being. In fall 2015, when these 
students will be around 18 years of age, they will be asked to take the 
web-based version of the OECD's Program for the International 
Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) assessment and background 
questionnaire--the Education and Skills Online (ESO). In fall 2013, 
students in the United States who participated in PISA 2012 and 
supplied contact information were contacted and invited to update their 
contact information in preparation for the follow-up study (OMB 1850-
0900 v.1). This request is to (1) recruit the PISA 2012 sample 
respondents who have been successfully located; (2) administer ESO to a 
field test sample in the summer of 2015; and (3) administer ESO to a 
main study sample in the fall of 2015.

    Dated: February 5, 2015.
Stephanie Valentine,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, 
Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2015-02661 Filed 2-9-15; 8:45 am]
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