[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 131 (Wednesday, July 8, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41010-41011]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-14702]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

National Assessment Governing Board


Meetings

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

ACTION: Announcement of open and closed virtual meetings.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the agenda for a series of National 
Assessment Governing Board (hereafter referred to as Governing Board) 
meetings that will be convened in July 2020 and August 2020. This 
notice provides information to members of the public who may be 
interested in accessing the meetings or providing written comments 
related to the work of the Governing Board. Notice of this meeting is 
required under Sec.  10(a) (2) of the Federal Advisory Committee Act 
(FACA). The open sections of the virtual meetings can be accessed via 
registration at the Governing Board's web's site page at www.nagb.gov 
beginning at 2:00 p.m. E.T. on Monday, July 6, 2020.

DATES: The July and August 2020 meetings will be held on the following 
dates:
    Assessment Development Committee (ADC): Open Meeting, July 13, 
3:00-5:30 p.m. Eastern Time (ET).
    Reporting and Dissemination (R&D) Committee Meeting: Open Meeting, 
July 16: 3:15-4:00 p.m. ET.
    Committee on Design and Methodology (COSDAM): Closed Meeting: July 
17, 2:00-3:30 p.m. ET; Open Meeting, 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. ET.
    ADC and R&D: Open Meeting: July 23: 2:00-3:00 p.m. ET.
    Full Board Meeting: Open Meeting: July 30: 2:00-3:30 p.m. Eastern 
Time (ET); Closed Meeting, 3:45-5:15 p.m.
    Full Board Meeting: Open Meeting: July 31, 10:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. 
ET.; Closed Meeting, 2:45-3:25 p.m. ET; Open Meeting, 3:40--4:15 p.m. 
ET.
    Nominations Committee: Closed Meeting: August 5, 3:00-4:00 p.m. ET.

ADDRESSES: Virtual Meetings.

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).

July Standing 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

[[Page 41011]]

committee meeting minutes available at https://www.nagb.gov/governing-board/quarterly-board-meetings.html.

Meeting Agendas

    ADC: Open Meeting, July 13, 3:00-5:30 p.m.
    The following agenda items will be discussed with one action item:
 Reaping the Rewards of Reading for Understanding: A Briefing 
from the National Academy of Education
 Milestones for the 2025 NAEP Reading Framework: A Project 
Update
 Action Item: 2025 NAEP Mathematics Assessment and Item 
Specifications
 ADC Roles in Strategic Vision 2025: Discussing the Draft 
Vision
    R&D: Open Meeting: July 16: 3:15-4:00 p.m.
    The following agenda items will be discussed with one action item:
 Action Item: Release plan for NAEP Grade 12, Reading and 
Mathematics
 Discuss R&D components in draft Strategic Vision 2025
    COSDAM: July 17, 2:00-4:00 p.m.
     Closed Meeting: 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
    On July 17, 2020, COSDAM will meet in closed session to discuss 
NAEP 2021 data quality risks. This meeting must be conducted in closed 
session because the discussion will include secure NAEP items which 
have not been released to the public. Public disclosure of secure items 
used in the assessments 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.
     Open Meeting: 3:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
    Discuss COSDAM components in draft Strategic Vision 2025.
    ADC and R&D: Open Meeting: July 23: 2:00-3:00 p.m. Joint session to 
review COVID-related items on contextual questionnaires.
    Nominations Committee: Closed Meeting: August 5, 3:00-4:00 p.m. 
Discuss updates regarding submission of finalists for October 1, 2020 
appointments. This session must be closed because 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 
discussion is protected by exemptions 2 and 6 of Sec.  552b(c) of Title 
5 of the United States Code.
    Governing Board Full Meeting: Open Session: July 30, 2:00 p.m. to 
3:30 p.m.; Closed Meeting: 3:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m.
    On Thursday, July 30, 2020, the Governing Board will meet in open 
session from 2:00 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. The Governing Board Chairman will 
welcome members and the Governing Board will take action to approve the 
May 2020 Governing Board meeting minutes and the July 2020 Governing 
Board meeting agenda. The Governing Board will take action on a 
nomination for Governing Board Vice Chair for the term beginning 
October 1, 2020 and ending September 30, 2021. Then the Governing Board 
will discuss the 2025 Strategic Vision and take action on the Strategic 
Vision 2025 thereafter.
    On Thursday, July 30, 2020, the full Governing Board will convene 
in closed session from 3:45 p.m. to 5:15 p.m. During this closed 
session, the Governing Board will discuss independent cost estimates 
related to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the National 
Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2021 operations and 
subsequent potential impacts on the NAEP budget and assessment schedule 
as previously announced. The discussions may impact current and future 
NAEP contracts and budgets and must be kept confidential. Public 
disclosure of this confidential information 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 Friday, July 31, 2020, the Governing Board will meet in open 
session from 10:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m.
    From 10:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. the Governing Board will engage in 
discussion on COVID-19 and policy implications for NAEP. The Governing 
Board will take a break from 12:15 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. and reconvene in 
open session from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. The Governing Board will 
receive a briefing on the proposed 2025 NAEP Reading Framework and will 
engage in a discussion of policy guidance led by Governing Board Member 
Dana Boyd, ADC Chair.
    From 2:45-3:25 p.m., the Governing Board will convene in closed 
session to hear a briefing on the 2019 NAEP Reading and Mathematics 
Report Card for grade 12. This meeting must be conducted in closed 
session because the discussion will include secure NAEP data which have 
not yet been released to the public. Public disclosure of secure 
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 Governing Board will meet in open session from 3:40 p.m. to 
3:45 p.m. to take action on a release plan for the 2019 NAEP Reading 
and Mathematics Report Card for grade 12.
    Departing Governing Board members, Rebecca Gagnon, Andrew Ho, Terry 
Mazany, and Father Joseph O'Keefe whose terms conclude on September 30, 
2020 will provide farewell remarks from 3:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m., 
following which the July 31, 2020 session of the Governing Board 
meeting will adjourn.
    Access to Records of the Meeting: Pursuant to FACA requirements, 
the public may also inspect the meeting materials at www.nagb.gov five 
working days prior to each meeting. 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 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 ten working days 
prior to each meeting.
    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, U. S. 
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. 2020-14702 Filed 7-7-20; 8:45 am]
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