[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 5 (Friday, January 7, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 1138-1144]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-130]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket ID ED-2010-OESE-0018]
Enhanced Assessment Instruments
AGENCY: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priorities, requirements, definitions, and
selection criteria.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary of Education proposes priorities, requirements,
definitions, and selection criteria under the Enhanced Assessment
Instruments Grant (EAG) competition. The Secretary may use one or more
of these priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria
for competitions using funds from fiscal year (FY) 2010 and later
years. We take these actions in order to establish selection criteria
that are likely to recognize high-quality proposals and to help focus
Federal financial assistance on applications that address pressing
needs and promising developments related to developing and implementing
assessments under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965,
as amended (ESEA).
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before February 7, 2011. We
encourage you to submit comments well in advance of this date.
ADDRESSES: Submit your comments through the Federal eRulemaking Portal
or via postal mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. We will not
accept comments by fax or by e-mail. Please submit your comments only
one time in order to ensure that we do not receive duplicate copies. In
addition, please include the Docket ID and the term ``Enhanced
Assessment Grants--Comments'' at the top of your comments.
Federal eRulemaking Portal: Go to http://www.regulations.gov to
submit your comments electronically. Information on using
Regulations.gov, including instructions for accessing agency documents,
submitting comments, and viewing the docket, is available on the site
under ''How To Use This Site.'' A direct link to the docket page is
also available at http://www.ed.gov/programs/eag.
Postal Mail, Commercial Delivery, or Hand Delivery. If you mail or
deliver your comments about these proposed priorities, requirements,
definitions, and selection criteria, address them to the Office of
Elementary and Secondary Education (Attention: Enhanced Assessment
Grants Comments), U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue,
SW., room 3W210, Washington, DC 20202.
Privacy Note: The Department's policy for comments received
from members of the public (including those comments submitted by
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery) is to make these
submissions available for public viewing in their entirety on the
Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov. Therefore,
commenters should be careful to include in their comments only
information that they wish to make publicly available on the
Internet.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Collette Roney. Telephone: (202) 401-
5245 or by e-mail: [email protected].
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), call the
Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Invitation to Comment: We invite you to
submit comments regarding this notice. To ensure that your comments
have maximum effect in developing the notice of final priorities,
requirements, definitions, and selection criteria, we urge you to
identify clearly the specific proposed priority, requirement,
definition, or selection criterion that each comment addresses.
We invite you to assist us in complying with the specific
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of
reducing regulatory burden that might result from these proposed
priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria. Please
let us know of any further ways we could reduce potential costs or
increase potential benefits while preserving the effective and
efficient administration of the program.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this notice by accessing Regulations.gov. You may also
inspect the comments in person, in room 3W210, 400 Maryland Avenue,
SW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., Eastern
time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal holidays.
Assistance to Individuals with Disabilities in Reviewing the
Rulemaking Record: On request we will provide an appropriate
accommodation or auxiliary aid to an individual with a disability who
needs assistance to review the comments or other documents in the
public rulemaking record for this notice. If you want to schedule an
appointment for this type of accommodation or auxiliary aid, please
contact the person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Purpose of Program: The purpose of the Enhanced Assessment
Instruments Grant (EAG) program is to enhance the
[[Page 1139]]
quality of assessment instruments and systems used by States for
measuring the academic achievement and growth of elementary and
secondary students.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7301a.
Proposed Priorities:
Background:
Proficiency on the State assessments required under Title I, Part A
of the ESEA is the primary indicator of student academic achievement
and, hence, a crucial measure of State success in meeting the goals of
the ESEA. In view of the critical importance of these State
assessments, section 6112 of the ESEA authorizes the Department,
through the EAG program, to make competitive grant awards to State
educational agencies (SEAs) to help them enhance the quality of their
assessment instruments and assessment systems. The EAG program includes
four statutory priorities:
(a) Collaborating with institutions of higher education, other
research institutions, or other organizations to improve the quality,
validity, and reliability of State academic assessments beyond the
requirements for these assessments described in section 1111(b)(3) of
the ESEA;
(b) Measuring student academic achievement using multiple measures
of student academic achievement from multiple sources;
(c) Charting student progress over time; and
(d) Evaluating student academic achievement through the development
of comprehensive academic assessment instruments, such as performance-
and technology-based academic assessments.
