[Federal Register Volume 60, Number 68 (Monday, April 10, 1995)]
[Notices]
[Pages 18340-18342]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 95-8749]
[[Page 18339]]
_______________________________________________________________________
Part VIII
Department of Education
_______________________________________________________________________
Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI); Educational
Research and Development Centers Program; Notice
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 68 / Monday, April 10, 1995 /
Notices
[[Page 18340]]
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI);
Educational Research and Development Centers Program
AGENCY: Department of Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priorities.
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SUMMARY: The Secretary proposes priorities for seven national
educational research and development centers that would carry out
sustained research and development to address nationally significant
problems and issues in education.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before May 25, 1995.
ADDRESSES: All comments concerning these proposed priorities should be
addressed to Jacqueline Jenkins, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New
Jersey Avenue, NW., room 510G, Washington, DC 20208-5573. Comments can
be faxed to Jacqueline Jenkins at (202) 219-2030. Comments can be sent
electronically to Jackie __ Jenkins@ed.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Jacqueline Jenkins, telephone: (202)
219-2079. Individuals who use a telecommunications device for the deaf
(TDD) may call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-
877-8339 between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time, Monday through
Friday.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: Title IX of Public Law 103-227, which
authorizes the Office of Educational Research and Improvement,
establishes five new national research institutes to carry out
coordinated and comprehensive programs of research, development,
evaluation, and dissemination designed to provide research-based
leadership for the improvement of education. The five institutes are--
(1) The National Institute on Student Achievement, Curriculum, and
Assessment;
(2) The National Institute on the Education of At-Risk Students;
(3) The National Institute on Educational Governance, Finance,
Policy-Making, and Management;
(4) The National Institute on Early Childhood Development and
Education; and
(5) The National Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries,
and Lifelong Learning.
The institutes support sustained research and development focused
on significant national problems and issues in education conducted by
national research and development centers. Institutions eligible to
receive center awards include institutions of higher education,
institutions of higher education in consort with public agencies or
non-profit organizations, and interstate agencies established by
compact that operate subsidiary bodies to conduct postsecondary
education research and development.
The Secretary invites comments on the seven priority topics
included in this announcement. Comments may address individual center
priorities or the priorities as a whole. In addition to centers
addressing the proposed priorities, OERI will continue to support a
Center for Research on the Education of Students Placed At-Risk, a
National Reading Research Center, and a National Research Center on
Gifted and Talented Children and Youth.
Through a series of meetings, regional hearings, and Federal
Register Notices, OERI solicited advice from parents, teachers,
administrators, policy-makers, business people, researchers, and others
to identify the most needed research and development activities. After
reviewing this advice, OERI identified the priorities proposed in this
Notice. The final research and development center priorities will be
published following review of the public comment and consideration of
the priorities by OERI's National Educational Research Policy and
Priorities Board.
Proposed Absolute Priorities
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), the Secretary proposes to give an
absolute preference to applications that meet the general priority and
one of the individual priorities listed below. Funding of any
individual priority will depend on the availability of funds, the
nature of the final priority, and the quality of applications received.
Proposed General Absolute Priority: Each national research and
development center must--
(a) Conduct a coherent, sustained program of research and
development to address problems and issues of national significance in
its individual priority area, using a well-conceptualized and
theoretically sound framework;
(b) Contribute to the development and advancement of theory in the
area of its individual priority;
(c) Conduct scientifically rigorous studies capable of generating
findings that contribute substantially to understanding in the field;
(d) Conduct work of sufficient size, scope, and duration to produce
definitive guidance for improvement efforts and future research;
(e) Address issues of both equity and excellence in education in
its individual priority area; and
(f) Document, report, and disseminate information about its
research findings and other accomplishments in ways that will allow
others to use that information.
Proposed Absolute Priority 1: Promoting the Cognitive and Social-
Emotional Development of Young Children
Under this priority, a national research and development center
must--
(a) Conduct research and development on promoting the cognitive and
social-emotional development and achievement of young children,
beginning at birth, especially children who are placed at risk of
educational failure because of community, economic, linguistic, family,
or disability factors, and the general well-being of their families;
and
(b) Include in its work research or development related to the
following topics:
(1) The skills, knowledge, and expectations that enable families,
educators, and others in the community to help young children come to
school prepared to learn.
(2) Effective models and strategies that families, educators, and
others can use to foster young children's learning.
(3) How various early childhood supports and services within the
community can be designed and implemented to maximize young children's
cognitive and social-emotional development, success in preschool, and
achievement in elementary grades.
Proposed Absolute Priority 2: Improving Student Learning and
Achievement
Under this priority, a national research and development center
must--
(a) Conduct research and development on improving student learning
and achievement; and
(b) Include in its work research or development related to the
following topics:
(1) How students acquire knowledge and develop cognitive skills.
(2) The social context of learning, including the social
organization of classrooms and schools.
(3) The integration of curriculum changes with other efforts to
improve student learning and achievement.
(4) Effective teaching in the core academic content areas.
(5) The role of student motivation and student responsibility in
creating safe schools and environments conducive to learning.
(6) Effective professional development for educators.
