[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 32 (Thursday, February 15, 2024)]
[Notices]
[Pages 11821-11824]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-03096]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

National Assessment Governing Board


Committee and Quarterly Board Meetings

AGENCY: National Assessment Governing Board, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice of open and closed meetings.

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SUMMARY: This notice sets forth the agenda, time, and instructions to 
access the National Assessment Governing Board's (hereafter referred to 
as Governing Board) standing committee meetings and quarterly Governing 
Board meeting. This notice provides information to members of the 
public who may be interested in attending the meetings and/or providing 
written comments related to the work of the Governing Board. Notice of 
the meetings is required under section 1009(a)(2) of 5 U.S.C. chapter 
10 (Federal Advisory Committees). The meetings will be held either in 
person and/or virtually, as noted below. Members of the public must 
register in advance to attend the meetings virtually. A registration 
link will be posted on the Governing Board's

[[Page 11822]]

website, www.nagb.gov, five (5) business days prior to each meeting.

DATES: The Quarterly Board Meeting will be held on the following dates:

 February 29, 2024, from 1:00 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., CST
 March 1, 2024, from 8:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., CST


ADDRESSES: Hermitage Hotel, 231 6th Avenue North, Nashville, TN 37219.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Angela Scott, Designated Federal 
Officer (DFO) for the Governing Board, 800 North Capitol Street NW, 
Suite 825, Washington, DC 20002, telephone: (202) 357-7502, fax: (202) 
357-6945, email: [email protected].

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: 
    Statutory Authority and Function: The Governing Board is 
established under the National Assessment of Educational Progress 
Authorization Act (20 U.S.C. 9621). Information on the Governing Board 
and its work can be found at www.nagb.gov.
    \[1]\ Information on minimum sample size requirements for reporting 
NAEP data is available here: https://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/tdw/analysis/summary_rules_minimum.aspx.
    The Governing Board formulates policy for the National Assessment 
of Educational Progress (NAEP) administered by the National Center for 
Education Statistics (NCES). The Governing Board's responsibilities 
include:
    (1) selecting the subject areas to be assessed; (2) developing 
appropriate student achievement levels; (3) developing assessment 
objectives and testing specifications that produce an assessment that 
is valid and reliable, and are based on relevant widely accepted 
professional standards; (4) developing a process for review of the 
assessment which includes the active participation of teachers, 
curriculum specialists, local school administrators, parents, and 
concerned members of the public; (5) designing the methodology of the 
assessment to ensure that assessment items are valid and reliable, in 
consultation with appropriate technical experts in measurement and 
assessment, content and subject matter, sampling, and other technical 
experts who engage in large scale surveys; (6) measuring student 
academic achievement in grades 4, 8, and 12 in the authorized academic 
subjects; (7) developing guidelines for reporting and disseminating 
results; (8) developing standards and procedures for regional and 
national comparisons; (9) taking appropriate actions needed to improve 
the form, content use, and reporting of results of an assessment; and 
(10) planning and executing the initial public release of NAEP reports.

Standing Committee Meetings

    The Governing Board's standing committees will meet to conduct 
regularly scheduled work. Standing committee meeting agendas and 
meeting materials will be posted on the Governing Board's website, 
www.nagb.gov, no later than five (5) business days prior to the 
meetings. For the virtual standing committee meetings, a registration 
link will be posted on www.nagb.gov five (5) business days prior to the 
meetings. Registration is required to join the meetings virtually. 
Minutes of prior standing committee meetings are available at https://www.nagb.gov/governing-board/quarterly-board-meetings.html.

Standing Committee Meetings

Tuesday, February 13, 2024

Executive Committee (Virtual)
3:30 p.m.-4:00 p.m. (EST), Open Session
4:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. (EST), Closed Session

    The Executive Committee will meet in open session on Tuesday, 
February 13, 2024, from 3:30-4:00 p.m. to begin working to update the 
Board's Strategic Vision. It will meet in closed session from 4:00-5:00 
p.m. to discuss the NAEP budget and contracts. The latter session must 
be closed to the public because the discussions pertain to the federal 
budget and acquisition process. These discussions must be kept 
confidential to maintain the integrity of the federal budgeting and 
acquisition process. Such matters are protected by exemption 9(B) of 
the Government in the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b.

