[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 26 (Friday, February 7, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 7297-7298]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-02486]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

National Assessment Governing Board


National Assessment Governing Board; Notice of a Meeting

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

ACTION: Announcement of open and closed meetings.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the agenda for the March 5-7, 2020 
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 related to the work of the 
Governing Board. Notice of this meeting is required under the Federal 
Advisory Committee Act (FACA).

DATES: The Quarterly Board Meeting will be held on the following dates:
     March 5, 2020 from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
     March 6, 2020 from 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.
     March 7, 2020 from 7:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.

ADDRESSES: Doubletree by Hilton El Paso Downtown, 600 N El Paso Street, 
Texas 79901.

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

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Statutory Authority and Function: The Governing Board is 
established under the National Assessment of Educational Progress 
Authorization Act, Title III of Public Law 107-279. Information on the 
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) administered by the 
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). 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.
    Written comments related to the work of the Governing Board may be 
submitted electronically or in hard copy to the attention of the 
Executive Officer/Designated Federal Official (see contact information 
noted above).

March 5-7, 2020 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 https://www.nagb.gov/governing-board/quarterly-board-meetings.html.

Detailed Meeting Agenda: March 5-7, 2020

March 5: Committee Meetings

    Executive Committee: Open Session: 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m.; Closed 
Session 4:45 p.m. to 6 p.m.

March 6: Full Governing Board and Committee Meetings

    Full Governing Board: Open Session: 8 a.m. to 5:15 p.m.
    Committee Meetings: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
    Assessment Development Committee (ADC): Open Session: 10:30 a.m. to 
12:30 p.m.
    Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology (COSDAM): Open 
Session: 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
    Reporting and Dissemination Committee (R&D): Open Session: 10:30 
a.m. to 12:30 p.m.

March 7: Full Governing Board and Committee Meetings

    Nominations Committee: Closed Session: 7:15 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
    Full Governing Board: Closed Session: 8:30 a.m. to 10 a.m.; Open 
Session: 10:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m.
    On Thursday, March 5, 2020, the Executive Committee will convene in 
open session from 4 p.m. to 4:45 p.m. and thereafter in closed session 
from 4:45 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. During the closed session, the Executive 
Committee will discuss the NAEP Budget vis-[agrave]-vis the NAEP 
Assessment Schedule. The discussions will include independent 
government cost estimates for assessing NAEP subjects on the recently- 
approved NAEP Assessment Schedule. This meeting must be conducted in 
closed session, because independent government cost estimates for NAEP 
that impact current and future NAEP contracts must be kept 
confidential. Public disclosure of secure data would significantly 
impede implementation of the NAEP assessment program if conducted in 
open session. Such

[[Page 7298]]

matters are protected by exemption 9(B) of Sec.  552b(c) of Title 5 of 
the United States Code.
    On Friday, March 6, 2020, the Governing Board will meet in open 
session from 8:30 a.m. to 8:35 a.m. to review and approve the March 6-
7, 2020 Quarterly Board Meeting agenda and minutes from the November 
2019 Quarterly Board meeting. Newly appointed Board members will 
introduce themselves. The Board then will be welcomed by Governing 
Board member from El Paso, Dana Boyd, along with Dee Margo, Mayor of 
the City of El Paso, and Superintendent Xavier De La Torre, of Ysleta 
Independent School District, all of whom will provide remarks. This 
session will take place from 8:15 a.m. to 8:40 a.m.
    From 8:40 a.m. to 9:45 a.m. the Board will be engaged in a panel 
discussion moderated by Dana Boyd on growing up in a border town from 
pre-school through higher education.
    The Governing Board Executive Director Lesley Muldoon will provide 
an update on the Governing Board's work from 9:45 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. 
followed by a preview of committee meetings from the committee chairs 
from 10:15 a.m. to 10:20 a.m.
    At 10:20 a.m., the Governing Board will recess for a 10-minute 
break and meet thereafter in standing committee meetings, convened in 
open session, from 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
    Following the committee meetings, on Friday, March 6, 2020, the 
Governing Board will convene in open session from 12:45 p.m. to 5:15 
p.m. The Governing Board will receive a briefing and discuss the 
achievement levels work plan, led by Chair of Achievement Levels 
Working Group, Gregory Cizek from 12:45 p.m. to 1:20 p.m. This session 
will be followed by discussion on the Intended Meaning of NAEP led by 
COSDAM Chair, Andrew Ho from 1:20 p.m. to 1:50 p.m.
    From 1:50 p.m. to 2:50 p.m. Lesley Muldoon and Lisa Stooksberry, 
Governing Board Deputy Executive Director, will lead a session on the 
Governing Board's Strategic Vision 2025. The Board will recess for a 
10-minute break and reconvene from 3:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. in small 
groups to discuss the Strategic Vision. The Governing Board will 
reconvene in plenary session from 4:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. to report on 
the small group discussions. The March 6, 2020 session of the Governing 
Board meeting will adjourn at 5:15 p.m.
    On Saturday, March 7, 2020, the Nominations Committee will meet in 
closed session from 7:15 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. to review and discuss 
recommendations for a final slate of candidates from applications 
received for the 2020 nominations cycle for open positions on the 
Governing Board. Thereafter, the Governing Board will meet in closed 
session from 8:30 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. to receive a briefing from the 
Nominations Committee on its recommendations for candidates to fill 
board vacancies. The Board will review the recommendations in closed 
session on on the final slate of candidates for submission to the 
Secretary of Education for appointments that begin October 1, 2020.
    For both the Nominations Committee and full Board closed sessions, 
the 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.
    From 8:45 a.m. to 10 a.m., the Governing Board will meet in closed 
session to receive a briefing from NCES on the 2018 NAEP Civics, U.S. 
History and Geography results. This meeting must be conducted in closed 
session, because the assessment results are secure and will not have 
been released to the public at that point. Public disclosure of 
assessment results 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.
    The Board will meet in open session from 10 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. to 
receive committee reports. Governing Board actions are planned for the 
following four items:
    (1) Achievement Levels Work Plan presented by COSDAM;
    (2) Intended Meaning of NAEP, presented by COSDAM;
    (3) Release Plan for 2018 Nation's Report Cards in Civics, 
Geography and U.S. History, presented by the R&D Committee.
    (4) Submission of final slate of candidates to the Secretary of 
Education for the 2020 terms of service, presented by the Nominations 
Committee.
    Following discussion and action on the Committee Reports, Lesley 
Muldoon will facilitate a brief discussion with Board members about 
next steps regarding the Strategic Vision from 10:45 a.m. to 11:15 a.m. 
Commissioner James Woodworth of NCES will then provide an update on 
NCES activities from 11:15 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. The March 7, 2020 session 
of the Governing Board meeting will adjourn at 11:30 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 March 2, 2020, by 10 a.m. EST. 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 no later than Monday, 
February 24, 2020.
    Electronic Access to this Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. 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 website. 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.

Lesley Muldoon,
Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), U.S. 
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. 2020-02486 Filed 2-6-20; 8:45 am]
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