[Federal Register Volume 81, Number 240 (Wednesday, December 14, 2016)]
[Notices]
[Pages 90354-90355]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2016-29925]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2016-ICCD-0139]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS 
2018) Field Test Questionnaires Change Request

AGENCY: Department of Education (ED), National Center for Education 
Statistics (NCES)

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 
proposing a reinstatement of a previously approved information 
collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
January 13, 2017.

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-2016-ICCD-
0139. 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 2E-347, 
Washington, DC 20202-4537.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact NCES Information Collections at 
[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: International Computer and Information 
Literacy Study (ICILS 2018) Field Test Questionnaires Change Request.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0929.
    Type of Review: A reinstatement of a previously approved 
information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 1,983.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 2,046.
    Abstract: The International Computer and Information Literacy Study 
(ICILS) is a computer-based international assessment of eighth-grade 
students'

[[Page 90355]]

computer and information literacy (CIL) skills that will provide a 
comparison of U.S. student performance and technology access and use 
with those of the international peers. ICILS collects data on eighth-
grade students' abilities to collect, manage, evaluate, and share 
digital information; their understanding of issues related to the safe 
and responsible use of electronic information; on student access to, 
use of, and engagement with ICT at school and at home; school 
environments for teaching and learning CIL; and teacher practices and 
experiences with ICT. The data collected through ICILS will also 
provide information about the nature and extent of the possible 
``digital divide'' and has the potential to inform understanding of the 
relationship between technology skills and experience and student 
performance in other core subject areas. ICILS is conducted by the 
International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement 
(IEA), an international collective of research organizations and 
government agencies that create the assessment framework, assessment, 
and background questionnaires. In the U.S., the National Center for 
Education Statistics (NCES) conducts this study. In preparation for the 
ICILS 2018 main study, NCES will conduct a field test from March 
through May 2017 to evaluate new assessment items and background 
questions, to ensure practices that promote low exclusion rates, and to 
ensure that classroom and student sampling procedures proposed for the 
main study are successful. The U.S. ICILS main study will be conducted 
in the spring of 2018. Field recruitment will begin in October 2016 and 
main study recruitment in May of 2017. The request for the 2017 field 
test and the 2018 main study recruitment activities and the 2017 field 
test data collection was approved in August 2016 (OMB# 1850-0929 v.1). 
This request (a) amends the approved record with the versions of the 
ICILS 2018 field test questionnaires that contain the finalized 
international versions of the questionnaires along with the U.S. 
adaptations that have been submitted for approval to the IEA, (b) 
updates respondent burden estimates, and (c) updates the international 
assessment framework for distribution and naming of dimensions. Because 
a few new questionnaire items have been added and burden time slightly 
increased, NCES is announcing in the Federal Register another 30-day 
public comment period to accompany this change request.

    Dated: December 8, 2016.
Kate Mullan,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2016-29925 Filed 12-13-16; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P