Tuesday, February 20, 2024

Reporting and Dissemination Committee (Virtual)
11 a.m.-1 p.m. (EST), Open Session

    The Reporting and Dissemination Committee will meet in open session 
on Tuesday, February 20, 2024, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. The committee 
will discuss progress made on implementing the Governing Board's 
communications strategy and how socioeconomic status will be reported 
in the NAEP 2024 data.

Wednesday, February 28, 2024

Nominations Committee (In-Person Meeting)
2:15 p.m.-3:30 p.m. (CST), Closed Session

    The Nominations Committee will meet in closed session on Wednesday, 
February 28, 2024, from 2:15 p.m.-3:30 p.m., at the Hermitage Hotel, 
231 6th Avenue N, Nashville, TN 37219. The committee will review and 
discuss nominees for 2024 Governing Board vacancies and finalize 
recommendations for submission to the Governing Board for action. These 
discussions will involve the disclosure of information of a personal 
nature where disclosure would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion 
of personal privacy. Such matters are protected by exemption 6 of the 
Government in the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b.

Monday, March 11, 2024

Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology (Virtual)
4 p.m.-5 p.m. (EDT), Closed Session
5 p.m.-6 p.m. (EDT), Open Session

    The Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology will meet on 
Monday, March 11, 2024, from 4 p.m.-6 p.m. From 4 p.m. to 5 p.m., the 
committee will meet in closed session to receive a presentation by NCES 
regarding the use of rolling averages to report on subgroups with small 
sample sizes. This session will be closed because NCES will present 
data from small subgroups that are not reported out publicly because 
their sample sizes do not meet minimum thresholds \[1]\ to permit valid 
interpretations, and they may also pose privacy risks. Public 
disclosure of this information would significantly impede the 
implementation of the NAEP assessment program if conducted in open 
session. Such matters are protected by exemption 9(B) of the Government 
in the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b. From 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., the 
committee will meet in open session, where the committee chair will 
provide updates on achievement levels activities and seek input on a 
report currently under development to synthesize NAEP Achievement 
Levels validity evidence and present the appropriate claims that can be 
made by them.

Friday, March 15, 2024

Assessment Development Committee (Virtual)
3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. (EDT), Open Session

    The Assessment Development Committee will meet in open session on 
Friday, March 15, 2024, from 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. The committee will 
review contextual variables from the NAEP Science assessment and 
briefly hear about other updates on committee work.

[[Page 11823]]

Quarterly Governing Board Meeting

    The plenary sessions of the Governing Board's March 2024 quarterly 
meeting will be held on the following dates and times:

Thursday, February 29, 2024

1:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m. (CST) (Hybrid Meeting), Open Session

    On Thursday, February 29, 2024, the plenary session of the 
quarterly Governing Board meeting will convene in open session from 
1:00 p.m.-5:30 p.m. Beverly Perdue, Chair of the Governing Board, will 
welcome members, followed by a motion to approve the February 29-March 
1, 2024, quarterly Governing Board meeting agenda and minutes from the 
November 16-17, 2023, Governing Board meeting. From 1:15 p.m. to 1:30 
p.m., the Honorable Bill Lee, Governor of Tennessee will welcome the 
Governing Board to Tennessee. From 1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., Lesley Muldoon, 
Executive Director of the Governing Board, will update members on 
ongoing work, followed by updates from NCES Commissioner, Peggy Carr 
from 2 p.m.-2:30 p.m., and Mark Schneider, IES Director from 2:30 p.m.-
3 p.m. Thereafter, from 3 p.m.-3:30 p.m., the Board will review the 
priorities and progress of the current strategic vision. Following a 
ten-minute break, the Governing Board will meet in small groups from 
3:40-4:50 p.m. to discuss updates to the strategic vision. From 5 p.m. 
to 5:30 p.m., the Governing Board will reconvene and debrief on the 
small group discussions. The Thursday, February 29, 2024, session of 
the Governing Board meeting will adjourn at 5:30 p.m.

