H. R. 1804—108
eral, State, or local public agencies, with or without
reimbursement therefore; and
(C) may accept voluntary and uncompensated services.
(d) NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT, CURRICU-
LUM, AND ASSESSMENT.—
(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows:
(A) The current achievement levels of students in the
United States are far below those that might indicate com-
petency in challenging subject matter in core content areas.
(B) During the last 20 years, relatively little changed
in how students were taught. Despite much research
suggesting better alternatives, classrooms continue to be
dominated by textbooks, teacher lectures, short-answer
activity sheets, and unequal patterns of student attention.
(C) Despite progress in narrowing the gaps, the dif-
ferences in performance between Caucasian students and
their minority counterparts remain unacceptably large.
While progress has been made in reducing the gender
gap in mathematics, such gap still remains at higher levels
of problem solving. Too little progress has been made in
reducing gender performance gaps favoring males in science
and females in writing.
(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the National Institute on
Student Achievement, Curriculum, and Assessment is to carry
out a coordinated and comprehensive program of research and
development to provide research-based leadership to the United
States as it seeks to improve student achievement in core
content areas and the integration of such areas. Such program
shall—
(A) identify, develop, and evaluate innovative and
exemplary methods to improve student knowledge at all
levels in the core content areas, such as—
(i) student learning and assessment in various sub-
ject matters;
(ii) the effects of organizational patterns on the
delivery of instruction, including issues of grouping
and tracking, ungraded classrooms, and on the effects
of various pedagogies, including the issues of tech-
nology in education;
(iii) standards for what students should know and
be able to do, particularly standards of desired perform-
ance set to internationally competitive levels;
(iv) methods to improve the process of reading,
the craft of writing, the growth of reasoning skills,
and the development of information-finding skills;
(v) enabling students to develop higher order
thinking skills;
(vi) methods to teach effectively all students in
mixed-ability classrooms;
(vii) curriculum, instruction, and assessment, in
vocational education and school-to-work transition;
(viii) the impact and effectiveness of Federal, State,
and local efforts to provide gender-fair educational
opportunities to elementary and secondary students;
(ix) programs, policies, and approaches which pro-
mote gender equity in elementary and secondary edu-
cation;
H. R. 1804—109
(x) improving the working conditions of teachers
and other educational practitioners, which may include
such topics as—
(I) teacher isolation;
(II) professional resources available to teach-
ers;
(III) continuing educational and professional
opportunities available to teachers;
(IV) physical facilities and equipment, such
as office space, telephone, computer access, and
fax machines and television cable access available
to teachers in the work environment;
(V) 
opportunities 
for 
teachers 
to 
share
information and resources with other teachers and
education professionals;
(VI) opportunities for advanced learning
experience; and
(VII) the reduction of stress in the teaching
profession;
(xi) curriculum development designed to meet chal-
lenging standards, including State efforts to develop
such curriculum;
(xii) the need for, and methods of delivering,
teacher education, development, and inservice training;
(xiii) educational methods and activities to reduce
and prevent violence in schools;
(xiv) the use of technology in learning, teaching
and testing; and
(xv) other topics relevant to the mission of the
institute;
(B) conduct basic and applied research in the areas
of human learning, cognition, and performance, including
research and development on the education contexts which
promote excellence in learning and instruction, and motiva-
tional issues related to learning;
(C) identify, develop, and evaluate programs designed
to enhance academic achievement and narrow racial and
gender performance gaps in a variety of subject areas,
including research and development on methods of involv-
ing parents in their children’s education and ways to
involve business, industry and other community partners
in promoting excellence in schools; and
(D) include a comprehensive, coordinated program of
research and development in the area of assessment
which—
(i) addresses issues such as—
(I) the validity, reliability, generalizability,
costs, relative merits, and most appropriate uses
of various approaches and methods of assessing
student learning and achievement;
(II) methods and approaches to assessing stu-
dent opportunities to learn (including the quality
of instruction and the availability of resources nec-
essary to support learning) and evaluating the
quality of school environment;
(III) the impact of high-stakes uses of assess-
ment on student performance and motivation,
H. R. 1804—110
narrowing of curriculum, teaching practices, and
test integrity;
(IV) the impact of various methods of assess-
ment on children of different races, ethnicities,
gender, socioeconomic status, and English lan-
guage proficiencies, and children with other special
needs;
(V) standards of performance, quality, and
validity for various methods of assessment and
the means by which such standards should be
developed;
(VI) current and emerging testing practices
of State and local education agencies within the
United States, as well as other nations;
(VII) the diverse effects, both intended and
unintended, of assessments as actually used in
the schools, including effects on curriculum and
instruction, effects on equity in the allocation of
resources and opportunities, effects on equity of
outcomes, effects on other procedures and stand-
ards for judging students and practitioners and
possible inflation of test scores;
(VIII) identifying and evaluating how students
with limited-English proficiency and students with
disabilities are included and accommodated in the
various assessment programs of State and local
education agencies;
(IX) the feasibility and validity of comparing
or equating the results of different assessments;
(X) test security, accountability, validity, reli-
ability, and objectivity;
(XI) relevant teacher training and instruction
in giving a test, scoring a test, and in the use
of test results to improve student achievement;
(XII) developing, identifying, or evaluating
new educational assessments, including perform-
ance-based and portfolio assessments which dem-
onstrate skill and a command of knowledge; and
(XIII) other topics relevant to the purposes
of the Institute; and
(ii) may reflect recommendations made by the
National Education Goals Panel.
