17406 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 65 / Wednesday, April 5, 1995 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

CFDA No: 84.279–A

Assessment Development and

Evaluation Grants Program; Notice

Inviting Applications for New Awards

for Fiscal Year 1995

Note to Applicants: This notice is a

complete application package. Together

with the statute authorizing the program

and the Education Department General

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR),

the notice contains all of the

information, application forms, and

instructions needed to apply for a grant

under this competition.

Purpose of the Program: To provide

grants to help defray the cost of

developing, testing, and evaluating State

assessments, including assessments in

languages other than English, and

assessments for students with

disabilities.

Eligible Applicants: State educational

agencies, local educational agencies,

and consortia of such agencies are

eligible.

Deadline for Transmittal of

Applications: June 5, 1995.

Deadline for Intergovernmental

Review: August 5, 1995.

Available Funds: $5,000,000.

Estimated Range of Awards: $100,000

to $500,000 per year.

Estimated Average Size of Awards:

$300,000.

Estimated Number of Awards: 16

awards.

Project Period: Up to 48 months.

Budget Period: 12 months.

Applicable Regulations:

(a) The Education Department General

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) as

follows:

(1) 34 CFR Part 75 (Direct Grant

Programs).

(2) 34 CFR Part 77 (Definitions that

Apply to Department Regulations).

(3) 34 CFR Part 79 (Intergovernmental

Review of Department of Education

Programs and Activities).

(4) 34 CFR Part 80 (Uniform

Administrative Requirements for Grants

and Cooperative Agreements to State

and Local Governments).

(5) 34 CFR Part 81 (General Education

Provisions Act—Enforcement).

(6) 34 CFR Part 82 (New Restrictions

on Lobbying).

(7) 34 CFR Part 85 (Government-wide

Debarment and Suspension

(Nonprocurement) and Governmentwide Requirements for Drug-Free

Workplace (Grants)).

(8) 34 CFR Part 86 (Drug-Free Schools

and Campuses).

(b) The regulations in—

(1) 34 CFR Part 98 (Student Rights in

Research, Experimental Programs, and

Testing); and

(2) 34 CFR Part 99 (Family

Educational Rights and Privacy).

Description of the Program: The

Assessment Development and

Evaluation Grants Program is authorized

by section 220 of the Goals 2000:

Educate America Act (Public Law 103–

227). Under this program, the Secretary

provides grants to help defray the cost

of developing, field-testing, and

evaluating State assessments aligned to

State content standards certified by the

National Education Standards and

Improvement Council. The Secretary is

required to reserve a portion of the

available funds for purposes of

developing such assessments in

languages other than English and

developing such assessments for

students with disabilities. Therefore, the

Secretary has established three absolute

priorities for this competition as

outlined below. Under priority (a), the

Secretary will support the development

of State assessments for all students that

are aligned with State content

standards. Under priorities (b) and (c),

the Secretary will support the

modification of State assessments for all

students necessary to facilitate their use

with students of limited-English

proficiency or students with disabilities.

The Secretary anticipates that

assessments developed under this

program will serve as models for other

States and, therefore, expects that

grantees will carefully document their

efforts to develop and evaluate

assessments.

Absolute Priorities: Under this

competition, the Secretary will consider

applications that address one or more of

the following priorities:

(a) Projects to develop, field-test, and

evaluate State assessments for all

students that are aligned to State

content standards.

(b) Projects to modify, field-test, and

evaluate State assessments in languages

other than English. The State

assessments to be modified must be

those developed under priority (a) or

similar State assessments developed for

all students and aligned to State content

standards.

(c) Projects to modify, field-test, and

evaluate State assessments for students

with disabilities. The State assessments

to be modified must be those developed

under priority (a) or similar State

assessments developed for all students

and aligned to State content standards.

Purposes of the Assessments

Grants awarded under this

competition may be used only for the

development, field-testing, and

evaluation of State assessments to be

used for some or all of the following

purposes:

(a) Informing students, parents,

teachers, and related services personnel

about the progress of all students toward

the State’s content standards;

(b) Improving classroom instruction

and improving the learning outcomes

for all students;

(c) Exemplifying for students, parents,

and teachers the kinds and levels of

achievement that should be expected of

all students, including the identification

of State student performance standards;

(d) Measuring and motivating

individual students, schools, districts,

States, and the Nation to improve

educational performance; and

(e) Assisting education policymakers

in making decisions about education

programs.

Council Certification of Content

Standards

This program supports the

development and evaluation of State

assessments that are aligned to State

content standards certified by the

National Education Standards and

Improvement Council (NESIC). Because

NESIC has not yet been established and

States cannot yet seek certification of

State content standards, an applicant for

a grant under this competition must

demonstrate in its application that the

proposed project is designed to ensure

the likelihood that the assessments to be

developed and evaluated will be aligned

to State content standards certified by

NESIC. This demonstration must

include an assurance by the State that

it intends to seek NESIC certification of

the State content standards to which the

assessments will be aligned.

