[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 34 (Friday, February 18, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 9330-9331]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-03543]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2022-SCC-0021]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies (PIAAC) 
Cycle II 2022 Main Study

AGENCY: Institute of Educational Science (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 revision of a currently approved information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
April 19, 2022.

ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the 
information collection listed in this notice, please use https://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2022-SCC-0021. 
Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted 
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at https://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 PRA 
Coordinator of the Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and 
Strategy Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, 
LBJ, Room 6W208B, Washington, DC 20202-8240.

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: Program for the International Assessment of 
Adult Competencies (PIAAC) Cycle II 2022 Main Study.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0870.
    Type of Review: A revision of a currently approved collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 30,857.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 9,726.
    Abstract: The Program for the International Assessment of Adult 
Competencies (PIAAC) is a cyclical, large-scale study of adult skills 
and life experiences focusing on education and employment. PIAAC is an 
international study designed to assess adults in different countries 
over a broad range of abilities, from simple reading to complex 
problem-solving skills, and to collect information on individuals' 
skill use and background. The U.S. will administer the PIAAC 2022 
assessment to a nationally representative sample of adults, along with 
a background questionnaire with questions about their education 
background, work history, the skills they use on the job and at home, 
their civic engagement, and sense of their health and well-being. The 
results are used to compare the skills capacities of the workforce-aged 
adults in participating countries, and to learn more about 
relationships between educational background, employment, and other 
outcomes. PIAAC is coordinated by the Organization for Economic 
Cooperation and Development (OECD) and developed by participating 
countries with the support of the OECD. In the United States, the 
National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), within the U.S. 
Department of Education (ED) conducts PIAAC. NCES has contracted with 
Westat to administer the PIAAC Cycle II Field Test data collection in 
the U.S. The United States participated in the PIAAC Main Study data 
collection in 2012 and conducted national supplement data collections 
in 2014 and 2017. All three of these collections are part of PIAAC 
Cycle I, in which 39 countries participated (24 countries in 2012, 9 
new countries in 2014, and 5 more new countries in 2017) with close to 
200,000 adults assessed across the 39 countries over the three data 
collections. A new PIAAC cycle is to be conducted internationally every 
10 years, and

[[Page 9331]]

PIAAC Cycle II Main Study data collection will be conducted from 
September 2022 through April 2023. In preparation for the main study 
collection, PIAAC Cycle II began with an Operational Field Test in 
2021, in which 34 countries are expected to participate with the 
primary goal of testing the PIAAC 2022 planned operations. In 
recognition of the continuing global pandemic OECD shifted the timeline 
of PIAAC Cycle II Field Test and Main Study. Originally, the Field Test 
was scheduled for 2020 and the Main Study for 2021. The first shift in 
timeline was to move the Field Test to 2021 and the Main Study to 2022. 
The second shift in the PIAAC Cycle II collection affected the timing 
and nature of the field test, which was operational only and included a 
reduced field test effort both in scope and in sampling. In addition, 
the reduced Operational Field Test shifted the timeline from April 
through June 2021 to June through August 2021. This submission 
describes the final plans for the administration of the PIAAC Cycle II 
2022 Main Study. As the OECD is still working to finalize some 
materials for this study, the Appendices will be updated with final 
materials before the 30D public comment period.

    Dated: February 15, 2022.
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. 2022-03543 Filed 2-17-22; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P