(e) NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON THE EDUCATION OF AT-RISK STU-
DENTS.—
(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows:
(A) The rate of decline in our urban schools is escalat-
ing at a rapid pace. Student performance in most inner
city schools grows worse each year. At least half of all
students entering ninth grade fail to graduate 4 years
later and many more students from high-poverty back-
grounds leave school with skills that are inadequate for
today’s workplace. Student performance in many inner city
neighborhoods grows worse each year. At least half of
all students entering ninth grade fail to graduate in 4
years. In 1992, the average National Assessment of Edu-
cational Progress reading score of Caucasian 17 year-olds
was approximately 25 points higher than that of African-
H. R. 1804—111
American 17 year-olds and 20 points higher than that
of Hispanic 17 year-olds.
(B) Rural schools enroll a disproportionately large
share of the poor and at-risk students of the United States
and yet often lack the means to address effectively the
needs of these children. Intensive efforts should be made
to overcome the problems of geographic isolation, declining
population, inadequate financial resources and other
impediments to the educational success of children residing
in rural areas.
(C) By the year 2000, an estimated 3,400,000 school
age children with limited-English proficiency will be enter-
ing the school system. The Federal Government should
develop effective policies and programs to address the edu-
cational needs of this growing population of children who
are at increased risk of educational failure.
(D) An educational emergency exists in those urban
and rural areas where there are large concentrations of
children who live in poverty. The numbers of disadvantaged
children will substantially increase by the year 2020, when
the number of impoverished children alone will be
16,500,000, a 33 percent increase over the 12,400,000 chil-
dren in poverty in 1987.
(E) American Indian and Alaska Native students have
high dropout, illiteracy and poverty rates, and experience
cultural, linguistic, social and geographic isolation. The
estimated 400,000 Indian and Alaska Native student popu-
lation from over 500 Indian and Alaska Native tribes,
is small and scattered throughout remote reservations and
villages in 32 States, and in off-reservation rural and urban
communities where Indians constitute but a small percent-
age of public school student bodies. To meaningfully
address the special educational needs of this historically
under-served population, the existing research and develop-
ment system should be opened to Indian and Alaska Native
people to identify needs and design ways to address such
needs.
(F) Minority scholars as well as institutions and groups
that have been historically committed to the improvement
of the education of at-risk students need to be more fully
mobilized in the effort to develop a new generation of
programs, models, practices, and schools capable of
responding to the urgent needs of students who are
educationally at-risk.
(2) PURPOSE.—It shall be the purpose of the Institute on
the Education of At-Risk Students to carry out a coordinated
and comprehensive program of research and development to
provide nonpartisan, research-based leadership to the United
States as it seeks to improve educational opportunities for
at-risk students. Such program shall—
(A) undertake research necessary to provide a sound
basis from which to identify, develop, evaluate, and assist
others to replicate and adapt interventions, programs, and
models which promote greater achievement and educational
success by at-risk students, such as—
H. R. 1804—112
(i) methods of instruction and educational practices
(including community services) which improve the
achievement and retention of at-risk students;
(ii) the quality of educational opportunities
afforded at-risk students, particularly the quality of
educational opportunities afforded such students in
highly concentrated urban areas and sparsely popu-
lated rural areas;
(iii) methods for overcoming the barriers to learn-
ing that may impede student achievement;
(iv) innovative teacher training and professional
development methods to help at-risk students meet
challenging standards;
(v) methods to improve the quality of the education
of American Indian and Alaska Native students not
only in schools funded by the Bureau, but also in
public elementary and secondary schools located on
or near Indian reservations, including—
(I) research on mechanisms to facilitate the
establishment of tribal departments of education
that assume responsibility for all education pro-
grams of State educational agencies operating on
an Indian reservation and all education programs
funded by the Bureau on an Indian reservation;
(II) research on the development of culturally
appropriate curriculum for American Indian and
Alaska 
Native 
students, 
including 
American
Indian and Alaska Native culture, language, geog-
raphy, history and social studies, and graduation
requirements related to such curriculum;
(III) research on methods for recruiting, train-
ing and retraining qualified teachers from Amer-
ican Indian and Alaska Native communities,
including research to promote flexibility in the cri-
teria for certification of such teachers;
(IV) research on techniques for improving the
educational achievement of American Indian and
Alaska Native students, including methodologies
to reduce dropout rates and increase graduation
by such students; and
(V) research concerning the performance by
American Indian and Alaska Native students of
limited-English 
proficiency 
on 
standardized
achievement tests, and related factors;
