National Assessment Governing Board; Meeting

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

National Assessment Governing Board; Meeting

AGENCY: National Assessment Governing Board; Education.

ACTION: Notice of partially closed meeting.

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SUMMARY: This 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 the general public

of their opportunity to attend.

DATES: August 6-8, 1998.

Time: August 6--Design and Methodology Committee, 1:00-4:00 p.m.

(open), Subject Area Committee #2, 3:00-5:00 p.m., (open); and

Executive Committee, 5:00-6:00 p.m., (open), 6:00-7:00 p.m., (closed).

August 7--Full Board, 8:30-10:00 a.m., (open); Subject Area Committees

#1, 10:00 a.m.-12:00 Noon, (open); Achievement Levels Committee 10:00

a.m.-12:00 Noon, (open); Reporting and Dissemination Committee, 10:00

a.m.-12:00 Noon, (open); Full Board, 12:00 noon-4:30 p.m., (open).

August 8--Full Board, 9:00 a.m. until adjournment, approximately 12:00

Noon, (open).

Location: Washington Court Hotel, 525 New Jersey Avenue, NW,

Washington, DC.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Marty Ann Wilmer, Operations Officer,

National Assessment Governing Board, Suite 825, 800 North Capitol

Street, NW, Washington, D.C., 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 (Title IV of the Improving America's Schools Act of 1994) (Pub.

L. 103-382).

The Board is established to formulate policy guidelines for the

National Assessment of Educational Progress. The Board is responsible

for selecting subject areas to be assessed, developing assessment

objectives, identifying appropriate achievement goals for each grade

and subject tested, and establishing standards and procedures for

interstate and national comparisons. Under Public Law 105-78, the

National Assessment Governing Board is also granted exclusive authority

over developing the Voluntary National Tests

[[Page 39560]]

pursuant to contract number RJ97153001.

On Thursday, August 6, there will be a meeting of three committees

of the Governing Board. The Design and Methodology Committee will meet

in open session from 1:00-4:00 p.m. to take action on the Validity

Research Agenda, the policies on Voluntary National Tests Pilot

Testing, and VNT Accommodations. The Committee will hear briefings on

design issues pertaining to the VNT and NAEP.

The Subject Area Committee #2 will meet in open session from 3:00-

5:00 p.m. The Committee will receive an update on the NAEP 2000

assessments, the math content, and VNT item development issues and

timelines. The Committee will take action on the AIR Work Plan for

Calculator Access and Use.

The Executive Committee will meet on August 6 from 5:00 to 6:00

p.m. in open session. In the open session from 5:00-6:00 p.m., the

Executive Committee will be briefed by staff on the following items:

NAEP and the Voluntary National Tests projects, the status of the grant

program for secondary analysis of the NAEP data, and NAEP redesign

issues.

The Executive Committee will hold a partially closed meeting on

August 6, from 6:00-7:00 p.m., to discuss the development of cost

estimates for current and future contract initiatives for NAEP.

Also during, the same closed session, the Executive Committee will

discuss processed modifications in the Voluntary National Tests

contract to make decisions regarding exercising the second option year

of the contract. These matters concerning the NAEP and Voluntary

National Tests contracts must be discussed in closed session because

public disclosure of this information would likely have an adverse

financial effect on these programs. The discussion of this information

would be likely to significantly frustrate implementation of proposed

agency actions if conducted in open session. Such matters are protected

by exemption 9(B) of Section 552b(c) of Title 5 U.S.C.

On August 7, the full Board will convene in open session beginning

at 8:30 a.m. The agenda for this session of the full Board meeting

includes approval of the agenda, a report from the Executive Director,

and an update on the NAEP project. This session will conclude with a

presentation by representatives of the teacher's unions on the Teacher

Perspective on NAEP and Voluntary National Tests.

Between 10:00 a.m. and 12:00 noon, there will be open meetings of

the following committees: Achievement Levels, Reporting and

Dissemination, and Subject Area Committee #1. The Achievement Levels

Committee will hear a report on the result of the Field Trials in the

civics and writing assessments. The Committee will take action on the

NAEP Design document. At 11:00 a.m. the Committee will meet jointly

with the Design and Methodology Committee to hear a briefing on linking

issues regarding the Voluntary National Tests.

Agenda items for the Reporting and Dissemination Committee include

review of schedule and plans for release of future NAEP reports; review

of plans for the reporting of--district-level results from existing

state samples and private school results; review of the NAGB policy

issues on reporting and dissemination of the National Assessment,

namely rank-ordering of state-by-state data and primacy of achievement-

level results. The Committee will hear briefings on the plans for

public hearings on VNT issues, and work-plan activities regarding the

reporting and the utilization of VNT data.

Subject Area Committee #1 will receive an update on NAEP assessment

activities and VNT item development issues and timeline. The Committee

will take action on the AIR proposal for determining readability of the

VNT.

The full Board will reconvene at 12:00 noon. The agenda items

during this period include briefings on the following: National Academy

of Sciences Linking Study; Discussion of the NAS Letter Report on VNT

Item Development, NCES Task Force on State Participation in NAEP; and

an Update on the Voluntary National Tests project. The Board recess is

scheduled for 4:30 p.m.

On Saturday, August 8, the full Board will meet in open session

from 9:00 a.m. until adjournment, approximately 12:00 noon. The agenda

for this session is an update on the Voluntary National Tests project

and the presentation of reports from the various Board committee

meetings.

A summary of the activities of the closed and partially closed

sessions and other related matters which are informative to the public

and consistent with the policy of the section 5 U.S.C. 552b(c), will be

available to the public within 14 days after 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, D.C., from

8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Roy Truby,

Executive Director, National Assessment Governing Board.

[FR Doc. 98-19586 Filed 7-22-98; 8:45 am]

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