[Federal Register Volume 88, Number 133 (Thursday, July 13, 2023)]
[Notices]
[Pages 44784-44786]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2023-14825]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Tests Determined To Be Suitable for Use in the National Reporting 
System for Adult Education

AGENCY: Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: The Secretary announces tests, test forms, and delivery 
formats that the Secretary determines to be suitable for use in the 
National Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS). This notice 
relates to the approved information collections under OMB control 
numbers 1830-0027 and 1830-0567.

[[Page 44785]]


FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: John LeMaster, Department of 
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 10-223, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202-7240. Telephone: (202) 245-6218. Email: 
[email protected].
    If you are deaf, hard of hearing, or have a speech disability and 
wish to access telecommunications relay services, please dial 7-1-1.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: On January 14, 2008, and as amended on 
August 19, 2016, we published in the Federal Register final regulations 
for 34 CFR part 462, Measuring Educational Gain in the National 
Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS regulations) (73 FR 2305, 
January 14, 2008, as amended at 81 FR 55552, August 19, 2016). The NRS 
regulations established the process the Secretary uses to determine the 
suitability of tests for use in the NRS by States and local eligible 
providers. We annually publish in the Federal Register, and post on the 
internet at www.nrsweb.org, a list of the names of tests and the 
educational functioning levels the tests are suitable to measure in the 
NRS as required by Sec.  462.12(c)(2).
    On August 7, 2020, the Secretary published in the Federal Register 
(85 FR 47952) an annual notice consolidating information from previous 
notices that announced tests determined to be suitable for use in the 
NRS, in accordance with Sec.  462.13 (August 2020 notice). Also, in the 
August 2020 notice, the Secretary announced that ESL tests and test 
forms approved for an extended period through February 2, 2021, are 
approved for an additional extended period through February 2, 2023, 
and that an Adult Basic Education (ABE) test and test forms previously 
approved for a three-year period through March 7, 2021, are approved 
for an extended period through March 7, 2023.
    On December 6, 2021, the Secretary published in the Federal 
Register (86 FR 69021), an annual notice with the same list of approved 
tests and test forms as was published in the August 2020 notice 
(December 2021 notice).
    On September 23, 2022, the Secretary published in the Federal 
Register (87 FR 58078) an annual notice announcing that English as a 
Second Language (ESL) tests and test forms previously approved for an 
extended period through February 2, 2023, are approved for an 
additional extended period through February 2, 2024, and that an ABE 
test and test forms previously approved for an extended period through 
March 7, 2023, are approved for an additional extended period through 
March 7, 2024.
    In this notice, the Secretary announces new tests that have been 
determined to be suitable for use in the NRS, in accordance with Sec.  
462.13. Three tests measure the NRS educational functioning levels for 
ABE at the ABE levels specified in this notice, and four tests measure 
the new NRS educational functioning levels for ESL at the ESL levels 
specified in this notice. With the Secretary's approval of the new ESL 
tests in this notice, the new educational functioning levels for ESL 
described in Appendix A of Measures and Methods for the National 
Reporting System for Adult Education (OMB Control Number: 1830-0027) 
are now implemented.
    The new tests announced in this notice have been determined to be 
suitable for use in the NRS for a period of either seven or three 
years. A seven-year approval requires no additional action on the part 
