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Request for Approval under the

“Generic Clearance for the Collection of Routine Customer Feedback”

(OMB Control Number: 1880-0542)

May 13, 2015

T ITLE OF INFORMATION COLLECTION:

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Assessment Literacy Focus Groups

PURPOSE:

National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). In 2013, a major assessment-literacy initiative was undertaken by the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) to explore current perception and knowledge of educational assessments. The purpose of this initiative is to promote greater understanding of assessments and the role of NAEP in assessments for three key target audiences: students, parents/guardians, and policymakers. In October 2014, parents were selected as the first audience for the assessment initiative. Given that teachers are instrumental in building assessment literacy among parents by serving a critical role as intermediaries and influencers, to further develop communication materials designed to educate parent audiences about assessment literacy, this request is to conduct two focus groups with parents and two with teachers to obtain their feedback on the content, presentation, and usability of a tool designed to help parents discuss their concerns and questions about assessments with teachers. The results will be used to finalize the tool.

DESCRIPTION OF RESPONDENTS:

To ensure that appropriate and relevant information is obtained, it is anticipated that the focus groups will have 9 participants each, for a total of up to 40 respondents across the respondent types and grades, as shown in the table below.

Respondent Group	Eligibility Criteria	Number Of Participants	Timing
Parents/guardians of children in grades 3-12 in public schools	Low Economic Status, Racial/Ethnic Diversity	Recruit 10 for 9 to show	90 minutes
	Mid-to-High Economic Status, Racial/Ethnic Diversity	Recruit 10 for 9 to show	90 minutes
Teachers	Teachers in grades 6-8	Recruit 10 for 9 to show	90 minutes
	Teachers in grades 9-12	Recruit 10 for 9 to show	90 minutes

TYPE OF COLLECTION: (Check one)

[ ] Customer Comment Card/Complaint Form [ ] Customer Satisfaction Survey

[ ] Usability Testing (e.g., Website or Software [ ] Small Discussion Group

[X] Focus Group [ ] Other: Respondent Feedback

CERTIFICATION:

I certify the following to be true:

1. The collection is voluntary.

2. The collection is low-burden for respondents and low-cost for the Federal Government.

3. The collection is non-controversial and does not raise issues of concern to other federal agencies.

4. The results are not intended to be disseminated to the public.

5. Information gathered will not be used for the purpose of substantially informing influential policy decisions.

6. The collection is targeted to the solicitation of opinions from respondents who have experience with the program or may have experience with the program in the future.

Name: Kashka Kubzdela ([email protected])

Personally Identifiable Information:

1. Is personally identifiable information (PII) collected? [X] Yes [ ] No

2. If Yes, is the information that will be collected included in records that are subject to the Privacy Act of 1974? [ ] Yes [X] No

3. If Applicable, has a System or Records Notice been published? [ ] Yes [ ] No

Gifts or Payments:

Is an incentive (e.g., money or reimbursement of expenses, token of appreciation) provided to participants? [X] Yes [ ] No

BURDEN HOURS

Respondent Type	Number of Respondents	Number of Responses	Burden Hours per Respondent	Total Hours
Parents/Guardians of Children in Grades 3-12 in Public Schools
Screening/Recruitment	600	600	.167	100
Follow-up email/call and consent form	*20	20	.083	2
Focus Group	*20	20	1.5	30
Total	600	640		132
Teachers
Screening/Recruitment	600	600	.167	100
Follow-up email and consent form	*20	20	.083	2
Focus Group	*20	20	1.5	30
Total	600	640		132
Total Respondents	1,200	1,280		264

* Subset of the contacted group.

FEDERAL COST: The estimated annual cost to the Federal government is $44,543.

The selection of your targeted respondents

1. Do you have a customer list or something similar that defines the universe of potential respondents and do you have a sampling plan for selecting from this universe? [ ] Yes [X] No

Parent participant positions will be filled through the use of opt-in databases of local residents that are maintained by the local focus group facility engaged for this project—Baltimore Research in Baltimore, MD. Teachers will be sought for their respective focus group through C2 Research’s national database. Recruiters will ensure they meet the specific parent and teacher target audience requirements.

Administration of the Instrument

1. How will you collect the information? (Check all that apply)

[ ] Web-based or other forms of Social Media

[ ] Telephone

[X] In-person and via WebEx

[ ] Mail

[ ] Other, Explain E-mail

2. Will interviewers or facilitators be used? [X] Yes [ ] No

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