EAG grantees must address one or more of these statutory
priorities. Through this notice, the Department proposes two additional
priorities as well as requirements, definitions, and selection criteria
that are designed to support States' assessment work and to build upon
the assessments that the Department is funding through the Race to the
Top Assessment (RTTA) program.
Under the RTTA program, the Department awarded grants to two
consortia, which collectively include 44 States and the District of
Columbia, to support the development of new assessment systems that
will be used by multiple States; are valid, reliable, and fair for
their intended purposes and for all student subgroups; and measure
student knowledge and skills against a common set of college- and
career-ready standards in English language arts and mathematics.
The Department is also funding work on assessment development
through the General Supervision Enhancement Grants (GSEG) program,
which is authorized by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.
The Department recently awarded funds under the GSEG program to support
two consortia of States in developing alternate assessments based on
alternate academic achievement standards for students with the most
significant cognitive disabilities that fit coherently with assessments
being developed under the RTTA program.
Section 1111(b)(7) of the ESEA requires States receiving ESEA Title
I, Part A allocations to administer, on a yearly basis, valid and
reliable assessments of the English language proficiency of all English
learners and, under section 3122 of the ESEA, States receiving funds
under Title III, Part A, Subpart 1 of the ESEA must use the results of
these English language proficiency assessments for accountability
purposes. The English language proficiency assessments developed to
date have been designed to align with English language proficiency
standards that correspond with State-specific standards in reading/
language arts and mathematics. States need English language proficiency
assessments, however, that align with English language proficiency
standards that correspond to standards that prepare students for
college and the workplace. The Department did not include English
language proficiency assessments among the priorities established in
the notice inviting applications for the RTTA program. Accordingly, we
propose here a priority for the EAG program for projects that propose
to develop a system of English language proficiency assessments aligned
with English language proficiency standards that correspond to a common
set of college- and career-ready standards (as defined in the
definitions section in this notice) in English language arts and
mathematics that will be operational by the end of the project period
(i.e., ready for large-scale administration). These assessments would
complement the assessments that are being developed under the RTTA
program.
This priority would support the development of an English language
proficiency assessment system for English learners, as specified in the
priority. This priority would not support the development of English
language proficiency assessments for English learners with the most
significant cognitive disabilities who are eligible to participate in
alternate assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards
in accordance with 34 CFR 200.6(a)(2). The Department previously
awarded a grant to support the development of alternate assessments of
English language proficiency for such English learners through a prior
EAG competition. In addition, through the GSEG program, the Department
is currently funding the development of alternate assessments based on
alternate academic achievement standards that measure student knowledge
and skills against a set of college- and career-ready standards in
English language arts and mathematics held in common by multiple
States. We believe that these investments in alternate assessments will
help prepare the field for developing the next generation of English
language proficiency assessments for English learners with the most
significant cognitive disabilities.
The Department notes that, while this priority would not support
the development of English language proficiency assessments for English
learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities, all States
remain responsible, in accordance with section 1111(b)(7) of the ESEA,
for assessing the English language proficiency of all English learners,
including English learners with the most significant cognitive
disabilities. We are therefore including in the priority a requirement
that an applicant describe the strategies it and, if it applies as part
of a consortium, all States in the consortium would use to assess the
English language proficiency of English learners with the most
significant cognitive disabilities in lieu of including them in the
operational administration of the assessments developed for other
English learners under a grant from this competition.
The Department plans to fund grant awards for at least a three-year
project period to develop operational assessments for an English
language proficiency assessment system.