of the publisher, unless the Department later determines that the 
information the publisher submitted as a basis for the Secretary's 
review was inaccurate or that the test has been substantially revised. 
A three-year approval is issued with a set of conditions that must be 
met by the completion of the three-year time period. If these 
conditions are met, the test is approved for continued use in the NRS. 
If these conditions are not met, the test will not be approved for 
continued use in the NRS.
    Under the transition rules in Sec.  462.4, the Secretary also 
announces in this notice a list of tests with NRS approvals expiring on 
February 2, 2024, and March 7, 2024, which States and local eligible 
providers may continue to use during a sunset period ending on June 30, 
2024. The ESL educational functioning level descriptors to which the 
ESL tests with expiring NRS approvals are aligned will be retired on 
June 30, 2024. Until that time, for the program year which begins on 
July 1, 2023, and ends on June 30, 2024, both the current ESL 
educational functioning level descriptors and the new ESL educational 
functioning level descriptors will be in effect. States must use an ESL 
assessment that is aligned to the appropriate ESL educational 
functioning level descriptors.
    Adult education programs must use only the forms and computer-based 
delivery formats for the tests approved in this notice. If a particular 
test form or computer delivery format is not explicitly specified for a 
test in this notice, it is not approved to measure educational gain in 
the NRS.
    TESTS DETERMINED TO BE SUITABLE FOR USE IN THE NRS FOR A SEVEN-YEAR 
PERIOD FROM THE PUBLICATION DATE OF THIS NOTICE:
    The Secretary has determined that the following test is suitable 
for use in Mathematics at all ABE levels of the NRS for a period of 
seven years from the publication date of this notice:
    Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) Math GOALS 
Series. Forms 921/922, 923/924, 925/926, 927/928, and 929/930 are 
approved for use on paper and through a computer-based delivery format. 
Publisher: CASAS, 5151 Murphy Canyon Road, Suite 220, San Diego, CA 
92123-4339. Telephone: (800) 255-1036. Internet: www.casas.org/.
    The Secretary has determined that the following tests are suitable 
for use at all ESL levels of the NRS for a period of seven years from 
the publication date of this notice:
    (1) Basic English Skills Test (BEST) Plus 3.0. Forms 1 and 2 are 
approved for use on paper and through a computer-based delivery format 
with adaptive (Part A) and fixed form (Part B) sections. Publisher: 
Center for Applied Linguistics, 4646 40th Street NW, Washington, DC 
20016-1859. Telephone: (202) 362-0700. Internet: www.cal.org.
    (2) Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) Listening 
STEPS. The Locator Test and Forms 621/622, 623/624, 625/626, 627/628, 
and 629/630 are approved for use through paper-based testing and CDs, 
and through a computer-based delivery format. Publisher: CASAS, 5151 
Murphy Canyon Road, Suite 220, San Diego, CA 92123-4339. Telephone: 
(800) 255-1036. Internet: www.casas.org/.
    (3) Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) Reading 
STEPS. The Locator Test and Forms 621/622, 623/624, 625/626, 627/628, 
and 629/630 are approved for use through paper-based testing and 
through a computer-based delivery format. Publisher: CASAS, 5151 Murphy 
Canyon Road, Suite 220, San Diego, CA 92123-4339. Telephone: (800) 255-
1036. Internet: www.casas.org/.
    The Secretary has determined that the following test is suitable 
for use at ESL levels 1 through 4 of the NRS for a period of seven 
years from the publication date of this notice:
    Basic English Skills Test (BEST) Literacy 2.0. Forms 1, 2, and 3 
are approved for use in paper delivery format. Publisher: Center for 
Applied Linguistics, 4646 40th Street NW, Washington, DC 20016-1859. 
Telephone: (202) 362-0700. Internet: www.cal.org.
    TESTS DETERMINED TO BE SUITABLE FOR USE IN THE NRS FOR A THREE-YEAR 
PERIOD FROM THE

