[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 38 (Thursday, February 26, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 10463]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-04038]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No. ED-2015-ICCD-0018]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Middle 
Grades Longitudinal Study of 2016-2017 (MGLS:2017) Recruitment for Item 
Validation and Operational Field Tests

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 reinstatement of a 
previously approved information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
April 27, 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-2015-ICCD-
0018 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 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: Middle Grades Longitudinal Study of 2016-2017 
(MGLS:2017) Recruitment for Item Validation and Operational Field 
Tests.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0911.
    Type of Review: A reinstatement of a previously approved 
information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 8,128.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 1,794.
    Abstract: The Middle Grades Longitudinal Study of 2016-2017 
(MGLS:2017) is the first study sponsored by the National Center for 
Education Statistics (NCES), within the Institute of Education Sciences 
(IES) of the U.S. Department of Education (ED), to follow a nationally-
representative sample of students as they enter and move through the 
middle grades (grades 6-8). The data collected through repeated 
measures of key constructs will provide a rich descriptive picture of 
the academic experiences and development of students during these 
critical years and will allow researchers to examine associations 
between contextual factors and student outcomes. The study will focus 
on student achievement in mathematics and literacy along with measures 
of student socioemotional wellbeing and other outcomes. The study will 
also include a special sample of students with different types of 
disabilities that will provide descriptive information on their 
outcomes, educational experiences, and special education services. 
Baseline data for the MGLS: 2017 will be collected from a nationally-
representative sample of 6th grade students in winter of 2017 with 
annual follow-ups in winter 2018 and winter 2019 when most of the 
students in the sample will be in grades 7 and 8, respectively. This 
request is to contact and recruit public school districts and public 
and private schools to participate in the winter 2016 concurrent item 
validation and operational field tests for the MGLS:2017. The primary 
purpose of the Item Validation Field Test is to determine the 
psychometric properties of items and the predictive potential of 
assessment and survey items so that valid, reliable, and useful 
assessment and survey instruments can be composed for the main study. 
The primary purposes of the Operational Field Test are to obtain 
information on recruiting, particularly for the targeted disability 
groups; on obtaining a tracking sample that can be used to study 
mobility patterns in subsequent years; and on administrative 
procedures.

    Dated: February 23, 2015.
Stephanie Valentine,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, 
Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2015-04038 Filed 2-25-15; 8:45 am]
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