Friday, March 1, 2024

8:00 a.m.-10:00 a.m. (CST) (Hybrid Meeting), Closed Session
10:10 a.m.-2:00 p.m. (CST) (Hybrid Meeting), Open Session
2:00 p.m.-3:00 p.m. (CST) (Hybrid Meeting), Closed Session

    On Friday, March 1, 2024, the Governing Board will convene in 
closed session from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. From 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., the 
Governing Board will discuss the slate of nominees for 2024 Governing 
Board vacancies. This session must be closed because it will involve 
the disclosure of information of a personal nature where disclosure 
would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. As 
such, the discussions are protected by exemption 6 of the Government in 
the Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b. From 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., the Governing 
Board will receive an update on the NAEP Budget from Peggy Carr, 
Commissioner, NCES, and Dan McGrath, Delegated Authority of Associate 
Commissioner, NCES. This session must be closed because discussions 
pertain to the federal budget and acquisition process. Public 
disclosure of this confidential information would significantly impede 
implementation of the NAEP assessment program if conducted in open 
session. Such matters are protected by exemption 9(B) of the Government 
Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b.
    Following a ten-minute break, the Governing Board will meet in open 
session from 10:10 a.m. to 2 p.m. From 10:10 a.m. to 10:15 a.m., the 
Board will take action on the 2024 Slate of Governing Board Nominees 
that will be sent to the U.S. Secretary of Education for consideration 
for appointment in categories where member terms have expired. From 
10:15 a.m. to 11:15 a.m., there will be a presentation and discussion 
on the impact of the Imagination Library for early literacy. Following 
that session, from 11:15-11:45, members will have open discussion time. 
From 11:45 a.m. to 1:30 p.m., the Governing Board will receive a 
briefing from and discuss Artificial Intelligence (AI) and education 
with John Bailey, Senior Fellow, American Enterprise Institute. From 
1:30 p.m. to 2 p.m., the Governing Board will receive reports from each 
standing committee. The final session of the March 1, 2024, meeting 
will be a closed session from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m., during which the 
Governing Board will receive a briefing and discuss the content of the 
Long-Term Trend Assessment, including reviewing assessment items. This 
session must be closed because the items have not been released to the 
public. Public disclosure of this confidential information would 
significantly impede implementation of the NAEP assessment program if 
conducted in open session. Such matters are protected by exemption 9(B) 
of the Government Sunshine Act, 5 U.S.C. 552b(c). The meeting will 
adjourn at 3 p.m.

Instructions for Accessing and Attending the Meetings

    Registration: Members of the public may attend the February 29 and 
March 1, 2024, meetings of the full Governing Board either in person or 
virtually. A link to the final meeting agenda and information on how to 
register for virtual attendance for the open sessions will be posted on 
the Governing Board's website, www.nagb.gov, no later than five (5) 
business days prior to the meeting. Registration is required to join 
the meeting virtually.
    Public Comment: Written comments related to the work of the 
Governing Board and its standing committees may be submitted to the 
attention of the DFO no later than ten (10) business days prior to the 
meeting. Written comments may be submitted either via email to 
[email protected] or in hard copy to the address listed above. 
Written comments should reference the relevant agenda item.
    Access to Records of the Meeting: Pursuant to 5 U.S.C. 1009, the 
public may inspect the meeting materials, which will be posted no later 
than five (5) business days prior to each meeting, at www.nagb.gov. The 
public may also inspect the meeting materials and other Governing Board 
records at 800 North Capitol Street NW, Suite 825, Washington, DC 
20002, by emailing [email protected] to schedule an appointment. The 
official verbatim transcripts of the open meeting sessions will be 
available for public inspection no later than 30 calendar days 
following each meeting and will be posted on the Governing Board's 
website. Requests for the verbatim transcriptions may be made via email 
to the DFO.
    Reasonable Accommodations: The meeting location is accessible to 
individuals with disabilities. If you will need an auxiliary aid or 
service to participate in the meeting (e.g., interpreting service, 
assistive listening device, or materials in an alternate format), 
notify the DFO listed in this notice no later than ten working days 
prior to each meeting date.
    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, section 301--National 
Assessment of

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Educational Progress Authorization Act (20 U.S.C. 9621).

Lesley Muldoon,
Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), U.S. 
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. 2024-03096 Filed 2-14-24; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P