FR Doc E8-25912[Federal Register: October 30, 2008 (Volume 73, Number 211)]
[Notices]
[Page 64606-64608]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr30oc08-35]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Assessment Governing Board; Meeting
AGENCY: Department of Education, National Assessment Governing Board.
ACTION: Notice of open meeting and partially closed meetings.
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SUMMARY: The notice sets forth the schedule and proposed agenda of a
forthcoming meeting of the National Assessment Governing Board. This
notice also describes the functions of the Board. Notice of this
meeting is required under Section 10(a)(2) of the Federal Advisory
Committee Act. This document is intended to notify members of the
general public of their opportunity to attend. Individuals who will
need special accommodations in order to attend the meeting (i.e.,
interpreting services, assistive listening devices, materials in
alternative format) should notify Munira Mwalimu at 202-357-6938 or at
Munira.Mwalimu@ed.gov no later than November 10, 2008. We will attempt
to meet requests after this date, but cannot guarantee availability of
the requested accommodation. The meeting site is accessible to
individuals with disabilities.
DATES: November 20-22, 2008.
Times
November 20
Committee Meetings:
Ad Hoc Committee on NAEP Testing and Reporting on Students with
Disabilities and English Language Learners: Open Session--2 p.m. to 4
p.m.
Executive Committee: Open Session--4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Closed
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Session--5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
November 21
Full Board: Open Session--8:30 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.; Closed Session--12:30
p.m. to 1:30 p.m.; Open Session--1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Committee Meetings:
Assessment Development Committee: Open Session--9:45 a.m. to 11:45
a.m.; Closed Session--11:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology: Open Session--9:45 a.m.
to 11:30 a.m.; Closed Session 11:30 a.m.--12:15 p.m.
Reporting and Dissemination Committee: Open Session--9:45 a.m. to 12:15
p.m.
November 22
Nominations Committee: Closed Session--7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m.
Full Board: Open Session--9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Location: The Westin Arlington Gateway, 801 North Glebe Road,
Arlington, VA 20024.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Munira Mwalimu, Operations Officer,
National Assessment Governing Board, 800 North Capitol Street, NW.,
Suite 825, Washington, DC 20002-4233, Telephone: (202) 357-6938.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The National Assessment Governing Board is
established under section 412 of the National Education Statistics Act
of 1994, as amended.
The Board is established to formulate policy guidelines for the
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The Board's
responsibilities include selecting subject areas to be assessed,
developing assessment specifications and frameworks, developing
appropriate student achievement levels for each grade and subject
tested, developing standards and procedures for interstate and national
comparisons, developing guidelines for reporting and disseminating
results, and releasing initial NAEP results to the public.
On November 20, the Ad Hoc Committee on NAEP Testing and Reporting
on Students with Disabilities and English Language Learners will meet
in open session from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. Thereafter, the Executive
Committee will meet in open session from 4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. and in
closed session from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
During the closed session the Executive Committee will receive a
briefing from the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) on
options for NAEP contracts covering the 2008-2012 assessment years,
based on funding for Fiscal Year 2009-2010. The discussion of contract
options and costs will address the implications for congressionally
mandated goals and adherence to Board policies on NAEP assessments.
This part of the meeting must be conducted in closed session because
public discussion of this information would disclose independent
government cost estimates and contracting options, adversely impacting
the confidentiality of the contracting process. Public disclosure of
information discussed would significantly impede implementation of the
NAEP contracts, and is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section
552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
The second portion of the closed session of the Executive Committee
is for discussion of personnel matters. These discussions pertain
solely to internal personnel rules and practices of an agency and will
disclose information of a personal nature where disclosure would
constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy. As such, the
discussions are protected by exemptions 2 and 6 of section 552b(c) of
Title 5 U.S.C.