During public meetings the Department held to gain input on the
design of the RTTA program's fiscal year (FY) 2010 competition, and in
other arenas, States indicated to the Department their interest in
continuing to work together in consortia to develop assessments aligned
with common State-developed standards. Therefore, we propose a priority
for the EAG program that would support projects that propose
collaborative efforts among States.
The Secretary may apply one or more of these priorities in any year
in which the program is in effect.
[[Page 1140]]
Proposed Priority 1--English Language Proficiency Assessment
System.
Background:
English learners (as defined in this notice) must acquire both
English language proficiency and content area knowledge in order to
succeed in school and graduate from high school college- and career-
ready. In order to inform teaching, learning, and program improvement,
educators need data from assessments about the English language
proficiency level of each English learner and his or her progress
toward attainment of proficiency in English. Assessments that provide
that information would also assist in building the knowledge base about
promising practices to improve English proficiency and thus support
efforts to improve instruction for English learners.
Proposed Priority 1 would support the development of high-quality
English language proficiency assessments that are aligned with English
language proficiency standards that in turn correspond to a common set
of college- and career-ready standards in English language arts and
mathematics. States in a consortium developing these English language
proficiency assessments would use a common definition of ``English
learner'' and common criteria for exiting a student from English
learner status in order to ensure consistent identification of students
as English learners across member States. These assessments also would
be used to help determine the effectiveness of English language
instruction educational programs.
Proposed Priority 1:
To meet this priority, an applicant must propose a comprehensive
plan to develop an English language proficiency assessment system that
is valid, reliable, and fair for its intended purpose. Such a plan must
include the following features:
(a) Design. The assessment system must--
(1) Be designed for implementation in multiple States;
(2) Be based on a common definition of ``English learner'' adopted
by the applicant State and, if the applicant applies as part of a
consortium, adopted and held in common by all States in the consortium;
(2) At a minimum, include diagnostic (placement) and summative
assessments;
(3) Measure students' English language proficiency against a set of
English language proficiency standards held by the applicant State and,
if the applicant applies as part of a consortium, held in common by all
States in the consortium, that correspond to a common set of college-
and career-ready standards (as defined in this notice) in English
language arts and mathematics;
(4) Cover the full range of the English language proficiency
standards across the four language domains of reading, writing,
speaking, and listening, as required by section 3113(b)(2) of the ESEA;
(5) Measure the linguistic components of language (e.g., phonology,
morphology, syntax, vocabulary);
(6) Produce results that indicate whether individual students have
attained the English language proficiency necessary to participate
fully in academic instruction in English and meet or exceed college-
and career-ready standards;
(7) Provide at least an annual measure of English language
proficiency and student progress in learning English for English
learners in grades kindergarten through 12 in each of the four language
domains;
(8) Assess all English learners, including English learners who are
also students with disabilities and students with limited or no formal
education, except for English learners with the most significant
cognitive disabilities who are eligible to participate in alternate
assessments based on alternate academic achievement standards; and
(9) Be accessible to all English learners, including by providing
appropriate accommodations for English learners with disabilities,
except for English learners with the most significant cognitive
disabilities who are eligible to participate in alternate assessments
based on alternate academic achievement standards.
(b) Technical Quality. The assessment system must measure students'
English language proficiency in ways that--
(1) Are consistent with nationally recognized professional and
technical standards; and
(2) As appropriate, elicit complex student demonstrations of
comprehension and production of academic English (e.g., performance
tasks, selected responses, brief or extended constructed responses).
