Submission for OMB Review; Comment Request

AGENCY:

Department of Education.

SUMMARY:

The Leader, Regulatory Information Management Group, Office of the Chief Information Officer invites comments on the submission for OMB review as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995.

DATES:

Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before September 29, 2000.

ADDRESSES:

Written comments should be addressed to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs, Attention: Wai-Sinn Chan, Acting Desk Officer, Department of Education, Office of Management and Budget, 725 17th Street, NW., Room 10235, New Executive Office Building, Washington, DC 20503 or should be electronically mailed to the internet address Wai-Sinn_L._Chan@omb.eop.gov.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Section 3506 of the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 U.S.C. Chapter 35) requires that the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) provide interested Federal agencies and the public an early opportunity to comment on information collection requests. OMB may amend or waive the requirement for public consultation to the extent that public participation in the approval process would defeat the purpose of the information collection, violate State or Federal law, or substantially interfere with any agency's ability to perform its statutory obligations. The Leader, Regulatory Information Management Group, Office of the Chief Information Officer, publishes that notice containing proposed information collection requests prior to submission of these requests to OMB. Each proposed information collection, grouped by office, contains the following: (1) Type of review requested, e.g. new, revision, extension, existing or reinstatement; (2) Title; (3) Summary of the collection; (4) Description of the need for, and proposed use of, the information; (5) Respondents and frequency of collection; and (6) Reporting and/or Recordkeeping burden. OMB invites public comment.

Office of Educational Research and Improvement

Type of Review: Reinstatement.

Title: National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Year 2001 Field Test and Year 2002 Main Assessment of Reading and Writing.

Frequency: Annually.

Affected Public: Individuals or household; Not-for-profit institutions.

Reporting and Recordkeeping Hour Burden:

Responses: 7,250;

Burden Hours: 7,250.

Abstract: The Congressionally-mandated 2002 National Assessment of Educational Progress will assess writing and reading knowledge among 4th, 8th and 12th graders. To provide contextual information to intrepret the assessment information, relevant background characteristics of the students and their schools and teachers are gathered as well. The clearance package provides all of the background questions and supporting information for the field test and the main study. The results of the main study will be used to provide descriptive information about programs and practices in the teaching of reading and writing; suggest relationships between characteristics and assessment results; serve as a basis for monitoring change over time.

Requests for copies of the proposed information collection request may be accessed from http://edicsweb.ed.gov,, or should be addressed to Vivian Reese, Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, Room 4050, Regional Office Building 3, Washington, D.C. 20202-4651. Requests may also be electronically mailed to the internet address OCIO_IMG_Issues@ed.gov or faxed to 202-708-9346. Please specify the complete title of the information collection when making your request. Comments regarding burden and/or the collection activity requirements should be directed to Kathy Axt at her internet address Kathy_Axt@ed.gov. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.