Notice2021-16342
Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2021) Main Study Data Collection
Primary source
Metadata and text below are from the Federal Register, a public-domain U.S. government work. Always verify the official published version before relying on it for any legal matter.
Published
August 2, 2021
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct an emergency review of an information collection.
Full Text
<html>
<head>
<title>Federal Register, Volume 86 Issue 145 (Monday, August 2, 2021)</title>
</head>
<body><pre>
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 145 (Monday, August 2, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 41463-41464]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2021-16342]
[[Page 41463]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket No.: ED-2021-SCC-0114]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request;
Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS 2021) Main
Study Data Collection
AGENCY: Institute for Education Sciences (IES), National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES), Department of Education (ED).
ACTION: Notice.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, ED is
requesting the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) to conduct an
emergency review of an information collection.
DATES: Approval by the OMB has been requested by July 30, 2021.
Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
September 1, 2021.
ADDRESSES: To access and review all the documents related to the
information collection listed in this notice, please use <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> by searching the Docket ID number ED-2021-SCC-0114.
Comments submitted in response to this notice should be submitted
electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at <a href="http://www.regulations.gov">http://www.regulations.gov</a> by selecting the Docket ID number or via postal
mail, commercial delivery, or hand delivery. If the <a href="http://regulations.gov">regulations.gov</a>
site is not available to the public for any reason, ED will temporarily
accept comments at <a href="/cdn-cgi/l/email-protection#753c36311a161e10013812073510115b121a03"><span class="__cf_email__" data-cfemail="9bd2d8dff4f8f0feefd6fce9dbfeffb5fcf4ed">[email protected]</span></a>. 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
Director of the Strategic Collections and Clearance Governance and
Strategy Division, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Ave. SW,
LBJ, Room 6W208B, Washington, DC 20202-8240.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to
collection activities, please contact Carrie Clarady, 202-245-6347.
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: Progress in International Reading Literacy
Study (PIRLS 2021) Main Study Data Collection.
OMB Control Number: 1850-0645.
Type of Review: A revision of an approved information collection.
Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 31,028.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 10,716.
Abstract: The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study
(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 studies' 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, with support from U.S. Department of
Education contractors, and works with the IEA to ensure proper
implementation of the study and adoption of practices in adherence to
the IEA's standards. Participation in PIRLS allows NCES to meet its
mandate of acquiring and disseminating data on educational activities
and student achievement in the U.S. compared with foreign nations [The
Educational Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002) 20 U.S.C. 9543].
PIRLS is an international assessment of fourth-grade students'
achievement in reading. PIRLS reports on four benchmarks in reading
achievement at grade 4 (Advanced, High, Medium, and Low) 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. In PIRLS
2016, 58 education systems participated. 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. In preparation for the PIRLS 2021 main
study, all countries were asked to implement a field test in 2020 in
order to evaluate new assessment items and background questions, to
ensure practices that promote low exclusion rates, and to ensure that
classroom and student sampling procedures proposed for the main study
are successful. In selecting a school sample for this purpose, it is
important to minimize the burden on schools, districts, and states,
while also ensuring that the field test data are collected effectively.
PIRLS staff will work to help respondents understand the study's value
relative to the burden imposed, and to ensure a high level of school
participation. Data collection for the field test in the U.S. occurred
from March 1 through April 15, 2020 and involved a sample of 45 public
schools and about 1,650 students (selecting two classes from each
school). The U.S PIRLS 2021 main study involves a nationally-
representative sample of 290 schools and about 9,280 students. Main
study data collection was originally scheduled to be completed in
Spring 2021, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the main study has been
delayed and will be conducted from September through October 2021. The
submission describing the overarching
[[Page 41464]]
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 request in September 2019 (OMB #1850-0645
v.11-12), while the submission describing all aspects of the field test
and recruitment for the main study was approved in October 2019 (OMB
#1850-0645 v.13). The submission for all aspects of the PIRLS 2021 main
study, including data collection activities, with an accompanying 30-
day public comment period was approved in May 2020 (OMB #1850-0645
v.14) with a change request in February 2021 (OMB #1850-0645 v.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. At the same time, IEA
requested changes to the school questionnaire to solicit information
about the 2020-2021 school year. The exceptional circumstances of the
2021 PIRLS administration in the United States and these other
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. This issue impacts other Northern Hemisphere
countries administering the PIRLS teacher questionnaire to the teachers
of fifth grade students in the fall of 2021. 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 IEA's guidance, the school questionnaire has been modified to
more adequately 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. Note, for example, that the school
questionnaire now asks questions about resources available to 4th grade
students. 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.
Additional Information: An emergency clearance approval for the use
of the system is described below due to the following conditions:
<bullet> 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.
Dated: July 27, 2021.
Stephanie Valentine,
PRA Coordinator, Strategic Collections and Clearance, Governance and
Strategy Division, Office of Chief Data Officer.
[FR Doc. 2021-16342 Filed 7-30-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
</pre><script data-cfasync="false" src="/cdn-cgi/scripts/5c5dd728/cloudflare-static/email-decode.min.js"></script></body>
</html>Indexed from Federal Register on August 2, 2021.
This is legal information, not legal advice. Laws vary by jurisdiction and change frequently. Always verify current law with official sources and consult a licensed attorney in your jurisdiction for advice on your specific situation.