(c) Data. The assessment system must produce data, that--
(1) Include student attainment of English language proficiency and
student progress in learning English,
(2) Indicate students' abilities in each of the four language
domains and provide a comprehensive English language proficiency score
based on all four domains, for students at each proficiency level; and
(3) Can be used to inform--
(i) Identification of students as English learners;
(ii) Decisions about whether a student should exit from English
language instruction educational programs;
(iii) Determinations of school, local educational agency (LEA), and
State effectiveness for the purposes of accountability under Title I
and Title III of the ESEA;
(iv) Determinations of individual principal and teacher
effectiveness for purposes of evaluation;
(v) Determinations of principal and teacher professional
development and support needs; and
(vi) Improvement in teaching, learning, and language instruction
education programs.
(d) Compatibility. The assessment system must use compatible
approaches to technology, assessment administration, scoring,
reporting, and other factors that facilitate the coherent inclusion of
the assessments within States' student assessment systems.
(e) Students with the most significant cognitive disabilities. The
comprehensive plan to develop an English language proficiency
assessment system must include the strategies the applicant State and,
if the applicant is part of a consortium, all States in the consortium
plan to use to assess the English language proficiency of English
learners with the most significant cognitive disabilities who are
eligible to participate in alternate assessments based on alternate
academic achievement standards in accordance with 34 CFR 200.6(a)(2) in
lieu of including those students in the operational administration of
the assessments developed for other English learners under a grant from
this competition.
Proposed Priority 2--Collaborative Efforts Among States.
Background:
Two consortia of States are collaborating under the RTTA program to
develop new assessment systems that measure student knowledge and
skills against a common set of college- and career-ready standards in
English language arts and mathematics. States also have indicated to
the Department their interest in continuing to work together in
consortia to develop assessments aligned to common standards. Because
of the complexity of developing and implementing assessments and other
assessment-related instruments, collaborative efforts between and among
States can yield approaches that build on each State's expertise and
experience as well as approaches that generate efficiencies in
development, administration, costs, and
[[Page 1141]]
uses of results. In previous competitions for EAG funds, which also
included a priority for collaboration among States, States often
responded by proposing consortia to complete a range of projects. In
light of the interest among States, the benefits of collaboration, and
the prior practice within the EAG program, the Department also proposes
a priority for projects that involve collaborative efforts among
States.
Proposed Priority:
To meet this priority, an applicant must--
(a) Include a minimum of 15 States in the consortium;
(b) Identify in its application a proposed project management
partner and provide an assurance that the proposed project management
partner is not partnered with any other eligible applicant applying for
an award under this competition;
(c) Provide a description of the consortium's structure and
operation. The description must include--
(1) The organizational structure of the consortium (e.g.,
differentiated roles that a member State may hold);
(2) The consortium's method and process (e.g., consensus, majority)
for making different types of decisions (e.g., policy, operational);
(3) The protocols by which the consortium will operate, including
the protocols for member States to change roles in the consortium;
(4) The consortium's plan, including the process and timeline, for
setting key policies and definitions for implementing the proposed
project, including, for any assessments developed through a project
funded by this grant, the common set of standards upon which to base
the assessments, a common set of performance-level descriptors, a
common set of achievement standards, common assessment administration
procedures, common item-release and test-security policies, and a
common set of policies and procedures for accommodations and student
participation; and
(5) The consortium's plan for managing grant funds received under
this competition; and
(d) Provide a memorandum of understanding or other binding
agreement executed by each State in the consortium that includes an
assurance that the State will adopt or utilize any instrument,
including to the extent applicable, any standards or assessments,
developed under the proposed project no later than the end of the
project period.
Types of Priorities:
When inviting applications for a competition using one or more
priorities, we designate the type of each priority as absolute,
competitive preference, or invitational through a notice in the Federal
Register. The effect of each type of priority follows:
Absolute priority: Under an absolute priority, we consider only
applications that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)).
Competitive preference priority: Under a competitive preference
priority, we give competitive preference to an application by (1)
awarding additional points, depending on the extent to which the
application meets the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2)
selecting an application that meets the priority over an application of
comparable merit that does not meet the priority (34 CFR
75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
Invitational priority: Under an invitational priority, we are
particularly interested in applications that meet the priority.
