[Federal Register Volume 85, Number 227 (Tuesday, November 24, 2020)]
[Notices]
[Pages 75000-75001]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2020-25989]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2020-SCC-0178]


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 Data Collection

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Department of Education 
(ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is 
proposing a change to a currently existing information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
December 24, 2020.

ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for proposed 
information collection requests should be sent within 30 days of 
publication of this notice to www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain. Find 
this particular information collection request by selecting 
``Department of Education'' under ``Currently Under Review,'' then 
check ``Only Show ICR for Public Comment'' checkbox.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Carrie Clarady, 202-245-6347.

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

[[Page 75001]]

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 Data Collection.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0645.
    Type of Review: A change to a currently existing information 
collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 31,490.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 10,947.
    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 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), while the 
submission describing all aspects of the field test and recruitment for 
the main study was approved in October 2019 (OMB# 1850-0645 v.13). The 
submission for all aspects of the PIRLS 2021 main study, including data 
collection activities, with an accompanying 30-day public comment 
period was approved in May 2020. With the COVID-19 pandemic and under 
the guidance from IEA, this submission request is to update changes in 
the sampling population and data collection materials related to the 
changes. The supporting statements Parts A and B describe all aspects 
of the study; Appendices A1 and A2 provide the main study communication 
materials and additional materials related to the data collection 
activities, respectively; Appendix B provides the non-response bias 
analysis plan for the main study; and Appendix C provides the 
questionnaires for the Main Study. In the case that the final approved 
U.S. adapted versions of the PIRLS 2021 main study questionnaires 
differ from those in this submission, the final versions including any 
updates for the Main Study will be submitted to OMB for approval as a 
change request in May 2021.

    Dated: November 19, 2020.
Stephanie Valentine,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2020-25989 Filed 11-23-20; 8:45 am]
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