[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 107 (Monday, June 7, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 30291-30292]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-11860]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No. ED-2021-SCC-0053]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the 
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment 
Request; High School and Beyond 2022 (HS&B:22) Base-Year Full-Scale 
Study Data Collection and First Follow-Up Field Test Sampling, 
Tracking, and Recruitment

AGENCY: Institute of Educational 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 an extension without change of a currently approved 
collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
July 7, 2021.

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

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 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: High School and Beyond 2022 (HS&B:22) Base-
Year Full-Scale Study Data Collection and First Follow-up Field Test 
Sampling, Tracking, and Recruitment.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0944.
    Type of Review: An extension without change of a currently approved 
collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 128,478.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 53,930.
    Abstract: The High School and Beyond 2022 study (HS&B:22) will be 
the sixth in a series of longitudinal studies at the high school level 
conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), 
within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) of the U.S. Department 
of Education. HS&B:22 will follow a nationally representative sample of 
ninth grade students from the start of high school in the fall of 2022 
to the spring of 2026 when most will be in twelfth grade. A field test 
was conducted in fall 2019. The study sample will be freshened in 2026 
to create a nationally representative sample of twelfth-grade students. 
A high school transcript

[[Page 30292]]

collection and additional follow-up data collections beyond high school 
are also planned.
    In preparation for the HS&B:22 Base-Year Full-Scale study (BYFS), 
scheduled to take place in the fall of 2022, the Office of Management 
and Budget (OMB) approved (OMB# 1850-0944 v.1-5) a request to conduct 
the HS&B:22 Base-Year Field Test (BYFT) and the BYFS sampling and 
state, school district, school, and parent recruitment activities, both 
of which began in the fall of 2019. These activities include collecting 
student rosters and selecting the BYFS sample. BYFT activities ended in 
December 2019.
    The study initially planned to conduct its BYFS data collection in 
the fall of 2020. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it was decided to 
postpone this collection by two years. OMB provided approval to adjust 
the schedule in June 2020, October 2020, and January 2021 (OMB# 1850-
0944 v.6-8). The base year full-scale data collection will now take 
place in fall 2022. This submission requests approval to (1) freshen 
the school sample to account for the two-year delay after the sample 
was drawn; (2) add survey items related to the COVID-19 pandemic to the 
surveys; (3) track the field test sample; and (4) begin sampling and 
recruitment activities for the first follow-up field test. For the 
field test follow-up, students who participated in the base year field 
test will be tracked to inform the main study, but the field test 
follow-up data collection will occur one year later with a new sample 
of twelfth grade students.
    Part A of this submission presents information on the basic design 
of HS&B:22. Part B discusses the statistical methods employed. Part C 
presents justification for the questionnaire content. Appendix A 
provides the communication materials to be used during state, school 
district, school, and parent BYFS recruitment and data collection 
activities. Appendix B provides the full-scale data collection 
instruments.

    Dated: June 2, 2021.
Juliana Pearson,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and 
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, 
Evaluation and Policy Development.
[FR Doc. 2021-11860 Filed 6-4-21; 8:45 am]
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