[Federal Register Volume 87, Number 232 (Monday, December 5, 2022)]
[Notices]
[Pages 74412-74413]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2022-26353]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

National Assessment Governing Board


Solicitation of Public Comments for Updating the Writing 
Assessment Framework for the 2030 National Assessment of Educational 
Progress

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

ACTION: Notice of opportunity for preliminary public comment for the 
Writing Assessment Framework for the 2030 National Assessment of 
Educational Progress (NAEP).

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SUMMARY: The National Assessment Governing Board (Governing Board) is 
soliciting public comment for preliminary guidance in updating the 
Assessment Framework for the 2030 National Assessment of Educational 
Progress (NAEP) in Writing.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Governing Board is authorized to 
formulate policy guidelines for NAEP. Section 302 (e)(1)(c) of Public 
Law 107-279 specifies that the Governing Board determines the content 
to be assessed for each NAEP Assessment. Each NAEP subject area 
assessment is guided by a framework that defines the scope of the 
domain to be measured by delineating the knowledge and skills to be 
tested at each grade and subject, the format of the assessment, and the 
achievement level descriptions--guiding assessments that are valid, 
reliable, and reflective of widely accepted professional standards. The 
NAEP Writing Assessment Framework was last revised in 2007 for use in 
2011 (the assessment was also administered in 2017 but results could 
not be reported due to technical issues). Comments received in response 
to this notice will be utilized to inform Governing Board decisions on 
the extent of revisions needed to update the NAEP Writing Assessment 
Framework. If needed, a Governing Board charge to launch the framework 
revision process is anticipated at the May 2023 quarterly Board 
meeting.
    Public and private parties and organizations are invited to provide 
written comments and recommendations relative to the current framework, 
adopted in 2007. Comments should specifically address: (a) whether the 
2017 NAEP Writing Framework needs to be updated; (b) if the framework 
needs to be updated, why a revision is needed; and (c) what should a 
revision to the framework include? This notice sets forth the review 
schedule and provides information for accessing additional materials 
that will be informative and useful for this review.
    Assessment and Item Specifications elaborate on the framework as 
guidance for item development conducted by the National Center for 
Education Statistics (NCES) and the NAEP assessment development 
contractor(s). The framework development and update process also 
produces recommendations for contextual variables, which supports NCES' 
development of the questionnaires administered to students, teachers, 
and schools to help the public understand the achievement results in 
each subject. By engaging NAEP's audiences, partners, and stakeholders 
in the panels that provide recommendations for NAEP frameworks and by 
seeking public comment, NAEP

[[Page 74413]]

frameworks reflect content valued by the public as important to 
measure. Additional information on the Governing Board's work in 
developing NAEP Frameworks and Specifications can be found at https://www.nagb.gov/naep-frameworks/frameworks-overview.html.
    All responses will be taken into consideration before finalizing 
the recommendations for updating the NAEP Writing Assessment Framework. 
Once finalized, recommendations will be used to guide a framework 
update process, if an update is needed for the 2030 NAEP Writing 
Assessment.
    Comments shall be submitted via email to [email protected] with the email 
subject header NAEP Writing Framework no later than 5:00 p.m. Eastern 
Time on Friday, January 13. It is anticipated that public comments will 
be shared and discussed publicly in upcoming Governing Board meetings 
and materials. When providing comment, please indicate if you are not 
comfortable with your name and affiliation being included with the 
comments that will be shared publicly by the Governing Board in its 
deliberations.
    Additional information (including the materials referenced below) 
can be found on the project website at https://www.nagb.gov/naep/frameworks-overview/framework-development/initial-public-comment-on-the-naep-writing-assessment-framework.html.

Existing Writing Framework for the NAEP

    The existing framework (adopted in 2007) can be downloaded from the 
Governing Board website at: https://www.nagb.gov/naep-subject-areas/writing.html.

Governing Board's Periodic Review and Updating of NAEP Frameworks

    Governing Board policy articulates the Board's commitment to a 
comprehensive, inclusive, and deliberative process to determine and 
update the content and format of all NAEP assessments. For each NAEP 
assessment, this process results in a NAEP framework, outlining what is 
to be measured and how it will be measured. Periodically, the Governing 
Board reviews existing NAEP frameworks to determine if changes are 
warranted. Each NAEP framework development and update process considers 
a wide set of factors, including but not limited to reviews of recent 
research on teaching and learning, changes in state and local standards 
and assessments, and the latest perspectives on the nation's future 
needs and desirable levels of achievement.
    In 2022, the Board is initiating a preliminary review of the NAEP 
Writing Framework. The Governing Board's NAEP Writing Framework review 
will use general public comment collected through this notice as well 
as expert commentary to determine whether a framework update is 
required and the type of updates that may be needed. Learn more about 
framework update processes at https://www.nagb.gov/content/dam/nagb/en/documents/naep/NAEP-Frameworks-FAQ_FINAL.pdf.
    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. 2022-26353 Filed 12-2-22; 8:45 am]
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