[[Page 18341]]
Proposed Absolute Priority 3: Improving Student Assessment
Under this priority, a national research and development center
must--
(a) Conduct research and development on improving student
assessment; and
(b) Include in its work research or development related to the
following topics:
(1) The development of assessments that are aligned with curriculum
and instruction and can be used to improve teaching and learning.
(2) The use of assessments to improve instruction in the core
content areas, particularly English language arts and mathematics, and
to promote educational accountability.
(3) The technical quality (validity, reliability, fairness, and
content coverage) of different types of assessments.
Proposed Absolute Priority 4: Meeting the Educational Needs of a
Diverse Student Population
Under this priority, a national research and development center
must--
(a) Conduct research and development on meeting the educational
needs of an increasingly diverse student population, including students
who are at risk of educational failure because of limited English
proficiency, poverty, race, ethnicity, culture, or geographical
location; and
(b) Include in its work research or development related to the
following topics:
(1) Recognizing and building on the strengths of students from
diverse backgrounds to help all students achieve to high academic
standards.
(2) Professional development that enhances the abilities of
teachers and other school personnel to help language minority students
and other students at risk of educational failure achieve to high
academic standards.
(3) Structuring out-of-school experiences to help students at risk
of educational failure overcome obstacles and achieve school success.
(4) Working with families and community-based organizations to help
students at risk of educational failure achieve to high academic
standards.
(5) Ways that federal, state, and community reform efforts can be
designed so that language minority students and other students at risk
of educational failure learn to high standards.
Proposed Absolute Priority 5: Increasing the Effectiveness of State and
Local Education Reform Efforts
Under this priority, a national research and development center
must--
(a) Conduct research and development on improving the effectiveness
of state and local efforts to reform elementary and secondary
education; and
(b) Include in its work research or development related to the
following topics:
(1) The role of challenging academic standards in efforts to reform
elementary and secondary education.
(2) The role of education policy and financing in improving
learning opportunities for all students.
(3) The coherence of state, district and school-level reforms and
their effects on the learning of all students.
(4) The role of incentives in the reform of elementary and
secondary education.
(5) School-level strategies for improving education within the
context of state and district reforms.
(6) Reforms to improve children's learning by strengthening the
connections between schools and communities.
(7) Factors that influence the success of state, district, and
school-level reforms, from initiation through implementation to
``scaling up.''
Proposed Absolute Priority 6: Improving Postsecondary Education and the
Preparation of Adults for Work
Under this priority, a national research and development center
must--
(a) Conduct research and development on improving postsecondary
education and the preparation of adults for work and lifelong learning;
and
(b) Include in its work research or development related the
following topics:
(1) Effective transitions from school to work for secondary and
postsecondary students.
(2) The relationships among students' access to and participation
and progress in postsecondary education, their academic achievement,
and their later work force participation.
(3) The improvement of postsecondary student learning and
assessment.
(4) Containing costs and improving the productivity and
accountability of postsecondary institutions.
(5) Articulation between secondary and postsecondary education.
Proposed Absolute Priority 7: Improving Adult Learning and Literacy
Under this priority, a national research and development center
must--
(a) Conduct research and development on improving adult learning
and literacy, including the acquisition of skills needed for workforce
participation and responsible citizenship; and
(b) Include in its work research or development related to the
following topics:
(1) Adult acquisition of knowledge and development of cognitive
skills.
(2) Effective methods and instructional strategies to improve adult
learning, including effective use of educational technology.
(3) Effective methods for professional development of instructional
staff in adult literacy.
(4) The assessment of adult learning.
Proposed Post-Award Requirements
The Secretary proposes the following post-award requirements
consistent with the Educational Research, Development, Dissemination,
and Improvement Act of 1994. A grantee receiving a center award must--
(a) Provide OERI with information about center projects and
products and other appropriate research information so that OERI can
monitor center progress and maintain its inventory of funded research
projects. This information must be provided through media that include
an electronic network;
(b) Conduct and evaluate research projects in conformity with the
highest professional standards of research practice;
(c) Reserve five percent of each budget period's funds to support
activities that fall within the center's priority area, are designed
and mutually agreed to by the center and OERI, and enhance OERI's
ability to carry out its mission. Such activities may include
developing research agendas, conducting research projects collaborating
with other federally-supported entities, and engaging in research
agenda setting and dissemination activities; and
(d) At the end of the award period, synthesize the findings and
advances in knowledge that resulted from the Center's program of work
and describe the potential impact on the improvement of American
education, including any observable impact to date.
Note: This notice of proposed priorities does not solicit
applications. A notice inviting applications under this competition
will be published in the Federal Register [[Page 18342]] concurrent
with or following publication of the notice of final priorities.
Invitation to Comment
Interested persons are invited to submit comments and
recommendations regarding these proposed priorities.
All comments submitted in response to this notice will be available
for public inspection, during and after the comment period, in Room
510G, 555 New Jersey Avenue, N.W., Washington, D.C., between the hours
of 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m., Monday through Friday of each week except
Federal holidays.
Program Authority: P.L. 103-227, Title IX.
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Numbers 84.305, 84.306,
84.307, 84.308, and 84.309 Educational Research and Development
Centers Program)
Dated: April 4, 1995.
Sharon Porter Robinson,
Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 95-8749 Filed 4-7-95; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P
