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

From the Assistant Secretary

This is my first opportunity to address readers of the OERI Bulletin as Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement. I hope this issue illustrates the broad range of research and improvement activities currently supported by this office. Not only has this been a busy year, it has also been a year of change. We have launched new research and development programs. We are experimenting with new ways of running our grant competitions. We are striving to become more effective in conveying to the public what we know about improving education policy and practice. Above all, we are focusing much more of our resources on efforts to transform research-based ideas about teaching and learning into models and strategies that educators can use to help their students achieve.

This is a unique moment in American education. For much of this century, our schools and economy seemed to thrive in a system in which only a small percentage of our citizenry reached their full potential. Colleges accepted the students they wanted. Employers could find workers across a wide range of achievement levels as well. There seemed a place for everyone. However, as this century comes to a close, we are starting to realize that this system no longer fits our needs. Both as a matter of equity and as a matter of economic and social necessity, we need an education system that pays more attention to the highest levels of learning of each student and creates learning opportunities over that person's lifetime.

This two-sided goal results from our unique place in economic and social developments. This is the first time in our nation's history that our prospects for general economic and social well-being have been so tightly linked to the skills and abilities of the population. In confronting these challenges, we must embrace new and remarkable diversity in students, by age, gender, language, income, race, and circumstance. Schools at all levels understand this and are under considerable pressure to improve the quality of teaching and to demonstrate their effectiveness in contributing to student learning and success.

The challenge for OERI is to support the education community by helping to develop an education research agenda that identifies areas of need and builds new knowledge on what we already know. This cumulative research is the only way we can support the massive redesign effort that is required if our education system is to realize quality and equity as a single outcome.

Not only do we need deeper understanding of how teachers teach and children learn, we need new ways of ensuring that this knowledge is available to teachers and schools. OERI's work is unfolding in a political and social atmosphere oriented to results. Policymakers and practitioners in and outside Washington, DC, want solutions to practical problems. There is growing frustration with research that does not readily inform our understanding of a number of enduring problems of practice. This frustration fuels a continuing debate about relevance, quality and rigor, and the impact of research in education.

These, then, are the challenges that we face in the years ahead. How can we develop a cumulative body of research, translate and communicate that knowledge to teachers, and improve outcomes for all students? As OERI moves toward these goals, I look forward to meeting with you, our customers and collaborators, engaging you in our mission, and enlisting you in the pursuit of better learning for all.

C. Kent McGuire

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