tify promising practices for the improvement of mid-
dle grades education. 
(2) CONTENT OF STUDY.—The study described 
in paragraph (1) shall identify promising practices 
currently being implemented for the improvement of 
middle grades education. The study shall be con-
ducted in an open and transparent way that provides 
interim information to the public about criteria 
being used to identify— 
(A) promising practices; 
(B) the practices that are being consid-
ered; and 
(C) the kind of evidence needed to docu-
ment effectiveness. 
(3) REPORT.—The contract entered into pursu-
ant to this subsection shall require that the Center 
for Education of the National Academies submit to 
the Secretary, the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the Com-
mittee on Education and Labor of the House of 
Representatives a final report regarding the study 
conducted under this subsection not later than 1 
year after the date of the commencement of the con-
tract. 
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(4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 
public and post on the website of the Department of 
Education the findings of the study conducted under 
this subsection. 
(b) SYNTHESIS STUDY OF EFFECTIVE TEACHING 
AND LEARNING IN MIDDLE GRADES.— 
(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 
the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall enter into a contract with the Center for Edu-
cation of the National Academies to review existing 
research on middle grades education, and on factors 
that might lead to increased effectiveness and en-
hanced innovation in middle grades education. 
(2) CONTENT OF STUDY.—The study described 
in paragraph (1) shall review research on education 
programs, practices, and policies, as well as research 
on the cognitive, social, and emotional development 
of children in the middle grades age range, in order 
to provide an enriched understanding of the factors 
that might lead to the development of innovative and 
effective middle grades programs, practices, and 
policies. The study shall focus on— 
(A) the areas of curriculum, instruction, 
and assessment (including additional supports 
for students who are below grade level in read-
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ing, writing, mathematics, and science, and the 
identification of students with disabilities) to 
better prepare all students for subsequent suc-
cess in high school, college, and cognitively chal-
lenging employment; 
(B) the quality of, and supports for, the 
teacher workforce; 
(C) aspects of student behavioral and so-
cial development, and of social interactions 
within schools that affect the learning of aca-
demic content; 
(D) the ways in which schools and local 
educational agencies are organized and operated 
that may be linked to student outcomes; 
(E) how development and use of early 
warning systems can reduce risk factors for 
dropping out of school and low academic 
achievement; and 
(F) identification of areas where further 
research and evaluation may be needed on these 
topics to further the development of effective 
middle grades practices. 
(3) REPORT.—The contract entered into pursu-
ant to this subsection shall require that the Center 
for Education of the National Academies submit to 
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the Secretary, the Committee on Health, Education, 
Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the Com-
mittee on Education and Labor of the House of 
Representatives a final report regarding the study 
conducted under this subsection not later than 2 
years after the date of commencement of the con-
tract. 
(4) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall make 
public and post on the website of the Department of 
Education the findings of the study conducted under 
this subsection. 
(c) OTHER ACTIVITIES.—The Secretary shall carry 
out each of the following: 
(1) Create a national clearinghouse, in coordi-
nation with entities such as What Works and the 
Doing What Works Clearinghouses, for research in 
best practices in the middle grades and in the ap-
proaches that successfully take those best practices 
to scale in schools and local educational agencies. 
(2) Create a national middle grades database 
accessible to educational researchers, practitioners, 
and policymakers that identifies school, classroom, 
and system-level factors that facilitate or impede 
student academic achievement in the middle grades. 
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(3) Require the Institute of Education Sciences 
to develop a strand of field-initiated and scientif-
ically valid research designed to enhance perform-
ance of schools serving middle grades students, and 
of middle grades students who are most at risk of 
educational failure, which may be coordinated with 
the regional educational laboratories established 
under section 174 of the Education Sciences Reform 
Act of 2002 (20 U.S.C. 9564), institutions of higher 
education, agencies recognized for their research 
work that has been published in peer-reviewed jour-
nals, and organizations that have such regional edu-
cational laboratories. Such research shall target spe-
cific issues such as— 
(A) effective practices for instruction and 
assessment in mathematics, science, technology, 
and literacy; 
(B) academic interventions for adolescent 
English language learners; 
(C) school improvement programs and 
strategies for closing the academic achievement 
gap; 
(D) evidence-based or, when available, sci-
entifically valid professional development plan-
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