Newsgroups: bit.listserv.erl-l
Date:         Sun, 26 Jul 1992 12:00:00 CDT
From:         P30JWP1@NIU.BITNET
Subject:      OERI: Research Office Status (264 lines)

The following is provided by the Office of Educational Research
and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education.  Please feel
welcome to distribute.

         OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT

                         PROGRAM REPORTS

<{                       OFFICE OF RESEARCH

The Office of Research (OR) seeks to improve the understanding of
and knowledge about education practice and policy.  The goal is
to illuminate and resolve those education problems and issues
that are of greatest concern to the American
people.

PROGRAM ACTIVITIES

Evaluation of Education Reform.  A set of twelve contracts has
been awarded to support research to evaluate education reform.
The purpose of this project is to generate important and useful
information to help reform efforts and to find replicable models
and practices.  The topics range from curricular reform and
parent and community involvement to early childhood and the
<{school-to-work transition.  (Contact: Jim Fox, 219-2223)

OERI Fellows Program was announced in the February 7, 1992,
FEDERAL REGISTER.  The Fellows program provides financial
assistance to individuals to conduct educational research at
OERI.  Written requests to be considered as a Fellow are
due in the Office of Research by April 17, 1992.  (Contact:
Jeffrey Gilmore, 219-2243)

Invitational Working Conference on Single Gender Schools was held
March 9-10.  The purpose of this conference was to provide a
forum for the discussion of issues concerning single gender
schooling; to provide OERI with more information on the
topic; and to provide material for a publication for
policymakers, educators, researchers, and parents.  (Contact:
Debra Hollinger, 219-2024)
<{
"Educating Teachers for America 2000: A Challenge to Higher
Education," a national teleconference, will be held on March 19.
Secretary Alexander and John Akers, IBM CEO, will participate in
the discussion.  Milton Goldberg, OR Director, will serve as
moderator.  (Contact:  Betsy Ashburn, 219-2212)

Researchers from the Natio7{x{l Center on Postsecondary Teaching,
Learning, and Assessment will present findings from their study
of how teaching and research activities affect faculty
compensation.  The briefing will be held on March 23, 1992, in
Room 326, 555 New Jersey Avenue NW from 9:00 am to 11:00 am.  All
are welcome but an RSVP is required.  (Contact:  Jeffrey Gilmore,
219-2243)
ERIC Clearinghouse Competition planning has begun.  The current
contracts for the 16 clearinghouses will expire in FY 93.  In
planning for the new Request for Proposals (RFP), ERIC staff is
gathering extensive information from various audiences including
researchers, librarians, teachers, and administrators.  Any
comments and suggestions for ERIC should be sent to the ERIC
staff. (Contact: Robert Stonehill, 219-2088)

National Reading Research Center.  The competition for the new
National Reading Research Center should be completed soon.  The
current Reading Center contract expires in March.  (Contact:
Anne Sweet, 219-2043)

The National Research Center for Research on Literature is
initiating a new activity entitled "The National Literature
Network." It will promote sharing of information about the
teaching of literature among networks of teachers at the local,
state, and regional levels.  (Contact:  Rita Foy, 219-2027)

The National Center for Research on Teacher Learning is
developing a videotape based on NAEP mathematics items.  It
reflects new standards developed by the National Council for

219-2210)

User Fees and the ERIC Database.  The ERIC Facility contract is
now modified to allow the contractor to copyright the ERICTAPES.
The modification permits the ERIC Facility contractor to charge a
royalty fee for commercial uses of the ERIC database tapes.  All
funds derived from database tape sales and usage are to be
used only for authorized improvements to the ERIC database and to
enhance dissemination.  ERICTAPES currently sell for $75 per
reel, the lowest cost of any bibliographic database on the
market.  (Contact:  Kevin Arundel, 219-1846)

Field-Initiated Studies.  Seventeen awards were made for
field-initiated research for FY 91.  Applications were available
on November 22 for the FY 92 competition, and the closing date
was January 22, 1992.  Approximately $976,000 is available
for FY 92;  an estimated 15 awards will be made this fiscal year.
Abstracts of studies funded in FY 90 & 91 will be available in
April. (Contact:  Delores Monroe,219-2223)

The National Assessment of Vocational Education first data
collection is scheduled to begin in March 1992.  The National
Assessment of Vocational Education Design Conference Summary and
papers will be published by mid-March.  (Contact:  David Boesel,
<{219-1598)
<{
National Institute for Literacy.  In November, Dr. Franmarie
<{Ken7W#ydy-Keel was appointed aF~ interim director of the National
<{Institute for Literacy.  A ten member Board, appointed by the
Presid
setting the goals of the Institute and establishing programs
in support of those goals.  The Institute is now located in Suite
200, 800 Connecticut Aven
Franmarie Kennedy-Keel, 632-1500)

Videotape Competition:  On September 30, 1991, OERI awarded three
cooperative agreements to develop innovative videotapes to help
schools and communities achieve the National Education Goals.
Three proposals were selected for funding:

     The National Film Institute, in Washington, DC, was awarded
     $505,067 to produce video&3apes and supplementary print
     guides, to facilitate the development and implementation of
     school-based programs to address each of the six National
     Education Goals.  They will collaborate with 15 major
     education associations to carry out this project.  (Contact:
     Kevin Arundel, 219-1846)
<{
     The Pennsylvania State University's Institute for the Study
     of Adult Literacy, in State College, Pennsylvania, was
     awarded $800,000 to produce six public service announcements
     and nine videotapes and program guides to assist
     individuals, organizations and businesses in improving adult
     literacy programs.  Penn State will be collaborating with
     WPSX-TV and WQED-TV. (Contact:  Steve Balkcom, 219-2089)

