[Federal Register Volume 82, Number 91 (Friday, May 12, 2017)]
[Notices]
[Pages 22129-22131]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2017-09609]


=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


National Assessment Governing Board Quarterly Board Meeting

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

ACTION: Announcement of open and closed meetings.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the agenda for the May 18-20, 2017 
Quarterly Board Meeting of the National Assessment Governing Board 
(hereafter referred to as Governing Board). This notice provides 
information to members of the public who may be interested in attending 
the meeting or providing written comments on the meeting. Due to 
unavoidable delays during the Administration transition, this notice is 
being posted less than 15 days prior to the Board meeting date.

DATES: The Quarterly Board Meeting will be held on the following dates:
     May 18, 2017 from 12:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.
     May 19, 2017 from 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m.
     May 20, 2017 from 7:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.

ADDRESSES: The Commons Hotel, 615 Washington Avenue SE., Minneapolis, 
MN 55414

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Munira Mwalimu, Executive Officer/
Designated Federal Official of the Governing Board, 800 North Capitol 
Street NW., Suite 825, Washington, DC 20002, telephone: (202) 357-6938, 
fax: (202) 357-6945.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Statutory Authority and Function: The Governing Board is 
established under the National Assessment of Educational Progress 
Authorization Act, Title III of Pub. L. 107-279. Information on the 
Governing Board (hereafter Governing Board) and its work can be found 
at www.nagb.gov.
    The Governing Board is established to formulate policy for the 
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Governing 
Board's responsibilities include the following: Selecting subject areas 
to be assessed, developing assessment frameworks and specifications, 
developing appropriate student achievement levels for each grade and 
subject tested, developing standards and procedures for interstate and 
national comparisons, improving the form and use of NAEP, developing 
guidelines for reporting and disseminating results, and releasing 
initial NAEP results to the public.

[[Page 22130]]

May 18-20, 2017 Committee Meetings

    The Governing Board's standing committees will meet to conduct 
regularly scheduled work based on agenda items planned for this 
Quarterly Board Meeting and follow-up items as reported in the 
Governing Board's committee meeting minutes available at http://nagb.gov/what-we-do/board-committee-reports-and-agendas.html.

Detailed Meeting Agenda: May 18-20, 2017

May 18: Committee Meetings

    Assessment Development Committee (ADC): Closed Session: 12:30 p.m. 
to 3:30 p.m.;
    Executive Committee: Open Session: 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.; Closed 
Session: 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.

May 19: Full Governing Board and Committee Meetings

    Full Governing Board: Open Session: 8:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m.; Closed 
Session: 1:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m.; Open Session 2:30 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.
    Committee Meetings:
    Assessment Development Committee (ADC): Open Session: 10:30 a.m. to 
11:45 a.m.; Closed Session: 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
    Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology (COSDAM): Open 
Session: 10:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
    Reporting and Dissemination (R&D): Open Session 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 
p.m.; Closed Session 12:05 p.m. to 12:45 p.m.

