A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

    FOR RELEASE                      Contact:  David Thomas     February 5, 1996                         (202) 401-1579

Education Department Announces Grants to Support Research & Development Centers

U.S. Secretary of Education Richard W. Riley today announced the award of grants to operate seven national research and development centers. The five-year grants will support studies that address significant national problems and issues in teaching and learning for all students.

"Research tells us how children learn and what can be done to help them learn better," Riley said. "For example, from research we know that involved parents who set limits on TV watching actually help their children succeed in school. It's important that we continue to study what works and what doesn't, and that we share findings that can improve teaching and learning in classrooms and communities across the nation."

The Education Department expects the grants to total $19.8 million for the first year, but only 32 percent of that amount can be awarded under current budget constraints, pending passage of the department's FY 1996 appropriation. The anticipated first-year totals for each center are indicated below.

The centers are:

Enhancing Young Children's Development and Learning,
The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill ($2.8 million);
Improving Student Learning and Achievement (2 awards),
The University of Wisconsin-Madison ($2.5 million),
State University of New York at Albany ($2.5 million);
Improving Student Assessment and Educational Accountability,
The University of California at Los Angeles ($2.8 million);
Meeting the Educational Needs of a Diverse Student Population,
The University of California at Santa Cruz ($3.9 million);
Increasing the Effectiveness of State and Local Education Reform Efforts, University of Pennsylvania ($2.8 million);
Improving Postsecondary Education, Stanford University ($2.5 million).

Each of the centers will collaborate with other universities and regional educational laboratories, and many will work directly with early childhood, elementary, secondary or post-secondary institutions.

The missions of the centers were developed from planning meetings with parents, educators, researchers, policymakers and public officials, and from written public comments.

NOTE TO EDITORS: Additional information on each center is attached.

National Research and Development Center
Enhancing Young Children's Development and Learning

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill $2.8 million
Contact: Don Bailey (919) 966-4250
Collaborating with: University of Arkansas at Little Rock; University of Virginia; and University of California at Los Angeles.

Improving Student Learning and Achievement

University of Wisconsin - Madison $2.5 million
Contact: Thomas A. Romberg (608) 263-3605
Collaborating with: Technical Educational Research Center, Boston, Mass.; Vanderbilt University/Peabody College; University of Pittsburgh; and University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.

State University of New York at Albany $2.5 million
Contact: Judith A. Langer (518) 442-5029
Collaborating with: University of Wisconsin-Madison; University of Washington; and University of Oklahoma

Improving Student Assessment and Educational Accountability

University of California at Los Angeles $2.8 million
Contact: Eva Baker (310) 206-1530
Collaborating with: University of Colorado at Boulder; Stanford University; Learning Research & Development Center at the University of Pittsburgh; Rand Corporation; Educational Testing Service; Northwestern University; University of Michigan; University of California at Santa Barbara; University of Chicago; Los Angeles Unified School District; and many research partners, including several states, additional school districts; research laboratories, and the New Standards Project.

Meeting the Educational Needs of a Diverse Student Population

University of California at Santa Cruz $3.9 million
Contact: Roland Tharp (408) 429-6608
Collaborating with: Center for Applied Linguistics, Washington, D.C.; University of Colorado, Boulder; Brown University; George Mason University; University of Arizona; California State University at Long Beach; California State University at San Jose; University of Hawaii; ARC Associates, Oakland, Calif.; Claremont Graduate School; Rand Corporation; Technical Education Research Center, Boston, Mass.; Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, Md.; University of Houston; University of Louisville; Western Washington University; California State University at San Diego; University of Memphis; and University of Southern California.

Increasing the Effectiveness of State and Local Education Reform Efforts

University of Pennsylvania $2.8 million
Contact: Susan Fuhrman (215) 898-7014
Collaborating with: Harvard University; Stanford University; University of Michigan; and University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Improving Postsecondary Education

Stanford University $2.5 million
Contact: Patricia Gumport (415) 723-7727
Collaborating with: University of Pennsylvania; and University of Michigan