On November 21, the full Board will meet in open session from 8:30
a.m. to 9 a.m. The Board will approve the agenda and the August 2008
Board minutes. The Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings will
address the Governing Board and administer the oath of office to new
and reappointed members. Thereafter, the Governing Board will receive a
report from the Interim Executive Director of the Governing Board, and
hear an update on the work of the National Center for Education
Statistics (NCES).
On November 21, the Board's standing committees--the Assessment
Development Committee, the Committee on Standards, Design and
Methodology, and the Reporting and Dissemination Committee will meet
from 9:45 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
The Assessment Development Committee will meet in open session on
November 21, 2008 from 9:45 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. From 11:45 a.m. to 12:15
p.m. the Assessment Development Committee will meet in closed session
to review secure accessible booklet items at grades 4 and 8 for the
NAEP 2009 reading and mathematics assessments. The meeting must be
conducted in closed session as disclosure of test items would
significantly impede implementation of the NAEP program, and is
therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of Title 5
U.S.C.
On Friday, November 22, the Committee on Standards, Design and
Methodology will meet in open session from 9:45 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and
in closed session from 11:30 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. During the closed
session, the Committee will review results from the final trend
analysis for the 2008 NAEP reading field trial data at grades 4 and 8.
The results are sensitive and confidential and will be utilized to make
a decision on development of work statements for the 2009 achievement
level setting contracts in reading and mathematics. The meeting must
therefore be conducted in closed session in order to allow the
Committee to receive and discuss confidential acquisition planning and
not provide an undue advantage to potential bidders which would
significantly impede implementation of the NAEP program, and is
therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of Title 5
U.S.C.
The Reporting and Dissemination Committee will meet in open session
on November 21 from 9:45 a.m.--12:15 p.m.
On November 21 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. the full Board will
meet in closed session to receive a briefing on the NAEP Achievement
Gaps Report from the Associate Commissioner of NCES. The Governing
Board will be provided with embargoed data on the report that cannot be
discussed in an open meeting prior to their official release. The
meeting must therefore be conducted in closed session as premature
disclosure of data would significantly impede implementation of the
NAEP program, and is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section
552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
From 1:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m., the Board will receive the final
report from the Chair of the Board's 12th Grade Technical Panel on
Preparedness Research. From 2:45 p.m. to 4 p.m., the Board will hear a
presentation on Common Core Standards and International Benchmarking.
This session will be followed by an ethics briefing for members of the
Governing Board. The November 21 session of the Board meeting is
scheduled to adjourn at 4:30 p.m.
On November 22, the Nominations Committee will meet in closed
session from 7:45 a.m. to 8:45 a.m. to review candidate applications
for vacant Board positions for terms beginning in October 2009. These
discussions pertain solely to internal personnel rules and practices of
an agency and will disclose information of a personal nature where
disclosure would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal
privacy. As such, the discussions are
[[Page 64608]]
protected by exemptions 2 and 6 of section 552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
The full Board will meet in open session on November 22 from 9 a.m.
to 10 a.m. to hear a presentation on ``Inside NAEP: Plausible Values
Methodology.'' From 10:15 a.m. to 12 p.m., the Board will receive and
take action on Committee reports. The November 22, 2008 session of the
Board meeting is scheduled to adjourn at 12 p.m.
Detailed minutes of the meeting, including summaries of the
activities of the closed sessions and related matters that are
informative to the public and consistent with the policy of section 5
U.S.C. 552b(c) will be available to the public within 14 days of the
meeting. Records are kept of all Board proceedings and are available
for public inspection at the U.S. Department of Education, National
Assessment Governing Board, Suite 825, 800 North Capitol
Street, NW., Washington, DC, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern Standard
Time, Monday through Friday.
Electronic Access to This Document: You may 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) on the
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister/index.html.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is
available free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF,
call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free at 1-888-293-
6498; or in the Washington, DC area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
Dated: October 27, 2008.
Mary Crovo,
Interim Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board, U.S.
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. E8-25912 Filed 10-29-08; 8:45 am]
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