However, we do not give an application that meets the priority a
preference over other applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).
PROPOSED REQUIREMENTS:
Background:
Like the priorities and selection criteria that we are proposing in
this notice for the EAG program, the proposed program requirements for
this program are closely aligned with those that we established for the
RTTA program. These proposed requirements have been designed to ensure
that any assessments or other assessment-related instruments developed
under a grant for this program are operational by the end of the grant
period, meet high standards of technical quality, and use the benefits
of technology as well as enable wide-spread availability and usability
of the assessments or other assessment-related instruments developed.
Proposed Requirements:
The Secretary proposes the following requirements for this program.
We may apply one or more of these requirements in any year in which
this program is in effect. An eligible applicant awarded a grant under
this program must--
(a) Evaluate the validity, reliability, and fairness of any
assessments or other assessment-related instruments developed under a
grant from this competition, and make available documentation of
evaluations of technical quality through formal mechanisms (e.g., peer-
reviewed journals) and informal mechanisms (e.g., newsletters), both in
print and electronically;
(b) Actively participate in any applicable technical assistance
activities conducted or facilitated by the Department or its designees
(e.g., the RTTA program), and participate in other activities as
determined by the Department;
(c) Develop a strategy to make student-level data that result from
any assessments or other assessment-related instruments developed under
a grant from this competition available on an ongoing basis for
research, including for prospective linking, validity, and program
improvement studies;
(d) Ensure that any assessments or other assessment-related
instruments developed under a grant from this competition will be
operational at the end of the project period (e.g., ready for large-
scale administration);
(e) Maximize the interoperability of any assessments and other
assessment-related instruments developed with funds from this
competition across technology platforms and the ability for States to
move their assessments from one technology platform to another by doing
the following, as applicable, for any assessments developed with funds
from this competition--
(1) Developing all assessment items in accordance with an industry-
recognized open-licensed interoperability standard that is approved by
the Department during the grant period, without non-standard extensions
or additions; and
(2) Producing all student-level data in a manner consistent with an
industry-recognized open-licensed interoperability standard that is
approved by the Department during the grant period;
(f) Unless otherwise protected by law or agreement as proprietary
information, making any assessment content (i.e., assessments and
assessment items) and other assessment-related instruments developed
with funds from this competition freely available to States, technology
platform providers, and others that request it for purposes of
administering assessments, provided that those requesting assessment
content comply with consortium or State requirements for test or item
security; and
(g) For any assessments and other assessment-related instruments
developed with funds from this competition, using technology to the
maximum extent appropriate to develop, administer, and score the
assessments and report results.
Proposed Definitions:
Background:
Several important terms associated with the EAG program's proposed
priorities and selection criteria are not defined in the EAG statute.
Proposed Definitions
The Secretary proposes the following definitions for the EAG
program. We may apply one or more of these
[[Page 1142]]
definitions in any year in which this program is in effect.
Common set of college- and career-ready standards means a set of
academic content standards for grades K-12 held in common by a
significant number of States, that (a) define what a student must know
and be able to do at each grade level; (b) if mastered, would ensure
that the student is college- and career-ready by the time of high
school graduation; and (c) for any consortium of States applying under
the EAG program, are substantially identical across all States in the
consortium.
A State in the consortium may supplement the common set of college-
and career-ready standards with additional content standards, provided
that the additional standards do not comprise more than 15 percent of
the State's total standards for that content area.
English learner means a student who is an English learner as
defined by the applicant consistent with the definition of a student
who is ``limited English proficient'' as that term is defined in
section 9101(25) of the ESEA. If the applicant submits an application
on behalf of a consortium, member States must develop and adopt a
uniform definition of the term during the period of the grant.
Student with a disability means a student who has been identified
as a child with a disability under the Individuals with Disabilities
Education Act, as amended.
Proposed Selection Criteria:
Background:
We expect that any assessments funded under this competition will
be of similar technical quality to those funded under the RTTA program.
