[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 209 (Monday, October 29, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 54335-54336]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-23551]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2018-ICCD-0113]


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 First Follow-Up (MS2) Tracking and Recruitment Revision and 
Operational Field Test Second Follow-Up (OFT3)

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 an existing information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
November 28, 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-
0113. 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 9089, 
Washington, DC 20202-0023.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection

[[Page 54336]]

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 First Follow-Up (MS2) Tracking and Recruitment 
Revision and Operational Field Test Second Follow-Up (OFT3).
    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: 20,113.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 10,891.
    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 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 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). The MS1 data collection took place from January to August 2018, 
and the OFT First Follow-up (OFT2) data collections from February to 
May 2018. OFT2 was conducted primarily to obtain information on 
recruiting, particularly for students in three focal IDEA-defined 
disability groups: Specific learning disability, autism, and emotional 
disturbance; obtain a tracking sample that can be used to study 
mobility patterns in subsequent years; and test protocols, items, and 
administrative procedures. 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. In 
September 2018, OMB approved NCES's request (OMB# 1850-0911 v.20) to 
revise the study design due to lower than expected response rates 
experienced in the sixth grade data collection and to: (1) Drop the 
originally planned seventh grade round of data collection and conduct 
the Main Study First Follow-up (MS2) data collection in January-July 
2020 (when most sample students will be in the eighth grade), (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 OFT Second Follow-up (OFT3) tracking activities. This 
request is to further modify the study design for MS2 to augment the 
sample with additional schools to achieve about 776 participating 
schools in MS2.

    Dated: October 24, 2018.
Tomakie Washington,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Office of 
the Chief Privacy Officer, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2018-23551 Filed 10-26-18; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P