[Federal Register Volume 79, Number 236 (Tuesday, December 9, 2014)]
[Notices]
[Pages 73055-73056]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2014-28706]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Docket No.: ED-2014-ICCD-0156]


Agency Information Collection Activities; Comment Request; 
Program for International Student Assessment 2012 (PISA: 2012) 
Validation Study 2015 Field Test and Main Study

AGENCY: Institute of Education Sciences/National Center for Education 
Statistics (IES), Department of Education (ED).

ACTION: Notice.

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SUMMARY: In accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995 (44 
U.S.C. chapter 3501 et seq.), ED is proposing a revision of an existing 
information collection.

DATES: Interested persons are invited to submit comments on or before 
February 9, 2015.

ADDRESSES: Comments submitted in response to this notice should be 
submitted electronically through the Federal eRulemaking Portal at 
http://www.regulations.gov by selecting Docket ID number ED-2014-ICCD-
0156 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 [email protected]. Please note 
that comments submitted by fax or email and those submitted after the 
comment period will not be accepted; ED will ONLY accept comments 
during the comment period in this mailbox when the regulations.gov site 
is not available. Written requests for information or comments 
submitted by postal mail or delivery should be addressed to the 
Director of the Information Collection Clearance Division, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., LBJ, Mailstop L-OM-2-
2E319, Room 2E103, Washington, DC 20202.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: For specific questions related to 
collection activities, please contact Kashka Kubzdela, 202-502-7411.

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

[[Page 73056]]

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: Program for International Student Assessment 
2012 (PISA: 2012) Validation Study 2015 Field Test and Main Study.
    OMB Control Number: 1850-0900.
    Type of Review: A revision of an existing information collection.
    Respondents/Affected Public: Individuals or Households.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Responses: 6,260.
    Total Estimated Number of Annual Burden Hours: 2,086.
    Abstract: PISA (Program for International Student Assessment) is an 
international assessment of 15-year-olds designed to evaluate, at the 
end of compulsory education, how well students are prepared for the 
challenges of further education and the workforce (OMB# 1850-0755). To 
date, in the United States, PISA has been administered only as a cross-
sectional study, and thus it has not been possible to evaluate how well 
it assesses key competencies of 15-year-olds for their later success. 
NCES proposes to conduct a follow-up study with students who 
participated in PISA 2012 to learn how performance on PISA relates to 
subsequent outcomes and skills of young adults. The follow-up study--
referred to in materials to potential respondents as the PISA Young 
Adult Follow-Up Study, and in this request as the PISA Validation 
Study--will provide information about how students' skills and 
experiences at age 15, collected through PISA, relate to subsequent 
literacy, numeracy, and problem-solving skills, as well as educational 
attainment, education and work experiences, skills used in daily life, 
career intentions, and aspects of well-being. In fall 2015, when these 
students will be around 18 years of age, they will be asked to take the 
web-based version of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and 
Development 's (OECD) Program for the International Assessment of Adult 
Competencies (PIAAC) assessment and background questionnaire--the 
Education and Skills Online (ESO). In fall 2013, students in the United 
States who participated in PISA 2012 and supplied contact information 
were contacted and invited to update their contact information in 
preparation for the follow-up study (OMB 1850-0900 v.1). This request 
is to (1) recruit the PISA 2012 sample respondents who have been 
successfully located; (2) administer ESO to a field test sample in the 
summer of 2015; and (3) administer ESO to a main study sample in the 
fall of 2015.

    Dated: December 3, 2014.
Kate Mullan,
Acting Director, Information Collection Clearance Division, Privacy, 
Information and Records Management Services, Office of Management.
[FR Doc. 2014-28706 Filed 12-8-14; 8:45 am]
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