[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 155 (Friday, August 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39736-39737]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-17224]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2018-ICCD-0082]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Middle Grades Longitudinal Study of 2017-18 (MGLS:2017) Main 
Study Design Revision, Operational Field Test First Follow-Up (OFT2) 
and Second Follow-Up (OFT3), and Main Study Base Year (MS1) and 
Tracking for First Follow-Up (MS2)

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, ED is 
proposing a revision of a currently approved information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
September 10, 2018.

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-2018-ICCD-
0082. 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, 550 12th Street SW, PCP, Room 9086, 
Washington, DC 20202-0023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Kashka Kubzdela, 202-245-7377 or 
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 2017-18 
(MGLS: 2017) Main Study Design Revision, Operational Field Test First 
Follow-up (OFT2) and Second Follow-up (OFT3), and Main Study Base Year 
(MS1) and Tracking for First Follow-up (MS2).
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0911.
    Type of Review: A Revision of an existing information Collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 121,554.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 61,501.
    Abstract: The Middle Grades Longitudinal Study of 2017-18 
(MGLS:2017) is the first study conducted by the National Center for 
Education Statistics (NCES) to follow a nationally representative 
sample of sixth grade 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

[[Page 39737]]

and will allow researchers to examine associations between contextual 
factors and student outcomes. The study focuses on student achievement 
in mathematics and literacy along with measures of student 
socioemotional wellbeing and other outcomes. The study includes 
students with disabilities for whom descriptive information on their 
outcomes, educational experiences, and special education services are 
being collected. In preparation for the Main Study (MS), the data 
collection instruments and procedures were field tested. An Item 
Validation Field Test (IVFT) was conducted from January through May 
2016 to determine the psychometric properties of assessment and survey 
items and the predictive potential of items so that valid, reliable, 
and useful assessment and survey instruments could be developed for the 
Main Study. The MGLS:2017 Operational Field Test (OFT) Base Year (OFT1) 
data collection was conducted from January through May 2017 to test the 
near-final instruments and recruitment and data collection procedures 
and materials in preparation for the MGLS:2017 Main Study Base Year 
(MS1). Tracking of students and associated recruitment of schools for 
the OFT First Follow-up (OFT2) data collection began in August 2017. 
The primary purpose of the OFT2 was to: (a) Obtain information on 
recruiting, particularly for students in three focal IDEA-defined 
disability groups: Specific learning disability, autism, and emotional 
disturbance; (b) obtain a tracking sample that can be used to study 
mobility patterns in subsequent years; and (c) test protocols, items, 
and administrative procedures. The MS1 district and school recruitment 
began in February 2017. The MS1 and OFT2 data collections took place 
from January to July 2018. OMB approved the MGLS:2017 MS1 and OFT1 data 
collection, and MS2 tracking and recruitment in October 2017, with the 
latest change request approved in April 2018 (OMB #1850-0911 v.16-19). 
Originally, NCES planned for MGLS:2017 to conduct annual main study 
follow-up data collections first beginning in January 2019 and next 
beginning in January 2020, when most of the students in the sample will 
be in grades 7 and 8, respectively. However, due to lower than expected 
response rates experienced in the sixth grade data collection, this 
request is to: (1) Schedule the MS2 data collection for January-July 
2020 (when most sample students will be in the eighth grade) instead of 
January-July 2019 (thus dropping the originally planned seventh grade 
round of data collection), (2) notify participating districts and 
schools of this change in data collection schedule, (3) discontinue the 
procedures designed to oversample students in specific IDEA-defined 
disability groups, and (4) conduct MS2 and OFT3 tracking activities.

    Dated: August 7, 2018.
Kate Mullan,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2018-17224 Filed 8-9-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P