The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), is a federally authorized survey of student achievement at grades 4, 8, and 12 in various subject areas, such as mathematics, reading, writing, science, U.S. history, civics, geography, economics, technology and engineering literacy (TEL), and the arts. The National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act (Public Law 107-279 Title III, section 303) requires the assessment to collect data on specified student groups and characteristics, including information organized by race/ethnicity, gender, socio-economic status, disability, and limited English proficiency. It requires fair and accurate presentation of achievement data and permits the collection of background, noncognitive, or descriptive information that is related to academic achievement and aids in fair reporting of results. The intent of the law is to provide representative sample data on student achievement for the nation, the states, and subpopulations of students and to monitor progress over time. The nature of NAEP is that burden alternates from a relatively low burden in national-level administration years to a substantial burden increase in state-level administration years when the sample has to allow for estimates for individual states and some of the large urban districts. The request to conduct NAEP 2019 and 2020 was approved in September 2018 with the latest change request approved in February 2019 (OMB# 1850-0928 v.10-13). NAEP 2019 is currently underway. This request is to update the approved NAEP 2020 plan with: 1) the cancellation of all of the NAEP pilot and special studies originally planned for the 2019-20 school year (NAEP 2020), and 2) based on a Congressional request, the administration of Long Term Trend (LTT) assessment during the 2019-20 school year. The LTT assessments are based on nationally representative samples of 9-, 13-, and 17-year olds, and have been used by NAEP since the early 1970s to provide measures of studentsâ educational progress over long time periods to allow for analyses of national trends in studentsâ performance in mathematics and reading.
In order to be able to comply with the Congressional request to conduct LTT during the 2019-20 school year and to meet the studyâs timeline while maintaining compliance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA), due to this unanticipated event, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) and NCES are requesting under 44 U.S.C. 3507(j)(1) (âemergency clearanceâ) to begin participant recruitment and study materials printing for LTT 2020 by May 2019. Therefore, NCES is submitting this Information Collection Request (ICR) to OMB utilizing emergency review procedures in accordance with the PRA (P.L. 104-13, 44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) and 5 C.F.R. §1320.13 to announce revisions to the NAEP 2020 study plans and to provide for review the LTT 2020 plans, procedures, and materials. NCES is simultaneously initiating a regular clearance process for this request, including a 60-day followed by a 30-day public comment periods.
NCES requests that any comments on the plans, procedures, and materials proposed in this ICR will be submitted via Regulations.gov by April 16, 2019, as part of the public comment period affiliated with this emergency clearance. This will allow NCES to timely consider and address all comments related to this submission, so that upon approval of the ICR by OMB in April 2019, NCES can begin all participant recruitment activities and printing of study materials necessary to conduct LTT 2020.
PL:
Pub.L. 107 - 279 303
Name of Law: National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act
The nature of NAEP is that burden alternates from a relatively low burden in national-level administration years (i.e., even years) to a substantial burden increase in state-level administration years that include one or more assessments that support national, state-by-state, and certain urban districts reporting (i.e., odd years). In state/district assessment years, NAEP samples approximately 1,000,000 students, while in national-only assessment years, approximately 50,000-100,000 students. In 2019, NAEP will conduct state/district assessments, and in 2020 national-level assessments. The previous two-year clearance included burden for one state/district assessments year (2019) and one national-level assessments year (2018). Therefore, the annualized number of respondents and responses is similar in this clearance request, for NAEP 2019 and 2020, as it was in the previous one. Because NAEP 2019 and 2020 was originally approved in September 2018, and this latest submission is an update to the 2020 data collection plan, where a number of pilot and special studies have been removed and LTT 2020 added, the total burden hours are decreasing by 15% from the last clearance.
On behalf of this Federal agency, I certify that the collection of information encompassed by this request complies with 5 CFR 1320.9 and the related provisions of 5 CFR 1320.8(b)(3).
The following is a summary of the topics, regarding the proposed collection of information, that the certification covers:
(i) Why the information is being collected;
(ii) Use of information;
(iii) Burden estimate;
(iv) Nature of response (voluntary, required for a benefit, or mandatory);
(v) Nature and extent of confidentiality; and
(vi) Need to display currently valid OMB control number;
If you are unable to certify compliance with any of these provisions, identify the item by leaving the box unchecked and explain the reason in the Supporting Statement.
National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2019 and 2020 Long-Term Trend (LTT) Update Emergency Clearance