Other Requirements

The recipient of a grant awarded

under this competition must:

(a) Examine the validity and

reliability of the State assessment for the

particular purposes for which such

assessment was developed;

(b) Ensure that the State assessment is

consistent with relevant, nationally

recognized professional and technical

standards for assessments; and

(c) Devote special attention to how a

State assessment treats all students,

especially with regard to the race,

gender, ethnicity, disability, and

language proficiency of such students.

Use of Assessments

A State assessment developed and

evaluated with a grant awarded under

this competition may not be used for

decisions about individual students
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relating to program placement,

promotion or retention, graduation, or

employment for a period of 5 years from

the enactment of the Goals 2000:

Educate America Act on March 31,

1994.

Selection Criteria: (a) (1) The

Secretary uses the following selection

criteria to evaluate applications for new

grants under this competition.

(2) The maximum score for all of

these criteria is 100 points.

(3) The maximum score for each

criterion is indicated in parentheses.

(b) The criteria—(1) Meeting the

purposes of the authorizing statute. (30

points) The Secretary reviews each

application to determine how well the

project will meet the purpose of the

Assessment Development and

Evaluation Grants Program, including

consideration of—

(i) The objectives of the project; and

(ii) How the objectives of the project

further the purposes of the authorizing

statute.

(2) Extent of need for the project. (20

points) The Secretary reviews each

application to determine the extent to

which the project meets specific needs

recognized in the authorizing statute,

including consideration of—

(i) The needs addressed by the

project;

(ii) How the applicant identified those

needs;

(iii) How those needs will be met by

the project; and

(iv) The benefits to be gained by

meeting those needs.

(3) Plan of operation. (15 points) The

Secretary reviews each application to

determine the quality of the plan of

operation for the project, including—

(i) The quality of the design of the

project;

(ii) The extent to which the plan of

management is effective and ensures

proper and efficient administration of

the project;

(iii) How well the objectives of the

project relate to the purpose of the

program;

(iv) The quality of the applicant’s plan

to use its resources and personnel to

achieve each objective; and

(v) How the applicant will ensure that

project participants who are otherwise

eligible to participate are selected

without regard to race, color, national

origin, gender, age, or handicapping

condition.

(4) Quality of key personnel. (15

points)

(i) The Secretary reviews each

application to determine the quality of

key personnel the applicant plans to use

on the project, including—

(A) The qualifications of the project

director (if one is to be used);

(B) The qualifications of each of the

other key personnel to be used in the

project;

(C) The time that each person referred

to in paragraphs (b)(4)(i)(A) and (B) will

commit to the project; and

(D) How the applicant, as part of its

nondiscriminatory employment

practices, will ensure that its personnel

are selected for employment without

regard to race, color, national origin,

gender, age, or handicapping condition.

(ii) To determine personnel

qualifications under paragraphs

(b)(4)(i)(A) and (B), the Secretary

considers—

(A) Experience and training in fields

related to the objectives of the project;

and

(B) Any other qualifications that

pertain to the quality of the project.

(5) Budget and cost effectiveness. (5

points) The Secretary reviews each

application to determine the extent to

which—

(i) The budget is adequate to support

the project; and

(ii) Costs are reasonable in relation to

the objectives of the project.

(6) Evaluation plan. (10 points) The

Secretary reviews each application to

determine the quality of the evaluation

plan for the project, including the extent

to which the applicant’s methods of

evaluation—

(i) Are appropriate to the project; and

(ii) To the extent possible, are

objective and produce data that are

quantifiable.

(Cross-reference: See 34 CFR 75.590

Evaluation by the grantee.)

(7) Adequacy of resources. (5 points)

The Secretary reviews each application

to determine the adequacy of the

resources that the applicant plans to

devote to the project, including

facilities, equipment, and supplies.

Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs: This program is subject to the

requirements of Executive Order 12372

(Intergovernmental Review of Federal

Programs) and the regulations in 34 CFR

part 79.

The objective of the Executive Order

is to foster an intergovernmental

partnership and to strengthen

federalism by relying on State and local

processes for State and local

government coordination and review of

proposed Federal financial assistance.

Applicants must contact the

appropriate State Single Point of

Contact to find out about, and to comply

with, the State’s process under

Executive Order 12372. Applicants

proposing to perform activities in more

than one State should immediately

contact the Single Point of Contact for

each of those States and follow the

procedure established in each State

under the Executive Order. If you want

to know the name and address of any

State Single Point of Contact, see the list

published in the Federal Register on

June 10, 1994 (59 FR 30214).

In States that have not established a

process or chosen a program for review,

State, areawide, regional, and local

entities may submit comments directly

to the Department.

