[Federal Register: July 18, 2007 (Volume 72, Number 137)]
[Notices]
[Page 39385-39387]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr18jy07-30]
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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 July 27, 2007. 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: August 2-4, 2007.
Times
August 2
Committee Meetings
Assessment Development Committee: Closed Session--8:30 a.m. to 4
p.m.
Executive Committee: Open Session--4:30 p.m. to 5 p.m.; Closed
Session--5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
[[Page 39386]]
August 3
Full Board: Open Session--8:30 a.m. to 9 a.m..; Closed Session--
12:15 p.m. to 1:45 p.m.; Open Session--1:45 p.m. to 4:30 p.m.
Committee Meetings
Assessment Development Committee: Open Session--9:15 a.m. to 12:15
p.m.
Joint Session: Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology and
the Reporting and Dissemination Committee: Closed Session--9:15 a.m. to
10 a.m.
Committee on Standards, Design and Methodology: Open Session--10
a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
Reporting and Dissemination Committee: Open Session--10 a.m. to
12:15 p.m.
August 4
Nominations Committee: Closed Session--7:45 a.m. to 8:15 a.m.
Full Board: Open Session--9 a.m. to 12 p.m.
Location: The Ritz Carlton Tysons Corner, 1700 Tysons Boulevard,
McLean, VA 22102.
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 objectives, developing appropriate student
achievement levels for each grade and subject tested, developing
guidelines for reporting and disseminating results, and developing
standards and procedures for interstate and national comparisons.
On August 2, 2007, the Assessment Development Committee will meet
in closed session from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. to review secure science
pilot items for grades 4, 8, and 12 for the 2009 National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP) Science Pilot. The meeting must be
conducted in closed session as disclosure of proposed test items for
the science pilot 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 August 2, the Executive Committee will meet in closed session
from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. for the following briefing and discussions:
(1) The Committee will receive independent government cost
estimates from the Associate Commissioner of the National Center for
Education Statistics, for options affecting operations under contracts
covering the 2008-2012 assessment years. The discussion of independent
government cost estimates is necessary for ensuring that NAEP contracts
meet congressionally mandated goals and adhere to Board policies on
NAEP assessments. This part of the meeting must be conducted in closed
session because public disclosure of this information would likely have
an adverse financial effect on the NAEP program and will provide an
advantage to bidders attending the meeting. The meeting must therefore
be conducted in closed session as disclosure of data would
significantly impede implementation of the NAEP release activities, and
is therefore protected by exemption 9(B) of section 552b(c) of Title 5
U.S.C.
(2) The Committee will discuss Governing Board staff reappointments
and the nomination of the Vice Chair of the Board for the one-year term
beginning October 1, 2007. 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 August 3, the full Board will meet in open session from 8:30
a.m. to 9 a.m. The Board will approve the agenda, receive the Executive
Director's report, and hear an update on the work of the National
Center for Education Statistics (NCES). The Board's standing committees
will meet from 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.
The Assessment Development Committee will meet in open session on
August 3 from 9:15 a.m. to 12:15 p.m. The Committee on Design and
Methodology and the Reporting and Dissemination Committee will meet in
a joint closed session on August 3 from 9:15 a.m. to 10 a.m. to receive
a briefing on secure data on participation, and inclusion and
accommodation rates for the 2007 NAEP assessments (Writing at grades 8
and 12 and reading and mathematics at grades 4 and 8). The NAEP reports
will not be released until the fall of 2007. 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.
On August 3, the full Board will meet in closed session from 12:15
p.m. to 1:45 p.m. to receive a briefing on results of the 2006 NAEP
12th Grade Economics Report Card. 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.
On August 3 from 1:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. the Board will receive a
panel presentation on NAEP Trendline Issues. From 3:30 p.m. to 4:30
p.m., the Board will discuss and take action on the NAEP 2011 Writing
Specifications and Background Variables.
On August 4, the Nominations Committee will meet in closed session
from 7:45 a.m. to 8:15 a.m. to review and discuss confidential
information regarding nominees received for Board vacancies for terms
beginning on October 1, 2007. 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 August 4 from 9 a.m. to
12 noon. From 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., the Board will receive a briefing on
NAEP Validity. Board actions on policies and Committee reports are
scheduled to take place between 10:15 a.m. and 12 p.m., upon which the
August 4, 2007 session of the Board meeting will adjourn.
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
[[Page 39387]]
Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister/index.html.
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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: July 12, 2007.
Charles E. Smith,
Executive Director, U.S. Department of Education, National Assessment
Governing Board.
[FR Doc. E7-13919 Filed 7-17-07; 8:45 am]
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