[Federal Register Volume 65, Number 59 (Monday, March 27, 2000)]
[Notices]
[Pages 16290-16291]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 00-7363]



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Part IV





Department of Education





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Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Education Program: National 
Research and Development Center; Notice

  Federal Register / Vol. 65, No. 59 / Monday, March 27, 2000 / 
Notices  

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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Education Program: National 
Research and Development Center

AGENCY: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Department of 
Education.

ACTION: Notice of proposed priority.

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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for the Office of Educational Research 
and Improvement (OERI) proposes a priority under the Jacob K. Javits 
Gifted and Talented Education Program--National Research and 
Development Center (Center). The Assistant Secretary will use this 
priority for the Center competition in fiscal year (FY) 2000. This 
priority is intended to focus on research to obtain a better 
understanding of the under-representation of students from some 
minority groups among top performers, and on using national data sets 
to better understand the educational opportunities available to top 
performing students.

DATES: We must receive your comments on or before April 26, 2000.

ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed priority to Beverly 
Coleman, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., room 
611A, Washington, DC 20208-5521. If you prefer to send your comments 
through the Internet, use the following address: 
[email protected]

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth Fine, U.S. Department of 
Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., room 613, Washington, DC 20202-
5521. Telephone: (202) 219-1323. If you use a telecommunications device 
for the deaf (TDD), you may call the Federal Information Relay Service 
(FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding 
paragraph.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Invitation to Comment

    We invite you to submit comments regarding this proposed priority.
    During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public 
comments about this proposed priority in room 611a, 555 New Jersey 
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m., 
Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal 
holidays.

Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the Rulemaking 
Record

    On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or 
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs 
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public 
rulemaking record for this proposed priority. If you want to schedule 
an appointment for this type of aid, you may call (202) 205-8113 or 
(202) 260-9895. If you use a TDD, you may call the Federal Information 
Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.

General Information

    OERI administers the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students 
Education Act of 1994 (Javits Act) under Title X, Part B of Public Law 
103-382 (20 U.S.C. 8031 et seq.). The purposes of the Javits Act are 
(1) To support a coordinated program of research, demonstration 
projects, personnel training, and similar activities designed to build 
a nationwide capability in elementary and secondary schools to meet the 
special educational needs of gifted and talented students; (2) to 
encourage rich and challenging curricula for all students through the 
appropriate application and adaptation of materials and instructional 
methods used with gifted and talented students; and (3) to supplement 
and make more effective the expenditure of State and local funds 
devoted to gifted and talented students.
    The Secretary is authorized, under the Javits Act, to create a 
national research center to carry out: (1) Research on methods and 
techniques for identifying and teaching gifted and talented students, 
and for using gifted and talented education programs and methods to 
serve all students; and (2) program evaluations, surveys, and the 
collection, analysis, and development of information needed to 
accomplish the purposes of the Act.
    The Javits Act gives the highest priority to: (1) The 
identification and services for gifted and talented students who may 
not be identified and served through traditional assessment methods 
(including economically disadvantaged, individuals of limited-English 
proficiency, and individuals with disabilities); and (2) programs and 
projects designed to develop or improve the capability of schools in an 
entire State or region of the Nation through the cooperative efforts of 
State and local educational agencies, institutions of higher education, 
and other public and private agencies.
    The Secretary believes that there are certain areas of research in 
gifted and talented education that are especially significant and in 
the national interest. He believes that focusing on these areas will 
substantially increase our knowledge and improve our ability to serve 
gifted and talented students well. Therefore, the Secretary proposes 
one priority for the Center competition.
    First, the Secretary believes that it is in the national interest 
to have a better understanding of the reasons for the under-
representation of some minority groups among top performing students. 
National surveys reveal that only about ten percent of the students 
performing at the highest levels are African-Americans, Latinos, or 
Native Americans, even though they make up about one-third of the 
population. There has been very little sustained and coordinated 
research to investigate the reasons for the under-representation of 
minorities at the highest levels of achievement or to develop and 
evaluate methods for increasing the number of minority students 
performing at the highest levels.
    Second, there is a substantial body of information on gifted and 
talented students and their educational programs contained in national 
and international studies, such as those conducted by the National 
Center for Education Statistics (NCES), that could and should be used 
to inform our understanding of the opportunities available for top-
performing students. There are robust data sets in a number of national 
and international studies that address issues related to the education 
of high achieving and high ability students. These studies have not 
been analyzed, to any significant degree, in order to gain a national 
and international portrait of these students and the educational 
opportunities available to them. These studies include, but are not 
limited to, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, the National 
Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS 88), the National Assessment of 
Educational Progress (NAEP), and the Third International Mathematics 
and Science Study (TIMSS). For example, data from the Early Childhood 
Longitudinal Study could provide findings about the early childhood 
experiences of high achieving minority and nonminority children, both 
at home and in school. Data from the National Educational Longitudinal 
Study (NELS) could help address a number of questions related to the 
opportunities and achievement of middle and high school students, such 
as: what can we learn about the educational experiences of minority 
students identified as high

