January 16thJanuary 15, 1998
Location
Room 100
80 F St., NW
Washington, DC 20208-7564
Members Present
Patricia Ann Baltz
James E. Bottoms
Jomills H. Braddock II
John Bruer
Ann B. Clark
Edmund Gordon
Kenji Hakuta
Glenda T. Lappan
Robert W. Marley
Joyce Muhlestein
Alba A. Ortiz
Claire L. Pelton
Member Absent
Sharon Lynn Kagan
Ex Officio Members Present
Ricky T. Takai, Office of Educational Research and Improvement
Stephen A. Wandner, Department of Labor
Designated Federal Official
Thelma Leenhouts
Board Staff Present
Eve M. Bither
Mary Grace Lucier
OERI Staff Present
Margo Anderson
Ron Anson
Carol Chelemer
Joseph Conaty
Mitch Dedert
Betty Demarest
Cynthia Dorfman
Kathy Fitzgerald
Jim Fox
Greg Henschel
Harold Himmelfarb
Deborah Inman
Carol Lacampagne
Oliver Moles
Robert Stonehill
Karen Suagee
Department of Education Staff Present
Helen Chang, Contracts and Purchasing Operations
Candace Bertotti, Contracts and Purchasing Operations
Members of the Public Present
Todd Jones, CEDAR
Gerald Sroufe, AERA
Lana Muraskin
Kent McGuire
Emerson Elliott
Chairman Kenji Hakuta called the meeting to order at 8:40 a.m. Thelma Leenhouts, Designated Federal Official, called the roll and established the presence of a quorum. The chair explained that the agenda for the two days of meetings would derive from the work of the Board's committees.
Acting Assistant Secretary's Report
Acting Assistant Secretary Ricky T. Takai discussed new initiatives in the President's proposed FY 99 budget for the Department of Education, including initiatives to reduce class size, to expand after-school programs, to create school/college partnerships, and to create educational opportunity zones in urban areas. A large increase is anticipated for research to be done in collaboration with the National Science Foundation (NSF) and with the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development (NICHD).
Peer Review and Standards Committee
Committee chair Glenda Lappan introduced Ms. Lana Muraskin of the American Institutes for Research (AIR) to give a progress report on a study commissioned by the Board as a retrospective review of the implementation of the Phase I Standards (for reviewing and evaluating all applications for grants and cooperative agreements). She discussed the schedule, design and protocols of the study, research questions, and the work of its expert panel. Members brought up issues of confidentiality, OERI staff support, inconsistencies in scoring. Board members were encouraged to attend the expert panel meeting on March 30, 1998.
Dr. Lappan led a discussion of Phase III Standards (for the Conduct and Evaluation of Research). The subjects covered the role of the Department of Education in the peer review process; the frequency and dollar threshold for reviews; and the criteria for performance assessment, specifically, the criterion of national recognition as a measure of the value or utility of the projects.
Acting Assistant Secretary Takai directed the attention of the Board to a draft document, "The National Educational Research and Development Centers Guidance for Interim and Final Reviews," and called on Dr. Ed Fuentes, director of the At Risk Institute, to explain its purpose and derivation and consonance with the standards.
A working lunch ensued from noon to 1:30 pm. Mr. Christopher Cross, chair of the Independent Review Panel for the National Assessment of Title I and the Federal Impact on Reform, delivered remarks about the work of the Panel.
Program Committee
Ann Clark, Program Committee chair, gave a synopsis of the efforts of the committee to refine the Research Priorities Plan by concentrating on narrowing the achievement gap that characterizes the academic performance among American students. Two representatives of the American Psychological Association, Drs. Karen Anderson and Jill Reich, provided background on the process that led to its recent publication, "Learner-Centered Psychological Principles: A Framework for School Reform and Redesign," and the application of the learner-centered model of school change (as developed by the Mid-Continent Regional Educational Laboratory). They shared with the Board a copy of the mission statement which guides the projects done by the Center for Psychology in Schools and Education. Further discussion centered on student motivation, academic standards, and possible applications of the principles.
The Board reviewed the statement of work engaging the National Academy of Education (NAE) to assist the Board in refining the educational research agenda to build on the 1997 research priorities report, Building Knowledge for a Nation of Learners: A Framework for Education Research. Contracts officer Helen Chang and contract specialist Candace Bertotti made comments and clarifications. Dr. Thelma Leenhouts explained the Program Committee's expectations, the nature and purpose of the contract and its tasks and timelines. Drs. Hakuta and Gordon noted for the record that they were members of the NAE.
Dr. Gordon inquired whether the Board's report would be received in time to influence the budget for FY 2000. It was determined that September-October 1998 would be the latest that input could be accepted for the budget submission for FY 2000. Members indicated their desire to be kept apprised of the work of the National Academy on the contract over the next year and asked that representatives of the NAE provide update reports at future Board meetings. Further discussion touched on papers and files from the National Institute of Education that might be pertinent to the Board's agenda.
Chairman Hakuta adjourned the meeting at 4 p.m.
January 16th