(vi) means by which parents and community
resources and institutions (including cultural institu-
tions) can be utilized to support and improve the
achievement of at-risk students;
(vii) the training of teachers and other educational
professionals and paraprofessionals to work more effec-
tively with at-risk students;
(viii) the most effective uses of technology in the
education of at-risk students;
(ix) programs designed to promote gender equity
in schools that serve at-risk students;
(x) improving the ability of classroom teachers and
schools to assist new and diverse populations of stu-
H. R. 1804—113
dents in successfully assimilating into the classroom
environment;
(xi) methods of assessing the achievement of stu-
dents which are sensitive to cultural differences, pro-
vide multiple methods of assessing student learning,
support student acquisition of higher order capabilities,
and enable identification of the effects of inequalities
in the resources available to support the learning of
children throughout the United States; and
(xii) other topics relevant to the purpose of the
Institute; and
(B) maximize the participation of those schools and
institutions of higher education that serve the greatest
number of at-risk students in inner city and rural areas,
and on Indian reservations, including model collaborative
programs between schools and school systems, institutions
of higher education, cultural institutions, and community
organizations.
(3) CONSULTATION WITH INDIAN AND ALASKA NATIVE EDU-
CATORS.—All research and development activities supported by
the Institute which relate to the education of Indian and Alaska
Native students shall be developed in close consultation with
Indian and Alaska Native researchers and educators, Tribally
Controlled Community Colleges, tribal departments of edu-
cation, and others with expertise in the needs of Indian and
Native Alaska students.
(f) NATIONAL INSTITUTE ON EARLY CHILDHOOD DEVELOPMENT
AND EDUCATION.—
(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows:
(A) Despite efforts to expand and improve preschool
programs, many children still reach school age unprepared
to benefit from formal education programs.
(B) Early intervention for disadvantaged children from
birth to age five has been shown to be a highly cost-
effective strategy for reducing later expenditures on a wide
variety of health, developmental, and educational problems
that often interfere with learning. Long-term studies of
the benefits of preschool education have a demonstrated
return on investment ranging from three to six dollars
for every one dollar spent.
(C) The Federal Government should play a central
role in providing research-based information on early child-
hood education models which enhance children’s develop-
ment and ultimately their success in school.
(2) PURPOSE.—The purpose of the National Institute on
Early Childhood Development and Education is to carry out
a comprehensive program of research and development to pro-
vide nonpartisan, research-based leadership to the United
States as it seeks to improve early childhood development and
education. Such program shall undertake research necessary
to provide a sound basis from which to identify, develop, evalu-
ate, and assist others to replicate methods and approaches
that promise to improve early childhood development and edu-
cation, such as—
(A) social and educational development of infants, tod-
dlers, and preschool children;
H. R. 1804—114
(B) the role of parents and the community in promoting
the successful social and educational development of chil-
dren from birth to age five;
(C) topics relating to children’s readiness to learn, such
as prenatal care, nutrition, and health services;
(D) family literacy and parental involvement in student
learning;
(E) methods for integrating learning in settings other
than the classroom, particularly within families and
communities;
(F) practices and approaches which sustain the benefits
of effective preschool and child care programs;
(G) effective learning methods and curriculum for early
childhood learning, including access to current materials
in libraries;
(H) the importance of family literacy and parental
involvement in student learning;
(I) effective teaching and learning methods, and
curriculum;
(J) instruction that considers the cultural environment
of children;
(K) access to current materials in libraries;
(L) the impact that outside influences have on learning,
including television, and drug and alcohol abuse;
(M) the structure and environment of early childhood
education and child care settings which lead to improved
social and educational development;
(N) training and preparation of teachers and other
professional and paraprofessional preschool and child care
workers;
(O) the use of technology, including methods to help
parents instruct their children; and
(P) other topics relevant to the purpose of the Institute.
(3) CERTAIN REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the activities
of the Institute, the Assistant Secretary shall ensure that the
Institute’s 
research 
and 
development 
program 
provides
information that can be utilized in improving the major Federal
early childhood education programs.
(g) NATIONAL
INSTITUTE
ON
EDUCATIONAL
GOVERNANCE,
FINANCE, POLICY-MAKING, AND MANAGEMENT.—
(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows:
(A) Many elementary and secondary schools in the
United States—
(i) are structured according to models that are
ineffective and rely on notions of management and
governance that may be outdated or insufficient for
the challenges of the next century; and
(ii) are unsuccessful in equipping all students with
the knowledge and skills needed to succeed as citizens
and in the working world.