<{     The Western Interstate Commission on Higher Education, in
     Boulder, Colorado, was awarded $854,933 to develop video and
     printed materials to help states and local communities
     develop and put in place model programs for achieving the
     six National Education Goals.  Linked with COLORADO
     2000, the project will also involve KRMA-TV, the Pacific
     Mountain Network, the Jones Cable/Mind Extension University,
     and the Mid-continent Regional Education Laboratory.
     (Contact:  Bob Stonehill, 219-2088)

National Board for Professional Teaching Standards.  OR is
administering the $4.8 million award to the NBPTS for research
and demonstration activities to develop assessment approaches.
NBPTS is issuing RFP's to establish:  (a) a field test network
and (b) assessment development laboratories.  (Contact: Joyce
Murphy, 219-2039)

National Commission on Time and Learning.  This Commission was
established in September.  The first meeting will be held April
6, 1992.  It will examine the quality and adequacy of the study
and learning time of elementary and secondary students, including
the length of the school day and year, the extent and role of
homework, how time is being used for academic subjects,
year-round professional opportunities for teachers, and the use
of school facilities for extended learning facilities.  The life
of the Commission is 27 months; it is required to submit a final
report not later than two years after its first meeting.
(Contact:  Julia Anderson, 219-2249)

PUBLICATIONS

The Way We Are: The Community College As American Thermometer,
released in February, is the third monograph in the NLS-72 study
series which has followed a generation of Americans from the time
they were high school seniors in 1972 into their early thirties.
This study looks at a large group of individuals who enrolled in
community colleges at any time from when they graduated from high
school in 1972, and 1984 when they were in their early thirties.
While the attendance patterns vary, at least one in four 1972
high school graduates earned at least one credit from a community
college over the twelve year period.  (Contact:  Cliff Adelman,
219-2251)

Estimating the Home Schooled Population by Patricia Lines is part
of the OR working paper series.  The paper provides an estimate
of the number of school aged children who were educated at home
in the school year 1990-91 based on the records of curricular
suppliers, state departments of education, and home school
leaders.  The estimate is between 248,500 - 353,500 children.
(Contact:  Ivor Pritchard: 219-2223)

The 1992 ERIC Calendar of Education-Related Conferences includes
578 international, national, state, regional, and local education
meetings and events.  Copies are $15.00.  (Contact:  ACCESS ERIC,
1-800-USE-ERIC)

Families and School: State Strategies and Policies to Improve
Family Involvement in Education describes legislation, policies,
guidelines, and programs used in Alabama, California, Florida,
and Minnesota to increase family involvement in schools.  This
four-state case study is the final report of a Field-Initiated
Studies project at the Council of Chief State School Officers
(CCSSO).  (Contact: Glenda Partee at CCSSO, 408-5505)

The ERIC Review (third issue) features parent involvement and is
now available.  Apple Computer company distributed 2,000 copies
of the ERIC Review on literacy to its national field sales force.

(Contact:  Pat Coulter, 219-2286)

Education in the Workplace:  The Military Experience reports on a
national conference sponsored by OERI and the Office of
Vocational and Adult Education to examine the role of education
in restructuring defense and other industries.  It discusses who
would be affected by downsizing the military, the educational
resources available to individuals moving from the military to
the civilian sector, and the role education and training can
play.  (Contact:  Nevzer Stacey, 219-2111)

You Can Help Your Young Child Learn Mathematics, a brochure, has
been distributed to over 150,000 elementary schools and
educational organizations throughout the country.  (Contact:  Ram
Singh, 219-2025)
The High Stakes of High School Science by the National Center for
Improving Science Education, the Network, Inc., focuses on high
school science curriculum, assessment, and teacher support and
development.  (Contact:  Wanda Chambers, 219-2035)

Evaluation Thesaurus by Michael Scriven of the Center for
Research on Educational Accountability and Teacher Evaluation
(CREATE) is a guidebook to evaluation terminology, models,
techniques, and positions.  (Contact:  616-387-5895)

Teaching Academic Subjects to Diverse Learners:  What Teachers
Need to Know by the National Center for Research on Teacher
Learning examines the complicated issues of both subject matter
and students, and presents several ideas about the kind of
knowledge that will most benefit teachers.  (Contact:
517-355-9302)

Sociological Foundations Supporting the Study of Cultural
Diversity by Hugh Mehan, UCLA, a report for educational
researchers, and Education of Linguistically and Culturally
Diverse Students: Effective Instructional Practice by Eugene
Garcia, University of California, Santa Cruz, a report for
educational practitioners.  Both reports are from the National
Center for Research on Cultural Diversity and Second Language
Learning.  (Contact:  408-459-3501)

Striving for Excellence:  the National Education Goals is a
compilation of ERIC Digests on the National Education Goals.
(Contact:  Bob Thomas, 219-1925)

Preventing Early School Failure: What Works by Slavin, Karwait,
and Wasik, November 1991 examines program effects of alternative
early intervention programs.  Other reports and articles of
interest from the Center for Research on Effective Schooling for
Disadvantaged Students are Community Involvement and
Disadvantaged Students and the most recent newsletter that
features parent involvement, retention, and mentoring programs.
(Contact:  301-338-7570)

The Relationship of Grouping Practices to the Education of the
Gifted and Talented Learner by Rogers, National Research Center
on the Gifted and Talented, October 1991, is part of the
research-based decision making series.  In this paper, 13
research syntheses are described, analyzed, and evaluated to
determine the academic, social, and psychological effects of a
variety of grouping practices upon gifted and talented learners.
(Contact:  203-486-5279)
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU