Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI); Educational Research and Development Centers Program

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 __ J[email protected].

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]

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