(B) New approaches are needed in the governance and
management of elementary and secondary education within
the United States at the State, local, school building and
classroom level.
(C) Not enough is known about the effects of various
systems of school governance and management on student
achievement to provide sound guidance to policymakers
H. R. 1804—115
as such policymakers pursue school restructuring and
reform.
(D) A concentrated Federal effort is needed to support
research, development, demonstration, and evaluation of
approaches to school governance, finance and management
which promise to improve education equity and excellence
throughout the United States.
(2) PURPOSE.—It shall be the purpose of the National
Institute on Educational Governance, Finance, Policy-Making,
and Management to carry out a coordinated and comprehensive
program of research and development to provide nonpartisan,
research-based leadership to the United States as it seeks
to improve student achievement through school restructuring
and reform. Such program shall undertake research necessary
to provide a sound basis from which to identify, develop and
evaluate approaches in elementary and secondary school
governance, finance, policy-making, and management at the
State, local, tribal, school building and classroom level which
promise to improve educational equity and excellence, such
as—
(A) open enrollment programs, public school choice,
magnet schools and other systems through which parents
may select the public schools and educational programs
in which their children are enrolled;
(B) innovative school design, including lengthening the
school day and the school year, reducing class size and
building professional development into the weekly school
schedule and, as appropriate, conducting such further
research as may be recommended or suggested by the
report issued by the National Education Commission on
Time and Learning pursuant to section 102 of the Edu-
cation Council Act of 1991 (20 U.S.C. 1221–1 note);
(C) effective approaches to organizing learning;
(D) effective ways of grouping students for learning
so that a student is not labeled or stigmatized in ways
that may impede such student’s achievement;
(E) effective approaches to organizing, structuring, and
financing vocational education;
(F) the provision of financial and other rewards and
incentives to schools and educators based on performance
to improve student achievement;
(G) the use of regulatory flexibility on the State or
school district level to promote innovation and school
restructuring;
(H) policy decisions at all levels and the impact of
such decisions on school achievement and other student
outcomes;
(I) the effective use of dollars for classroom construc-
tion;
(J) expanding the role of teachers in policymaking and
administration at the school and school district-wide level;
(K) disparity in school financing among States, school
districts, schools, and schools funded by the Bureau;
(L) the use of technology in areas such as assisting
in school-based management or ameliorating the effects
of disparity in school financing among States, school dis-
tricts, and schools funded by the Bureau;
H. R. 1804—116
(M) the involvement of parents and families in the
management and governance of schools and the education
of their children;
(N) effective approaches to increasing the representa-
tion of women and minorities among leadership and
management positions in education;
(O) approaches to systemic reforms involving the
coordination of multiple policies of each level of government
to promote higher levels of student achievement;
(P) approaches to coordinated services for children;
(Q) teacher certification at the State and tribal levels;
(R) school-based management, shared decisionmaking
and other innovative school structures, and State and local
reforms and educational policies, which show promise for
improving student achievement;
(S) policies related to school-to-work transitions and
preparing non-college-bound students; and
(T) other topics relevant to the mission of the Institute.
(h) NATIONAL
INSTITUTE
ON
POSTSECONDARY
EDUCATION,
LIBRARIES, AND LIFELONG LEARNING.—
(1) FINDINGS.—The Congress finds as follows:
(A) The American system of postsecondary education
is foremost in the world in such system’s achievement
of both academic excellence and equity in access, but
maintaining that preeminence requires renewed efforts to
strengthen the quality of postsecondary education. Dis-
appointing student performance on achievement tests and
licensure examinations, declining rates of postsecondary
education persistence and completion among minorities,
and other troubling trends in the quality of postsecondary
education should be addressed by the United States as
part of its overall drive to improve American education.
(B) The need to improve our economic productivity
of the United States to meet the competitive challenges
of a new, international economy, coupled with high levels
of mobility in the United States labor market and demo-
graphic changes in the workforce, now demands more and
higher quality programs of learning and training in the
American workplace.
(C) The more than 1,000,000 men and women incarcer-
ated in the prisons and jails in the United States are
among the most severely educationally disadvantaged in
the United States, with high rates of functional illiteracy
and extremely low levels of educational attainment. Since
an estimated 90 percent of these individuals are expected
to be released by the end of the decade, the United States
must act to assure that our correctional system has the
means to equip these Americans with the knowledge and
skills they will need to participate productively in our
society.
(D) The development of a ‘‘Nation of Students’’ capable
of and committed to the pursuit of formal and informal
lifelong learning and literacy is essential to sustain both
national and individual economic success and to provide
a nurturing environment in which all children and youth
can learn and achieve. Historically the most effective