[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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