Therefore, the proposed selection criteria are adapted from the
selection criteria that the Department used to review applications
under that program.
Proposed Selection Criteria:
The Secretary proposes the following selection criteria for
evaluating an application under this program. We may apply one or more
of these criteria in any year in which this program is in effect. In
the notice inviting applications or the application package or both we
will announce the selection criteria to be applied and the maximum
possible points assigned to each criterion.
(a) Theory of action. The Secretary reviews each application to
determine the extent to which the eligible applicant's theory of action
is logical, coherent, and credible, and will result in improved student
outcomes. In determining the extent to which the theory of action has
these attributes, we will consider the description of, and rationale
for--
(1) How the assessment results will be used (e.g., at the State,
LEA, school, classroom, and student levels);
(2) How the assessments and assessment results will be incorporated
into coherent educational systems of the State(s) participating in the
grant (i.e., systems that include standards, assessments, curriculum,
instruction, and professional development); and
(3) How those educational systems as a whole will improve student
achievement.
(b) Assessment design. The Secretary reviews each application to
determine the extent to which the design of the eligible applicant's
proposed assessments is innovative, feasible, and consistent with the
theory of action. In determining the extent to which the design has
these attributes, we will consider--
(1) The number and types of assessments, as appropriate (e.g.,
diagnostic assessments, summative assessments);
(2) How the assessments will measure student knowledge and skills
against the full range of the relevant standards, including the
standards against which student achievement has traditionally been
difficult to measure, provide an accurate measure of student
proficiency on those standards, including for students who are high-
and low-performing in academic areas, and provide an accurate measure
of student progress in the relevant area over a full academic year;
(3) How the assessments will produce the required student
performance data, as described in the priority;
(4) How and when during the academic year different types of
student data will be available to inform and guide instruction,
interventions, and professional development;
(5) The types of data that will be produced by the assessments,
which must include student achievement data and other data specified in
the relevant priority;
(6) The uses of the data that will be produced by the assessments,
including (but not limited to)--
(i) Determining individual student achievement and student
progress; determining individual principal and teacher effectiveness,
if applicable, and professional development and support needs;
(ii) Informing teaching, learning, and program improvement; and
(7) The frequency and timing of administration of the assessments,
and the rationale for these;
(8) The number and types of items (e.g., performance tasks,
selected responses, observational rating, brief or extended constructed
responses) and the distribution of item types within the assessments,
including the extent to which the items will be varied and elicit
complex student demonstrations or applications of knowledge, skills,
and approaches to learning, as appropriate (descriptions should include
a concrete example of each item type proposed); and the rationale for
using these item types and their distributions;
(9) The assessments' administration mode (e.g., paper-and-pencil,
teacher rating, computer-based, or other electronic device), and the
rationale for the mode;
(10) The methods for scoring student performance on the
assessments, the estimated turnaround times for scoring, and the
rationale for these; and
(11) The reports that will be produced based on the assessments,
and for each report, its intended use, target audience (e.g., students,
parents, teachers, administrators, policymakers), and the key data it
will present.
