FR Doc 2010-9576
[Federal Register: April 26, 2010 (Volume 75, Number 79)]
[Notices]
[Page 21621-21623]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr26ap10-48]
Download: 
----------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
National Assessment Governing Board; Meeting
AGENCY: Department of Education, National Assessment Governing Board.
ACTION: Notice of Open Meeting and Partially Closed Sessions.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 (e.g.,
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 April 30, 2010. 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:
May 13-15, 2010
Times:
May 13: Committee Meetings:
Assessment Development Committee: Closed Session--9 a.m. to 3 p.m.
Executive Committee: Open Session--4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m.; Closed
Session--5:30 p.m. to 6 p.m.
May 14:
Full Board: Open Session--8:15 a.m. to 9:45 a.m.; Closed Session--
12:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m.; Open Session--3 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Committee Meetings:
Assessment Development Committee: Open Session--9 a.m. to 11:30
a.m.; Closed Session--11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology: Open Session--10
a.m. to 11:30 a.m.; Closed Session--11:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m.
Reporting and Dissemination Committee: Open Session--10 a.m. to
12:30 p.m.
May 15:
Nominations Committee: Closed Session--7:45 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
Full Board: Open Session--8:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m.
Location: Pfister Hotel, 424 East Wisconsin Avenue, Milwaukee, WI
53201.
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 May 13, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., the Assessment Development
Committee will meet in closed session to review NAEP mathematics items
for grades 4 and 8 for the 2011 operational assessment and the 2013
pilot. The Board will be provided with embargoed test items that cannot
be discussed in an
[[Page 21622]]
open meeting. Premature disclosure of data would significantly impede
implementation of the NAEP assessments, and is therefore protected by
exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
On May 13, from 4:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m., the Executive Committee
will meet in open session and thereafter in closed session from 5:30
p.m. to 6 p.m. During the closed session on May 13, the Executive
Committee will receive a briefing from the National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES) on options for NAEP contracts covering
assessment years beyond 2010-2011. The discussion of contract options
and costs will address the Congressionally mandated goals and 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.
On May 14, the full Board will meet in open session from 8:15 a.m.
to 9:45 a.m. The Board will review and approve the meeting agenda and
meeting minutes from the March 2010 Board meeting. This session will be
followed by welcome remarks from Milwaukee speakers. The Executive
Director of the Governing Board will then provide a report to the
Board, followed by updates to the Board from the Director of the
Institute of Education Sciences and the Deputy Commissioner of the
National Center for Education Statistics. These sessions will be
followed by an update on Common Core Standards by the Executive
Director of the Council of Chief State School Officers.
The Board will recess for Committee meetings on May 14 from 10 a.m.
to 12:30 p.m. The Reporting and Dissemination Committee will meet in
open session from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. The Assessment Development
Committee will meet in open session from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. and
thereafter in closed session from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. During the
closed session, the Committee will receive a briefing with embargoed
data regarding student response rates and performance results for 12th
grade NAEP mathematics items administered in 2009. The Committee will
also get an update on scoring the 2010 pilot of the NAEP writing
computer-based assessment. The Board will be provided with embargoed
data that cannot be discussed in an open meeting prior to their
official release. Premature disclosure of data would significantly
impede implementation of the NAEP assessments, and is therefore
protected by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
The Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology (COSDAM) will
meet in open session from 10 a.m. to 11:30 a.m., followed by a closed
session from 11:30 a.m. to 12:20 p.m. During the closed session, Board
members will review and discuss data on science achievement levels and
external validity data collected for evaluating the achievement levels.
COSDAM is scheduled to take action for setting the 2009 Science NAEP
achievement levels for grades 4, 8, and 12 at the May 2010 meeting. The
data provided for evaluation of the cut scores at the May 2010 COSDAM
meeting must be discussed in closed session because the cut scores and
performance relative to the cut scores are embargoed until the release
of the Nation's Report Card. The secure data on achievement levels
cannot be discussed in an open meeting prior to their official release.
Premature disclosure of data would significantly impede implementation
of the NAEP assessment, and is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of
section 552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.
Following the Committee meetings, on May 14, from 12:45 p.m. to
1:45 p.m. the full Board will meet in closed session to receive a
briefing on the 2009 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
Trial Urban District Assessments Reading Report Card. The Board will be
provided with embargoed results that cannot be discussed in an open
meeting prior to their official release. Premature disclosure of data
would significantly impede implementation of the NAEP assessment, and
is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of Title 5
U.S.C.
Following this session, the full Board will continue to meet in
closed session from 1:45 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. to discuss the science
achievement levels. The Governing Board is scheduled to take action for
setting the 2009 Science NAEP achievement levels for grades 4, 8, and
12 at the May 2010 meeting. The data provided for evaluation of the cut
scores at the May 2010 COSDAM meeting must be discussed in closed
session because the cut scores and performance relative to the cut
scores are embargoed until the release of the Nation's Report Card. The
secure achievement levels results cannot be discussed in an open
meeting prior to their official release. Premature disclosure of data
would significantly impede implementation of the NAEP assessments, and
is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of Title 5
U.S.C.
From 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. the Board will meet in open session to
discuss the Mathematics Achievement Levels Descriptions for Grade 12
and the Technology and Engineering Literacy Specifications. From 4 p.m.
to 5 p.m., the Board will receive a briefing in open session on TUDA
research from the Executive Director of the Council of the Great City
Schools. The May 14, 2010 Board meeting is scheduled to conclude at 5
p.m.
On May 15, the Nominations Committee will meet in closed session
from 7:45 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. to discuss the status of final candidates
being proposed for appointment terms beginning October 1, 2010. 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.
The full Board will meet in open session on May 15 from 8:30 a.m.
to 9:30 a.m. for an open discussion on topics of interest. From 9:30
a.m. to 10:30 a.m. the Board will receive Committee reports and take
action on Committee recommendations. The May 15, 2010 session of the
Board meeting is scheduled to adjourn at 10:30 a.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),
[[Page 21623]]
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:
www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
Dated: April 20, 2010.
Cornelia S. Orr,
Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board, U.S.
Department of Education.
[FR Doc. 2010-9576 Filed 4-23-10; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P