[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.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

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]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P