Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Impact Evaluation of Departmentalized Instruction in Elementary Schools

AGENCY:

Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is proposing an extension without change of a currently approved collection.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before June 1, 2021.

ADDRESSES:

To access and review all the documents related to the information collection listed in this notice, please use http://www.regulations.gov by searching the Docket ID number ED-2021-SCC-0050. Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the regulations.gov site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily accept comments at ICDocketMgr@ed.gov. Please include the docket ID number and the title of the information collection request when requesting documents or submitting comments. Please note that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the comment period will not be accepted. Written requests for information or comments submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the PRA Coordinator of the Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and Strategy Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW, LBJ, Room 208C Washington, DC 20202-8240.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

For specific questions related to collection activities, please contact Thomas Wei, 646-428-3892.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department of Education (ED), in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (PRA) (44 U.S.C. 3506(c)(2)(A)), provides the general public and Federal agencies with an opportunity to comment on proposed, revised, and continuing collections of information. This helps the Department assess the impact of its information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. It also helps the public understand the Department's information collection requirements and provide the requested data in the desired format. ED is soliciting comments on the proposed information collection request (ICR) that is described below. The Department of Education is especially interested in public comment addressing the following issues: (1) Is this collection necessary to the proper functions of the Department; (2) will this information be processed and used in a timely manner; (3) is the estimate of burden accurate; (4) how might the Department enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (5) how might the Department minimize the burden of this collection on the respondents, including through the use of information technology. Please note that written comments received in response to this notice will be considered public records.

Title of Collection: Impact Evaluation of Departmentalized Instruction in Elementary Schools.

OMB Control Number: 1850-0942.

Type of Review: An extension without change of a currently approved collection.

Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and Households.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 12.

Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 80.

Abstract: This study is authorized by Section 8601 of the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which tasks the U.S. Department of Education with conducting evaluations to build the evidence base in education. Finding creative ways to redeploy existing teachers in the classroom may yield academic benefits to students at little cost. One such strategy is departmentalized instruction, where each teacher specializes in teaching certain subjects to multiple classes of students instead of teaching all subjects to a single class of students (self-contained instruction). While nearly ubiquitous in secondary schools, departmentalization has only recently become more popular in upper elementary grades. This evaluation is examining the implementation and outcomes of teachers and students as they departmentalize in fourth and fifth grades. In doing so, it will generate valuable evidence on an improvement strategy that low-performing elementary schools identified under ESSA may consider adopting.