Nov 9 -- The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), Institute of Education Sciences (IES), U.S. Department of Education, invites public comments by January 10, 2022 regarding its proposal for the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS 2023) Main Study Sampling, Recruitment, and Data Collection.
The International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS) is a computer-based international assessment of eighth-grade students' computer and information literacy (CIL) skills. ICILS was first administered internationally in 2013 in 21 education systems and again in 2018, when the United States participated for the first time. Our participation in this study has provided data on students' skills and experience using technology to investigate, create, and communicate, and provided a comparison of U.S. student performance and technology access and use with those of the international peers. The next administration of ICILS will be in 2023. The 2023 study will allow the U.S. to begin monitoring the progress of its students compared to that of other nations and to provide data on factors that may influence student computer and information literacy skills. The data collected through ICILS will provide valuable information with which to understand the nature and extent of the “digital divide” and has the potential to inform understanding of the relationship between technology skills and experience and student performance in other core subject areas.
ICILS is conducted 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, assessment, and background questionnaires. The IEA decides and agrees upon a common set of standards and procedures for collecting and reporting ICILS data, and defines the study timeline, all of which must be followed by all participating countries. As a result, ICILS 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 and works with the IEA and RTI International to ensure proper implementation of the study and adoption of practices in adherence to the IEA's standards. Participation in ICILS will allow NCES to meet its mandate of acquiring and disseminating data on educational activities and student achievement in the United States compared with foreign nations [The Educational Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA 2002) 20 U.S.C. 9543].
In preparation for the ICILS 2023 main study, all countries are asked to implement a field test between March 1 and April 15, 2022. The purpose of the ICILS field test is 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 October 2021 NCES submitted and OMB approved a separate package for the ICILS 2023 Pilot Field Test (OMB# 1850-0803 v.304). The U.S. ICILS main study will be conducted from March through May 2023 and will involve a nationally-representative sample of at least 3,000 eighth-grade students from a minimum of 150 schools. This request is to conduct the ICILS 2023 main study data recruitment and collection. The materials to be used in the main study are based upon those that were proposed most recently in October 2021. This submission describes the overarching plan for all phases of the data collection for the 2023 main study.
ICILS 2023 webpage:
https://www.iea.nl/studies/iea/icils/2023
ICILS 2023 draft package:
https://www.regulations.gov/search?filter=ED-2021-SCC-0157 Includes forms, instruments, and technical documentation
FR notice inviting public comment:
https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/11/09/2021-24430/agency-information-collection-activities-comment-request-international-computer-and-information
Point of contact: Linda Hamilton, National Research Coordinator, NCES Linda.Hamilton@ed.gov (202) 245-6360