(c) Assessment development plan. The Secretary reviews each
application to determine the extent to which the eligible applicant's
plan for developing the proposed assessments will ensure that the
assessments are ready by the end of the grant period for wide-scale
administration in a manner that is timely, cost-effective, and
consistent with the proposed design and incorporates a process for
ongoing feedback and improvement. In determining the extent to which
the assessment development plan has these attributes, we will
consider--
(1)(i) The approaches for developing assessment items (e.g.,
evidence-centered design, universal design) and the rationale for using
those approaches; and the development phases and processes to be
implemented consistent with the approaches; and
(ii) The types of personnel involved in each development phase and
process (e.g., practitioners, content experts, assessment experts,
experts in assessing English learners, linguists, experts in second
language acquisition, experts in assessing students with disabilities,
psychometricians, cognitive scientists, institution of higher education
representatives, experts on career readiness standards);
(2) The approach and strategy for designing and developing
accommodations, accommodation policies, and methods for standardizing
the use of those accommodations for students with disabilities;
[[Page 1143]]
(3) The approach and strategy for ensuring scalable, accurate, and
consistent scoring of items, including the approach and moderation
system for any human-scored items and the extent to which teachers are
trained and involved in the administration and scoring of assessments;
(4) The approach and strategy for developing the reporting system;
and
(5) The overall approach to quality control and the strategy for
field-testing assessment items, accommodations, scoring systems, and
reporting systems, including, with respect to assessment items and
accommodations, the use of representative sampling of all types of
student populations, taking into particular account high- and low-
performing students and different types of English learners and
students with disabilities.
(d) Research and evaluation. The Secretary reviews each application
to determine the extent to which the eligible applicant's research and
evaluation plan will ensure that the assessments developed are valid,
reliable, and fair for their intended purposes. In determining the
extent to which the research and evaluation plan has these attributes,
we will consider--
(1) The plan for identifying and employing psychometric techniques
suitable for verifying, as appropriate to each assessment, its
construct, consequential, and predictive validity; external validity;
reliability; fairness; precision across the full performance continuum;
and comparability within and across grade levels; and
(2) The plan for determining whether the assessments are being
implemented as designed and the theory of action is being realized,
including whether the intended effects on individuals and institutions
are being achieved.
(e) Professional capacity and outreach. The Secretary reviews each
application to determine the extent to which the eligible applicant's
plan for implementing the proposed assessments is feasible, cost-
effective, and consistent with the theory of action. In determining the
extent to which the implementation plan has these attributes, we will
consider--
(1) The plan for supporting teachers and administrators in
implementing the assessments and for developing, in an ongoing manner,
their professional capacity to use the assessments and results to
inform and improve instructional practice; and
(2) The strategy and plan for informing the public and key
stakeholders (including teachers, administrators, families,
legislators, and policymakers) in each State or in each member State
within a consortium about the assessments and for building support from
the public and those stakeholders.
(f) Technology approach. The Secretary reviews each application to
determine the extent to which the eligible applicant would use
technology effectively to improve the quality, accessibility, cost-
effectiveness, and efficiency of the proposed assessments. In
determining the extent to which the eligible applicant is using
technology effectively, we will consider----
(1) The description of, and rationale for, the ways in which
technology will be used in assessment design, development,
administration, scoring, and reporting; the types of technology to be
used (including whether the technology is existing and commercially
available or is being newly developed); and how other States or
organizations can re-use in a cost-effective manner any technology
platforms and technology components developed under this grant; and
(2) How technology-related implementation or deployment barriers
will be addressed (e.g., issues relating to local access to internet-
based assessments).
(g) Project management. The Secretary reviews each application to
determine the extent to which the eligible applicant's project
management plan will result in implementation of the proposed
assessments on time, within budget, and in a manner that is financially
sustainable over time. In determining the extent to which the project
management plan has these attributes, we will consider----
(1) The project workplan and timeline, including, for each key
deliverable (e.g., necessary procurements and any needed approvals for
human subjects research, assessment, scoring and moderation system,
professional development activities), the major milestones, deadlines,
and entities responsible for execution;
(2) The approach to identifying, managing, and mitigating risks
associated with the project;
(3) The extent to which the eligible applicant's budget is adequate
to support the development of assessments that meet the requirements of
the priority and includes costs that are reasonable in relation to the
objectives, design, and significance of the proposed project and the
number of students to be served;
(4) For each applicant State or for each member State within a
consortium, the estimated costs for the ongoing administration,
maintenance, and enhancement of the operational assessments after the
end of the project period for the grant and a plan for how the State
will fund the assessments over time (including by allocating to the
assessments funds for existing State or local assessments that will be
replaced by the new assessments); and
(5) The quality and commitment of the personnel who will carry out
the proposed project, including the qualifications, relevant training
and experience of the project director and other key project personnel,
and the extent to which the time commitments of the project director
and other key project personnel are appropriate and adequate to meet
the objectives of the proposed project.
