[Federal Register Volume 80, Number 221 (Tuesday, November 17, 2015)]
[Notices]
[Page 71787]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2015-29189]



[[Page 71787]]

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2015-ICCD-0131]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Middle Grades Longitudinal Study of 2017-2018 (MGLS:2017) 
Recruitment for 2017 Operational Field Test

AGENCY: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 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 revision of an existing 
information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
December 17, 2015.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2015-ICCD-
0131. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number 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 
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 specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Kashka Kubzdela at (202) 502-
7411or by email [email protected].

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 2017-2018 
(MGLS:2017) Recruitment for 2017 Operational Field Test
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0911.
    Type of Review: A revision of an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 21,232.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 6,947.
    Abstract: The Middle Grades Longitudinal Study of 2017-2018 
(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 beginning in January 2018, 
with annual follow-ups beginning in January 2019 and in January 2020 
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, beginning in January 2016, to 
participate in the MGLS:2017 Operational Field Test (OFT) which will 
take place from January to June 2017. The primary purpose of the OFT is 
to obtain information on recruiting, particularly for the targeted 
disability groups; obtaining a tracking sample that can be used to 
study mobility patterns in subsequent years; and testing protocols and 
administrative procedures. The OFT will inform the materials and 
procedures for the main study base year and follow-up data collections. 
The base year data collection will begin in January 2018. Because the 
MGLS:2017 Item Validation Field Test (IVFT) recruitment and data 
collection will still be ongoing at the time this request is approved, 
the burden and materials from the MGLS:2017 Recruitment for 2016 IVFT 
request (OMB# 1850-0911 v.3, 5, and 7) and from the MGLS:2017 IVFT Data 
Collection (OMB# 1850-0911 v.4) are being carried over in this 
submission.

     Dated: November 10, 2015.
Stephanie Valentine,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2015-29189 Filed 11-16-15; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P