[[Page 44786]]

PUBLICATION DATE OF THIS NOTICE:
    The Secretary has determined that the following test is suitable 
for use in Mathematics at all ABE levels of the NRS for a period of 
three years from the publication date of this notice:
    ACT WorkKeys Applied Math. Forms 014, 015, 016, and 017 are 
approved for use on paper and through a computer-based delivery format. 
Publisher: ACT, 500 ACT Drive, Iowa City, Iowa 52243-0168. Telephone: 
(319) 337-1270. Internet: www.act.org.
    The Secretary has determined that the following test is suitable 
for use in Literacy/English Language Arts at ABE levels 2 through 6 of 
the NRS for a period of three years from the publication date of this 
notice:
    ACT WorkKeys Workplace Documents. Forms 018, 019, 020, and 021 are 
approved for use on paper and through a computer-based delivery format. 
Publisher: ACT, 500 ACT Drive, Iowa City, Iowa 52243-0168. Telephone: 
(319) 337-1270. Internet: www.act.org.
    TESTS WITH NRS APPROVALS EXPIRING ON FEBRUARY 2, 2024, THAT MAY BE 
USED IN THE NRS DURING A SUNSET PERIOD ENDING ON JUNE 30, 2024:
    The Secretary has determined that the following tests may be used 
at all ESL levels of the NRS during a sunset period ending on Jun 30, 
2024:
    (1) Basic English Skills Test (BEST) Literacy. Forms B, C, and D 
are approved for use on paper. Publisher: Center for Applied 
Linguistics, 4646 40th Street NW, Washington, DC 20016-1859. Telephone: 
(202) 362-0700. Internet: www.cal.org.
    (2) Basic English Skills Test (BEST) Plus 2.0. Forms D, E, and F 
are approved for use on paper and through the computer-adaptive 
delivery format. Publisher: Center for Applied Linguistics, 4646 40th 
Street NW, Washington, DC 20016-1859. Telephone: (202) 362-0700. 
Internet: www.cal.org.
    (3) Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (CASAS) Life and 
Work Listening Assessments (LW Listening). Forms 981L, 982L, 983L, 
984L, 985L, and 986L are approved for use on paper and through the 
computer-based delivery format. Publisher: CASAS, 5151 Murphy Canyon 
Road, Suite 220, San Diego, CA 92123-4339. Telephone: (800) 255-1036. 
Internet: www.casas.org.
    (4) Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment Systems (CASAS) Reading 
Assessments (Life and Work, Life Skills, Reading for Citizenship, 
Reading for Language Arts--Secondary Level). Forms 27, 28, 81, 82, 81X, 
82X, 83, 84, 85, 86, 185, 186, 187, 188, 310, 311, 513, 514, 951, 952, 
951X, and 952X of this test are approved for use on paper and through 
the computer-based delivery format. Publisher: CASAS, 5151 Murphy 
Canyon Road, Suite 220, San Diego, CA 92123-4339. Telephone: (800) 255-
1036. Internet: www.casas.org.
    (5) Tests of Adult Basic Education Complete Language Assessment 
System-English (TABE/CLAS-E). Forms A and B are approved for use on 
paper and through a computer-based delivery format. Publisher: Data 
Recognition Corporation--CTB, 13490 Bass Lake Road, Maple Grove, MN 
55311. Telephone: (800) 538-9547. Internet: www.tabetest.com.
    TEST WITH NRS APPROVAL EXPIRING ON MARCH 7, 2024, THAT MAY BE USED 
IN THE NRS DURING A SUNSET PERIOD ENDING ON JUNE 30, 2024:
    The Secretary has determined that the following test may be used in 
Mathematics at all ABE levels of the NRS during a sunset period ending 
on June 30, 2024:
    Comprehensive Adult Student Assessment System (CASAS) Math GOALS 
Series. Forms 900, 913, 914, 917, and 918 are approved for use on paper 
and through a computer-based delivery format. Publisher: CASAS, 5151 
Murphy Canyon Road, Suite 220, San Diego, CA 92123-4339. Telephone: 
(800) 255-1036. Internet: www.casas.org/.
    REVOCATION OF TESTS:
    Under certain circumstances--i.e., a determination by the Secretary 
either that the information the publisher submitted as a basis for the 
Secretary's review of the test was inaccurate or that a test has been 
substantially revised--the Secretary may revoke the determination that 
a test is suitable after following the procedures in Sec.  462.12(e). 
If the Secretary revokes the determination of suitability, the 
Secretary announces the revocation, as well as the date by which States 
and local eligible providers must stop using the revoked test, through 
a notice published in the Federal Register and posted on the internet 
at www.nrsweb.org.
    Accessible Format: On request to the program contact person listed 
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT, individuals with disabilities 
can obtain this document in an accessible format. The Department will 
provide the requestor with an accessible format that may include Rich 
Text Format (RTF) or text format (txt), a thumb drive, an MP3 file, 
braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc, or other accessible 
format.
    Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this 
document is the document published in the Federal Register. You may 
access the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of 
Federal Regulations at www.govinfo.gov. 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 Portable Document Format (PDF). To 
use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at 
the site.
    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.
    Program Authority: 29 U.S.C. 3292.

Amy Loyd,
Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education.
[FR Doc. 2023-14825 Filed 7-12-23; 8:45 am]
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