May 20: Full Governing Board and Committee Meetings

    Nominations Committee: Closed Session: 7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
    Full Governing Board: Open Session: 8:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m.
    On Thursday, May 18, 2017, ADC will meet in closed session from 
12:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. to review secure cognitive items and digital-
based tasks for the grade 12 NAEP Mathematics assessment, the grade 12 
NAEP Reading assessment, and the NAEP Science at grades 4, 8, and 12. 
The ADC will also review items and secure data for survey questionnaire 
items to be administered with NAEP assessments for Science, U.S. 
History, Civics, and Geography. This meeting must be conducted in 
closed session because the test items and data are secure and have not 
been released to the public. Public disclosure of the secure test items 
would significantly impede implementation of the NAEP assessment 
program if conducted in open session. Such matters are protected by 
exemption 9(B) of Sec.  552b(c) of Title 5 of the United States Code.
    On Thursday, May 18, 2017, the Executive Committee will convene in 
open session from 4:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., and in closed session from 
4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. During the closed session, the Executive 
Committee will receive and discuss information related to the federal 
budget process, independent cost estimates and implications for 
implementing NAEP's Assessment Schedule through 2024, and the Governing 
Board's planned procurements to implement its Strategic Vision. This 
meeting must be conducted in closed session because public disclosure 
of this information would likely have an adverse financial effect on 
the NAEP program by providing confidential cost details and proprietary 
contract costs of current contractors to the public. Discussion of this 
information would be likely to significantly impede implementation of a 
proposed agency action if conducted in open session. Such matters are 
protected by exemption 9(B) of section 552b of Title 5 U.S.C.
    On Friday, May 19, 2017, the Governing Board will meet in open 
session from 8:30 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. The Governing Board will review 
and approve the May 18-20, 2017 Board meeting agenda and meeting 
minutes from the March 2017 Quarterly Board Meeting. Thereafter, a 
panel of Minneapolis District Leaders will lead a session on Social 
Emotional Learning and the Relationship to Traditional Academic 
Variables. The Governing Board will recess for standing committee 
meetings which will take place from 10:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
    On May 19, 2017, COSDAM will meet in open session from 10:30 a.m. 
to 12:45 p.m. ADC will meet in open session from 10:30 a.m. to 11:45 
a.m. and thereafter, in closed session from 11:45 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. 
During the closed session, the committee will continue reviewing items 
from the Thursday, May 19 session, which includes secure items, tasks, 
and data addressing NAEP assessments in Mathematics, Reading, Science, 
U.S. History, Civics, and Geography. This meeting must be conducted in 
closed session because the test items and data are secure and have not 
been released to the public. Public disclosure of the secure test items 
would significantly impede implementation of the NAEP assessment 
program if conducted in open session. Such matters are protected by 
exemption 9(B) of Sec.  552b(c) of Title 5 of the United States Code.
    On May 19, 2017, R&D will meet in open session from 10:30 a.m. to 
12:00 p.m. and thereafter in closed session from 12:05 p.m. to 12:45 
p.m. During the closed session, the Committee will review data 
collected from core contextual variables included on NAEP. This session 
will feature unreleased results from pilot studies that are used to 
decide which variables to include in future administrations of NAEP. 
This meeting must be conducted in closed session because the pilot 
study results are secure and have not been released to the public. 
Public disclosure of the secure test items would significantly impede 
implementation of the NAEP assessment program if conducted in open 
session. Such matters are protected by exemption 9(B) of Sec.  552b(c) 
of Title 5 of the United States Code. Following the closed session, R&D 
will meet in open session from 11:00 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.
    On May 19, 2017, the Governing Board will meet in closed session 
from 1:00 p.m. to 2:15 p.m. to receive a briefing on the embargoed 
Mapping State Proficiency Standards onto the 2015 NAEP Reading and 
Mathematics Scales Report. This meeting is being conducted in closed 
session because the report has not been released to the public. Public 
disclosure of the secure data would significantly impede implementation 
of the NAEP assessment program if conducted in open session. Such 
matters are protected by exemption 9(B) of Sec.  552b of Title 5 of the 
United States Code.
    Thereafter, the Governing Board will take a fifteen-minute break 
and reconvene in open session from 2:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. The Executive 
Director of the Governing Board, William Bushaw, will provide his 
report, followed by an update on National Center for Education 
Statistics (NCES) work by Peggy Carr, Acting Commissioner of NCES. From 
3:00 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. the Governing Board will meet in breakout 
sessions to discuss the Strategic Vision Goal # 9 on Policy Approaches 
to Revise NAEP Assessment Subjects and the NAEP Schedule.
    The May 19, 2017 meeting will adjourn at 4:45 p.m.
    On May 20, 2017, the Nominations Committee will meet in closed 
session from 7:30 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. The committee will discuss the 2017 
and 2018 nominations. The Nominations Committee's discussions pertain 
solely to internal personnel rules and practices of an agency and 
information of a personal nature where disclosure would constitute a 
clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. As such, the 
discussions are protected by exemptions 2 and 6 of Sec.  552b(c) of 
Title 5 of the United States Code.
    The Governing Board will meet in open session on May 20, 2017 from 
8:30

[[Page 22131]]

a.m. to 10:15 a.m. to receive summaries of the prior day's discussion 
on Strategic Vision Goal # 9 followed by a discussion on Strategic 
Vision Goal #10 on New Approaches to Measuring Complex Skills Required 
for Postsecondary Education and Career.
    The Governing Board will then take a fifteen minute break and 
reconvene in open session from 10:30 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. to receive an 
update on committee reports. From 11:00 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. the 
Governing Board will discuss Strategic Vision #7, Long-Term Options; 
this session will be led by Board member Joe Wilhoft, COSDAM Vice- 
Chair.
    The May 20, 2017 meeting is scheduled to adjourn at 11:45 a.m.
    Access to Records of the Meeting: Pursuant to FACA requirements, 
the public may also inspect the meeting materials at www.nagb.gov 
beginning on Monday, May 1, 2017 by 10:00 a.m. ET. The official 
verbatim transcripts of the public meeting sessions will be available 
for public inspection no later than 30 calendar days following the 
meeting.
    Reasonable Accommodations: The meeting site is accessible to 
individuals with disabilities. If you will need an auxiliary aid or 
service to participate in the meeting (e.g., interpreting service, 
assistive listening device, or materials in an alternate format), 
notify the contact person listed in this notice. Although we will 
attempt to meet a request, we may not be able to make available the 
requested auxiliary aid or service because of insufficient time to 
arrange it.
    Electronic Access to This Document: 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 via the Federal Digital System 
at: www.gpo.gov/fdsys. At this site you can 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). To use PDF, 
you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the 
Adobe Web site. You may also access documents of the Department 
published in the Federal Register by using the article search feature 
at: www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search 
feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published 
by the Department.

    Authority:  Pub. L. 107-279, Title III--National Assessment of 
Educational Progress Sec.  301.

    Dated: May 8, 2017.
William J. Bushaw,
Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), U.S. 
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. 2017-09609 Filed 5-11-17; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P