Any State Process Recommendation

and other comments submitted by a

State Single Point of Contact and any

comments from State, areawide,

regional, and local entities must be

mailed or hand-delivered by the date

indicated in this notice to the following

address: The Secretary, E.O. 12372—

CFDA #84.279–A, U.S. Department of

Education, Room 6213, 600

Independence Avenue SW.,

Washington, DC 20202–0125.

Proof of mailing will be determined

on the same basis as applications (see 34

CFR 75.102). Recommendations or

comments may be hand-delivered until

4:30 p.m. (Washington, DC time) on the

dated indicated in this notice.

Please note that the above address is

not the same address as the one to

which the applicant submits its

completed application. Do not send

applications to the above address.

Instructions for Transmittal of

Applications

(a) If an applicant wants to apply for

a grant, the applicant shall—

(1) Mail the original and two copies

of the application on or before the

deadline date to: U.S. Department of

Education, Application Control Center,

Attention: CFDA #84.279–A,

Washington, DC 20202–4725.

or

(2) Hand deliver the original and two

copies of the application by 4:30 p.m.

(Washington, DC time) on the deadline

date to: U.S. Department of Education,

Application Control Center, Attention:

CFDA #84.279–A, Room 3633, Regional

Office Building 3, 7th and D Streets

SW., Washington, DC.

(b) An applicant must show one of the

following as proof of mailing:

(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service

postmark.

(2) A legible mail receipt with the

date of mailing stamped by the U.S.

Postal Service.

(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or

receipt from a commercial carrier.

(4) Any other proof of mailing

acceptable to the Secretary.

(c) If an application is mailed through

the U.S. Postal Service, the Secretary

does not accept either of the following

as proof of mailing:
17408 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 65 / Wednesday, April 5, 1995 / Notices

(1) A private metered postmark.

(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by

the U.S. Postal Service.

Notes: (1) The U.S. Postal Service does not

uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before

relying on this method, an applicant should

check with its local post office.

(2) The Application Control Center will

mail a Grant Application Receipt

Acknowledgment to each applicant. If an

applicant fails to receive the notification of

application receipt within 15 days from the

date of mailing the application, the applicant

should call the U.S. Department of Education

Application Control Center at (202) 708–

9494.

(3) The applicant must indicate on the

envelope and—if not provided by the

Department—in Item 30 of the Application

for Federal Assistance (Standard Form 424)

the CFDA number—and letter, if any—of the

competition under which the application is

being submitted.

Application Instructions and Forms:

The appendix to this application is

divided into three parts plus a statement

regarding estimated public reporting

burden and various assurances and

certifications. These parts and

additional materials are organized in the

same manner that the submitted

application should be organized. The

parts and additional materials are as

follows:

Part I: Application for Federal

Assistance (Standard Form 424 (Rev. 4–

88)) and instructions.

Part II: Budget Information—NonConstruction Programs (ED Form 524)

and instructions.

Special Budget Instructions: The

Department is participating in the

Administration’s Reinventing

Government Initiative. As part of that

initiative, the National Performance

Review urged the Department to

‘‘eliminate the continuation application

process for budget years within the

project period’’ and replace it with

‘‘yearly program progress reports

focusing on program outcomes and

problems related to program

implementation and service delivery.’’

The Department is implementing this

recommendation for as many programs

as possible beginning in fiscal year

1995. This will require all applicants for

multi-year awards to provide detailed

budget information for the total

cooperative agreement period. The

Department will negotiate at the time of

the initial award the funding levels for

each year of the cooperative agreement

award. A new generic budget form,

included in this package, requests the

information needed to implement this

initiative.

By requesting detailed budget

information in the initial application for

the total project period, the need for

formal noncompeting continuation

applications in the remaining years will

be eliminated. An annual report will be

used in place of the continuation

application to determine progress,

thereby relieving grantees of the burden

to resubmit assurances, certifications,

etc.

Part III: Application Narrative.

Additional Materials:

Estimated Public Reporting Burden.

Assurances—Non-Construction

Programs (Standard Form 424B).

Certifications regarding Lobbying;

Debarment, Suspension, and Other

Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free

Workplace Requirements (ED 80–0013).

Certification regarding Debarment,

Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary

Exclusion: Lower Tier Covered

Transactions (ED 80–0014, 9/90) and

instructions. (NOTE: ED 80–0014 is

intended for the use of grantees and

should not be transmitted to the

Department.)

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

(Standard Form LLL) (if applicable) and

instructions; and Disclosure of Lobbying

Activities Continuation Sheet (Standard

Form LLL–A).

An applicant may submit information

on a photostatic copy of the application

and budget forms, the assurances, and

the certifications. However, the

application form, the assurances, and

the certifications must each have an

original signature. No grant may be

awarded unless a completed application

form has been received.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Dr.