Final Priorities, Requirements, Definitions, and Selection
Criteria:
We will announce the final priorities, requirements, definitions,
and selection criteria in a notice in the Federal Register. We will
determine the final priorities, requirements, definitions, and
selection criteria after considering responses to this notice and other
information available to the Department. This notice does not preclude
us from proposing additional priorities, requirements, definitions, or
selection criteria, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking
requirements.
Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in
which we choose to use one or more of these proposed priorities,
requirements, definitions, and selection criteria, we invite
applications through a notice in the Federal Register.
Executive Order 12866: Under Executive Order 12866, the Secretary
must determine whether this regulatory action is ``significant'' and
therefore subject to the requirements of the Executive Order and
subject to review by the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). Section
3(f) of Executive Order 12866 defines a ``significant regulatory
action'' as an action likely to result in a rule that may: (1) Have an
annual effect on the economy of $100 million or more, or adversely
affect a sector of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the
environment, public health or safety, or State, local or tribal
governments or communities in a material way (also referred to as an
``economically significant'' rule); (2) create serious inconsistency or
otherwise interfere with an action taken or planned by another agency;
(3) materially alter the budgetary impacts of entitlement grants, user
fees, or loan programs or the rights and obligations of recipients
thereof; or (4) raise novel legal or policy issues arising out of legal
mandates, the President's priorities, or
[[Page 1144]]
the principles set forth in the Executive Order. The Secretary has
determined that this regulatory action is not significant under section
3(f) of the Executive Order.
This notice has been reviewed in accordance with Executive Order
12866. Under the terms of the order, we have assessed the potential
costs and benefits of this proposed regulatory action.
The potential costs associated with this proposed regulatory action
are those resulting from statutory requirements and those we have
determined as necessary for administering this program effectively and
efficiently.
In assessing the potential costs and benefits--both quantitative
and qualitative--of this proposed regulatory action, we have determined
that the benefits of the proposed priorities, requirements,
definitions, and selection criteria justify the costs.
More specifically, Title I, Part A of the ESEA requires States to
annually assess the English language proficiency of English learners.
The English language proficiency assessment systems to be developed
under the proposed priority would be available for use by multiple
States and could be used by States to meet their obligations under
Title I, Part A. In addition, the requirements that the assessments be
based on a set of English language proficiency standards held by the
applicant State and, if the applicant applies as part of a consortium,
held in common by all States in the consortium, that correspond to a
common set of college- and career-ready standards in English language
arts and mathematics would result in States that adopt the assessments
being able to collect comparable data regarding the English language
proficiency of their English learners. The proposed selection criteria
would help ensure that the assessments developed by grantees are of
high quality, meet relevant technical standards, and align with other
assessment work funded by the Department. The proposed priority for
consortia would encourage States to work together on developing
assessments and other assessment-related instruments rather than
developing or using separate assessments, thus creating cost
efficiencies.
We have determined, also, that this proposed regulatory action does
not unduly interfere with State, local, and tribal governments in the
exercise of their governmental functions.
Intergovernmental Review: This program is subject to Executive
Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79. One of the
objectives of the Executive Order is to foster an intergovernmental
partnership and a strengthened federalism. The Executive Order relies
on processes developed by State and local governments for coordination
and review of proposed Federal financial assistance. This document
provides notification of our specific plans regarding this program.
Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this
document in an accessible format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) on request to the contact persons
listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Electronic Access to This Document: You can view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition and the Code of Federal Regulations is available on
GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.368A.
Dated: January 4, 2011.
Thelma Mel[eacute]ndez de Santa Ana,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 2011-130 Filed 1-6-11; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P