2017-18867. Notice Inviting Publishers To Submit Tests for a Determination of Suitability for Use in the National Reporting System for Adult Education

AGENCY:

Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education, Department of Education.

ACTION:

Notice.

SUMMARY:

The Secretary of Education (1) invites publishers to submit tests for review and approval for use in the National Reporting System for Adult Education (NRS); and (2) announces the date by which publishers must submit these tests.

DATES:

Deadlines for transmittal of applications: October 1, 2017, and April 1, 2018.

ADDRESSES:

Submit your application by mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier) or deliver your application by hand or by courier service to: NRS Assessment Review, c/o American Institutes for Research, 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street NW., Washington, DC 20007.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:

John LeMaster, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW., Room 11152, Potomac Center Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-7240. Telephone: [phone] or by email: [e-mail].

If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) or a text telephone (TTY), call the Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll free, at 1-800-877-8339.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

The Department's regulations for Measuring Educational Gain in the National Reporting System for Adult Education, 34 CFR part 462 (NRS regulations), include the procedures for determining the suitability of tests for use in the NRS.

There is a review process that will begin on October 1, 2017, and a separate review process that will begin on April 1, 2018. Only tests submitted by the due date will be reviewed in that review cycle. If a publisher submits a test after October 1, 2017, the test will not be reviewed until the review cycle that begins on April 1, 2018.

Criteria the Secretary Uses: In order for the Secretary to consider a test suitable for use in the NRS, the test must meet the criteria and requirements established in 34 CFR 462.13.

Submission Requirements:

(a) In preparing your application, you must comply with the requirements in 34 CFR 462.11.

(b) In accordance with 34 CFR 462.10, the deadlines for transmittal of applications in this fiscal year are October 1, 2017, and April 1, 2018.

(c) Whether you submit your application by mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a commercial carrier) or deliver your application by hand or by courier service, you must mail or deliver four copies of your application, on or before the deadline date, to the following address: NRS Assessment Review, c/o American Institutes for Research, 1000 Thomas Jefferson Street NW., Washington, DC 20007.

(d) If you submit your application by mail or commercial carrier, you must show proof of mailing consisting of one of the following:

(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark.

(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the U.S. Postal Service.

(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial carrier.

(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of Education.

(e) If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:

(1) A private metered postmark.

(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.

(f) We do not consider applications postmarked after the application deadline date. If an application is postmarked after the October 1, 2017, deadline date but before April 1, 2018, the application will be considered timely for the April 1 deadline date.

Note:

The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your local post office.

(g) If you submit your application by hand delivery, you (or a courier service) must deliver four copies of the application by hand, on or before 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date.

Accessible Format: Individuals with disabilities can obtain this document in an accessible format (e.g., braille, large print, audiotape, or compact disc) on request to the contact person listed under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Electronic Access to This Document: The official version of this document is the document published in the Federal Register. Free internet access to the official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal Regulations is available via the Federal Digital System at: www.gpo.gov/​fdsys. At this site you can view this document, as well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal Register, in text or Portable Document Format (PDF). To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free at the site.

You may also access documents of the Department published in the Federal Register by using the article search feature at: www.federalregister.gov. Specifically, through the advanced search feature at this site, you can limit your search to documents published by the Department.

Authority: 29 U.S.C. 3292.

Dated: August 31, 2017.

Kim R. Ford,

Deputy Assistant Secretary Delegated the Duties of the Assistant Secretary for Career, Technical, and Adult Education.