[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 200 (Wednesday, October 16, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 55301-55302]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-22543]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2019-ICCD-0129]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2021) 
Main Study Recruitment and Field Test

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 revision of an existing information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
November 15, 2019.

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-2019-ICCD-
0129. 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. If the regulations.gov 
site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily 
accept comments at [email protected]. Please include the docket ID 
number and the title of the information collection request when 
requesting documents or submitting comments. 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 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: Progress in International Reading Literacy 
Study (PIRLS 2021) Main Study Recruitment and Field Test
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0645
    Type of Review: A revision of an existing information collection
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 14,778
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 3,692
    Abstract: The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study 
(PIRLS) is an international assessment of fourth-grade students' 
achievement in reading. PIRLS reports on four benchmarks in reading 
achievement at grade 4 and on a variety of issues related to the 
education context for the students in the sample, including 
instructional practices, school resources, curriculum implementation, 
and learning supports outside of school. Since its inception in 2001, 
PIRLS has continued to assess students every 5 years (2001, 2006, 2011, 
and 2016), with the next PIRLS assessment, PIRLS 2021, being the fifth 
iteration of the study. Participation in this study by the United 
States at regular intervals provides data on student achievement and on 
current and past education policies and a comparison of U.S. education 
policies and student performance with those of the U.S. international 
counterparts. In PIRLS 2016, 58 education systems participated. The 
United States will participate in PIRLS 2021 to continue to monitor the 
progress of its students compared to that of other nations and to 
provide data on factors that may influence student achievement. PIRLS 
is coordinated 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, the assessment instrument, and background questionnaires. 
The IEA decides and agrees upon a common set of standards and 
procedures for collecting and reporting PIRLS data, and defines the 
studies' timeline, all of which must be followed by all participating 
countries. As a result, PIRLS is able to provide a reliable and 
comparable measure of student skills in participating countries. In the 
U.S., the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) conducts this 
study. In preparation for the PIRLS 2021 main study, all countries are 
asked to implement a field test in 2020. The purpose of the PIRLS field 
test is 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. Data collection for the field test in the U.S. will 
occur from March through April 2020 and for the main study from March 
through June 2021. The submission describing the overarching plan for 
all

[[Page 55302]]

phases of the data collection, including the 2021 main study, and 
requesting approval for all activities, materials, and response burden 
related to the field test recruitment was approved in April 2019 with a 
change request in September 2019 (OMB# 1850-0645 v.11-12). This request 
is to conduct all aspects of the field test and recruitment for the 
main study and, due to overlap in timing, carries over the approved 
respondent burden, procedures, and materials related to the PIRLS 2021 
Field Test recruitment.

    Dated: October 10, 2019
Kathy Axt,
PRA Coordinator, Information Collection Clearance Program, Information 
Management Branch, Office of the Chief Information Officer.
[FR Doc. 2019-22543 Filed 10-15-19; 8:45 am]
 BILLING CODE 4000-01-P