David Sweet, U.S. Department of

Education, Office of Educational

Research and Improvement, 555 New

Jersey Avenue, N.W., Washington, DC

20208–5573. 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.

Information about the Department’s

funding opportunities, including copies

of application notices for discretionary

grant competitions, can be viewed on

the Department’s electronic bulletin

board (ED Board), telephone (202) 260–

9950; or on the Internet Gopher Server

at GOPHER.ED.GOV (under

Announcements, Bulletins and Press

Releases). However, the official

application notice for a discretionary

grant competition is the notice

published in the Federal Register.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 5850.

Dated: March 31, 1995.

Sharon P. Robinson,

Assistant Secretary, Educational Research

and Improvement.

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Instructions for Part III—Application

Narrative

In order to be considered for funding

you must submit an original and two

copies (and in order to expedite the

review and award process, it is strongly

suggested that you voluntarily submit

one additional copy) of the following:

1. Federal Assistance Form (Standard

Form 424)

2. Priority Identification Sheet

3. Project Summary (abstract)

4. Proposal Narrative

5. Budget Information—NonConstruction Programs (ED Form 524)

6. Resume(s) for the key personnel

7. Certifications Regarding Lobbying;

Debarment, Suspension and Other

Responsibility Matters; and Drug-Free

Workplace Requirements; and

Certification Regarding Debarment,

Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary

Exclusion Lower Tier Covered

Transactions

8. Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

Specific Instructions for Application

Items

Item 3. Project Summary (abstract).

Applicants are required to provide a 250

word abstract. This summary serves an

important function in the proposal

review process, and so applicants are

encouraged to be sure that the summary

provides an accurate, intelligible and

succinct description of the project.

Item 4. Proposal Narrative.

Applicants must provide a proposal

narrative addressing each of the

selection criteria which serve as the sole

basis for reviewers to evaluate the

applications. For the Budget and cost

effectiveness criterion applicants must

include a budget narrative that explains

the line item figures included in Section

B of Form 424A. Applicants responding

to more than one of the three absolute

priorities must disaggregate costs

associated with each priority area (to

meet the congressional reporting

requirements of the Department).

The applicant must limit the Proposal

Narrative (including all attachments

and appendices, but excluding a table

of contents) to no more than 25 double

spaced pages, typed on 81⁄2′′ x 11′′ pages

(on one side only) with at least one inch

margins on all sides (including top and

bottom of pages). Single spacing is only

permitted for those attachments or

appendices where single-spacing is the

standard convention, e.g. letters of

support and commitment, and the

bibliographic reference section. The

applicant must use no smaller than 12

point type. The instructions printed on

this page are printed in the appropriate

type size. Note: proposal narratives that

exceed this page limit, or narratives

using a smaller print size or spacing

that makes the narrative exceed this

limit, will not be considered for funding.

Item 6. Resume(s) for the key

personnel. Each resume must be five

pages or less in length.

Item 7. Certifications. An original

signature is required on one copy of the

application.

Item 8. Disclosure of Lobbying. An

original signature is required on one

copy of the application.

ASSESSMENT DEVELOPMENT AND

EVALUATION GRANTS PROGRAM

ABSOLUTE PRIORITY

IDENTIFICATION SHEET

The Secretary has identified three

absolute priorities for this competition.

Please identify the priority(ies) to be

addressed by marking the appropriate

box(es).

Note that addressing at least one of

the absolute priorities is a requirement

for receiving a grant under this

competition.

[ ] Absolute Priority #1

Projects to develop, field-test, and

evaluate State assessments aligned to

State content standards.

[ ] Absolute Priority #2

Projects to develop, field-test, and

evaluate such State assessments in

languages other than English.

[ ] Absolute Priority #3

Projects to develop, field-test, and

evaluate such State assessments for

students with disabilities.

Instructions for Estimated Public

Reporting Burden

Under terms of the Paperwork

Reduction Act of 1980, as amended, and

the regulations implementing that Act,

the Department of Education invites

comment on the public reporting

burden in this collection of information.

Public reporting burden for this

collection of information is estimated to

average 30 hours per response,

including the time for reviewing

instructions, searching existing data

sources, gathering and maintaining the

data needed, and completing and

reviewing the collection of information.

You may send comments regarding this

burden estimate or any other aspect of

this collection of information, including

suggestions for reducing this burden, to

the U.S. Department of Education,

Information Management and

Compliance Division, Washington, D.C.

20202–4651; and to the Office of

Management and Budget, Paperwork

Reduction Project 1850–0710,

Washington, D.C. 20503.

(Information collection approved

under OMB control number 1850–0710.

Expiration date: September 31, 1998.)

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[FR Doc. 95–8357 Filed 4–4–95; 8:45 am]

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