Notice2026-04094
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment Request; National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2027
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
March 2, 2026
Issuing agencies
Education Department
Abstract
In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995, the Department is proposing a revision of a currently approved information collection request (ICR).
Full Text
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<title>Federal Register, Volume 91 Issue 40 (Monday, March 2, 2026)</title>
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[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 40 (Monday, March 2, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 10086-10087]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [<a href="http://www.gpo.gov">www.gpo.gov</a>]
[FR Doc No: 2026-04094]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
[Docket No.: ED-2025-SCC-1141]
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the
Office of Management and Budget for Review and Approval; Comment
Request; National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) 2027
AGENCY: National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Institute of
Education Sciences (IES), Department of Education (ED).
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act (PRA) of 1995,
the Department is proposing a revision of a currently approved
information collection request (ICR).
DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before
April 1, 2026.
ADDRESSES: Written comments and recommendations for proposed
information collection requests should be submitted within 30 days of
publication of this notice. Click on this link <a href="http://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain">www.reginfo.gov/public/do/PRAMain</a> to access the site. Find this information collection request
(ICR) by selecting ``Department of Education'' under ``Currently Under
Review,'' then check the ``Only Show ICR for Public Comment'' checkbox.
<a href="http://Reginfo.gov">Reginfo.gov</a> provides two links to view documents related to this
information collection request. Information collection forms and
instructions may be found by clicking on the ``View Information
Collection (IC) List'' link. Supporting statements and other supporting
documentation may be found by clicking on the ``View Supporting
Statement and Other Documents'' link.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to
collection activities, please contact Matt Soldner, 202-453-7441.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Department 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: National Assessment of Educational Progress
(NAEP) 2027 Science Pilot 30-day Clearance Package.
OMB Control Number: 1850-0928.
Type of Review: Revision of a currently approved ICR.
Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals and Households; State,
Local, and Tribal Governments.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 17,960.
Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 10,625.
Abstract: The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is
a federally authorized survey of student achievement at grades 4, 8,
and 12 in various subject areas, such as mathematics, reading, writing,
science, U.S. history, and civics.
NAEP is conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics
(NCES) in the Institute of Education Sciences of the U.S. Department of
Education. NCES is responsible for designing and executing the
assessment, including designing the assessment procedures and
methodology, developing the assessment content, selecting the final
assessment content, sampling schools and students, recruiting schools,
administering the assessment, scoring student responses, determining
the analysis procedures, analyzing the data, and reporting the results.
The National Assessment Governing Board (henceforth referred to as
the Governing Board or NAGB), appointed by the Secretary of Education
but independent of the Department, is a bipartisan group whose members
include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials,
educators, business representatives, and members of the general public.
The Governing Board sets policy for NAEP and is responsible for
developing the frameworks and test specifications that serve as the
blueprint for the assessments.
NAEP consists of two assessment programs: the NAEP Long-term Trend
(LTT) assessment and the main NAEP assessment. The LTT assessments are
given at the national level only and are administered to students at
ages 9, 13, and 17 in a manner that is very different from that used
for the main NAEP assessments. LTT reports mathematics and reading
results that present trend data since the 1970s. LTT does not provide
scores for individual students or schools.
The main NAEP assessments report current achievement levels and
trends in student achievement at grades 4, 8, and 12 for the nation
and, for certain assessments (e.g., reading and mathematics), states
and select urban districts (i.e., Trial Urban District Assessment, or
TUDA). The main NAEP assessments provide results on subject-matter
achievement, instructional experiences, and school environment for
different student populations (e.g., all fourth-graders) and groups
within those populations (e.g., sex [male and female students], race/
ethnicity groups). NAEP does not provide scores for individual students
or schools.
The NAEP assessments contain two different types of items:
``cognitive'' assessment items, which measure what students know and
can do in an academic subject, and ``survey'' or ``non-cognitive''
items, which gather information such as demographic variables, as well
as construct-related information, such as courses taken. The
[[Page 10087]]
survey portion includes a collection of data from students, teachers,
and school administrators. Since NAEP assessments are administered
uniformly using the same sets of test forms across the nation, NAEP
results serve as a common metric for all states and select urban
districts. The assessment stays essentially the same from year to year,
with only carefully documented changes. This permits NAEP to provide a
clear picture of student academic progress over time.
The possible universe of student respondents for NAEP 2027 is
estimated to be 12,000 students at grade 8 attending the approximately
308 public and private schools in a variety of states and the District
of Columbia and may include Bureau of Indian Education Schools.
This request is to conduct NAEP in 2027, specifically for the Grade
8 Science Pilot.
NAEP will administer the assessment using school devices and the
internet. For schools that cannot meet the minimum specification for
the use of school devices, NAEP will provide an alternate delivery
model utilizing NAEP Chromebooks. NAEP has transitioned to primarily
administer on school devices with a staged approach so that trends can
be measured across time. NAEP conducted a School-based Equipment study
in 2024 (OMB #1850-0803 v.347) as well as a Field Test in 2025 (OMB
#1850-0803 v.353) to provide more information about student and school
interactions with the eNAEP system on school devices, as compared to
NAEP Chromebooks and Surface Pros, to inform the use of school devices
at a larger scale in NAEP assessments beginning in 2026. Also, a 2026
bridge study will compare NAEP devices and school devices to evaluate
whether scores from the two different assessment models are comparable.
Note: in this study, some schools that qualify to be assessed on school
devices will be assessed on NAEP devices, since the two different
school types (i.e., those qualified to assess on school devices, and
those not qualified to assess on school devices) may have different
characteristics. This will allow the study to establish a common
linking population.
This submission is the 30-day component of the 2027 NAEP Clearance
package, which follows the 60-day submission and public posting on the
Federal Register. Final early communication materials and Assessment
Management System (AMS) screens are available in this 30-day package,
which will be used to notify the public of the upcoming assessment and
prepare schools for the 2027 Science Pilot. This Clearance Package will
have one amendment, which is planned to be submitted in July 2026, and
which will replace any remaining drafted materials with final versions
for the 2027 NAEP assessments.
Ross Santy,
Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, Evaluation and Policy
Development.
[FR Doc. 2026-04094 Filed 2-27-26; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
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