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achieving in eighth grade? What coursework did they take, and did this 
lead to differences in achievement? Did they go on to higher education? 
How is this the same or different from nonminority students? The 
Secretary believes that analyzing these studies will lead to a better 
understanding of how top performing students are identified and served 
throughout the nation and the world.
    We will announce the final priority in a notice in the Federal 
Register. We will determine the final priority after considering 
responses to this notice and other information available to the 
Department. This notice does not preclude us from proposing or funding 
additional priorities, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking 
requirements.


    Note: This notice does not solicit applications. A notice 
inviting applications under this competition will be published in 
the Federal Register concurrent with or following publication of the 
notice of final priority.

Priority

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) the Secretary proposes to give an 
absolute preference to applications that meet the following priority. 
The Secretary proposes to fund under this competition only one 
application that meets this absolute priority.

Proposed Priority--Research on Gifted and Talented Students

    The Secretary will only fund a Center application that proposes to 
carry out the following activities--
    (a) Conducts a coherent and sustained program of research that:
    (1) Investigates the causes for disparities in achievement at the 
highest levels of performance among various racial and ethnic groups;
    (2) Studies models for increasing the proportion of under 
represented students performing at the highest levels; and
    (3) Generates findings and applications that build the capacity of 
teachers and schools to improve the performance of under-represented 
students.
    (b) Informs the research carried out under paragraph (a) by 
conducting analyses of existing national and international databases to 
determine what is known about the opportunities available to, and 
educational outcomes of gifted and talented, high achieving or high 
ability students from these studies. Special attention would be given 
to studies that provide analyses that:
    (1) Lead to a better understanding of what contributes to the 
educational achievement of these students, disaggregated by socio-
economic status and race;
    (2) Frame questions not yet being asked that will guide future 
discussion and inquiry;
    (3) Propose new approaches to enduring problems; and
    (4) Influence discussion of subsequent research, practice, and 
policy activities.
    (c) Reserves 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. These activities may include 
developing research agenda, conducting research projects collaborating 
with other federally-supported entities, and engaging in research 
agenda setting and dissemination activities,
    (d) Prepares, at the end of the award period, a report that 
synthesizes the findings and advances in knowledge that resulted from 
the Center's program of work and that describes the potential impact on 
the improvement of American education, including any observable impact 
to date.

Executive Order 12372

    This program is not subject to Executive Order 12372 and the 
regulations in 34 CFR Part 79.
    Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR Part 700.
    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 8034(c).

Electronic Access to This Document

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at either of the 
following sites:

http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html

To use the PDF you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with 
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you 
have questions about using the PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing 
Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-294-6498; or in the Washington, D.C., 
area at (202) 512-1530.


    Note: 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 on GPO Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.

(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number: 84.206R Jacob K. 
Javits National Research and Development Center for Gifted and 
Talented Education Program)

    Dated: March 21, 2000.
C. Kent McGuire,
Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 00-7363 Filed 3-24-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4001-01-U