Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2021) Main Study Data Collection
Revision of a currently approved collection
No
Emergency
07/30/2021
07/27/2021
table that charts list comparision
Requested
Previously Approved
6 Months From Approved
05/31/2023
31,028
31,490
10,716
10,947
0
0
The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) is an international assessment of fourth-grade studentsâ achievement in reading. PIRLS reports on four benchmarks in reading achievement at grade 4 and on a variety of issues related to the education context for the students in the sample, including instructional practices, school resources, curriculum implementation, and learning supports outside of school. Since its inception in 2001, PIRLS has continued to assess students every 5 years (2001, 2006, 2011, and 2016), with the next PIRLS assessment, PIRLS 2021, being the fifth iteration of the study. Participation in this study by the United States at regular intervals provides data on student achievement and on current and past education policies and a comparison of U.S. education policies and student performance with those of the U.S. international counterparts. The U.S. will participate in PIRLS 2021 to continue to monitor the progress of its students compared to that of other nations and to provide data on factors that may influence student achievement. PIRLS is coordinated by the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), an international collective of research organizations and government agencies that create the assessment framework, the assessment instrument, and background questionnaires. The IEA decides and agrees upon a common set of standards and procedures for collecting and reporting PIRLS data, and defines the studiesâ timeline, all of which must be followed by all participating countries. As a result, PIRLS is able to provide a reliable and comparable measure of student skills in participating countries. In the U.S., the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) conducts this study. The submission describing the overarching plan for all phases of the data collection, including the 2021 main study, and requesting approval for all activities, materials, and response burden related to the field test recruitment was approved in April 2019 with a change in September 2019 (OMB# 1850-0645 v.11-12), and submissions describing all aspects of the field test & main study were approved in October 2019, May 2020, and February 2021 (OMB# 1850-0645 v.13-15). In summer 2021, NCES was notified by the IEA that teacher questionnaire data from the United States would not be included in the PIRLS international report or international database, and also requested changes to the school questionnaire. The exceptional circumstances of the 2021 PIRLS administration in the United States and other Northern Hemisphere countries (assessing fifth-grade students at the beginning of the academic year rather than fourth-grade students at the end of the academic year) present challenges for reporting and interpreting some PIRLS questionnaire data. Due to the exclusion of teacher questionnaire data from international reporting and limitations in its use for national analysis, the U.S. PIRLS 2021 administration will no longer include a teacher questionnaire component. In accordance with the IEAâs guidance, the school questionnaire has been modified to better characterize the impact of the pandemic on students in countries assessing students at the beginning of fifth grade rather than at the end of the fourth grade. The aim is to evaluate students at the beginning of their fifth-grade year, in light of what was available to them throughout their fourth-grade year. These changes will facilitate the inclusion of U.S. data in international reports that include findings from the school questionnaire. NCES requests OIRA to process this package as an emergency review under 5 CFR 1320.13(a) so that we can continue recruiting schools for participation in a Fall 2021 data collection. NCES will publish a Federal Register Notice soliciting 30 days of public comment on this collection concurrent with data collection.
NCES requests emergency clearance to allow us to continue recruiting schools for participation in a Fall 2021 data collection after substantive changes were required to an already approved and finalized data collection plan. The need for immediate clearance is due to the time sensitivity of this data collection, as normal clearance procedures would not allow NCES to follow the mandates set by the sponsoring international organization and make the required changes to the data collection while also respecting the timeline specified for this data collection. NCES will publish a Federal Register Notice soliciting 30 days of public comment on this collection concurrent with continued recruitment and data collection.
US Code:
20 USC 9573
Name of Law: Educational Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002)
The decrease in burden time is because this submission includes the cancellation of the teacher questionnaire component of the study. With regards to content, PIRLS 2021 differs from PIRLS 2016 in that PIRLS 2021 will be administered as a DBA (digitalPIRLS). Additionally, for the main study, some students will be administered digitalPIRLS and some students will be administered the booklet form of paperPIRLS for the purpose of the bridge study. Furthermore, PIRLS 2021 will be administered to students on one day, rather than on two as was done in 2016.
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.
PIRLS 2021 v.16 Emergency Justification Memo.docx
Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2021) Main Study Data Collection