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

Note: The meeting on September 17 was preceded by a one-day site visit on September 16 by Board members to the offices of the five national research institutes housed in the Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

September 17, 1998

Location
Room 100
80 F Street NW
Washington, DC 20208-7564

Members Present
Kenji Hakuta, Chair
James E. Bottoms
Jomills Braddock
John Bruer
Ann Clark
Glenda Lappan
Robert Marley
Joyce Muhlestein
Alba Ortiz
Claire Pelton

Members Absent
Patricia Ann Baltz
Edmund Gordon
Sharon Lynn Kagan

Ex Officio Members Present
C. Kent McGuire, OERI
Joann S. Morris, Office of Indian Education Programs

Designated Federal Official
Thelma Leenhouts

Board Staff Present
Eve M. Bither
Mary Grace Lucier

OERI Staff Present
Margo Anderson
Sharon Bobbitt
Beverly Coleman
Joseph Conaty
Stephanie Dalton
Norma Duncan
Lance Ferderer
Kathy Fitzgerald
Jim Fox
Gil Garcia
Peirce Hammond
Diane Horn-Weyard
Mary Lou Hyson
Naomi Karp
Susan Klein
Pat Knight
Carol Lacampagne
Ram Singh
Karen Suagee
Duc Le Tho

Members of the Department Present
Cindy Stewart, Office of the General Counsel

Members of the Public Present
Diane August
Emerson Elliott
Alyson Falwell, American Association of State Colleges and Universities
James Greeno, National Academy of Education
Rich Hershman, NEKIA
Todd Jones, NEKIA
Dianne Maranto, American Psychological Association
William Morrill, Mathtech
Gerald Sroufe, AERA
Michael Timpane, RAND
Maris Vinovskis, University of Michigan
Gary Wegenke, Western Michigan University

Chairman Kenji Hakuta called the meeting to order at 9:05 a.m. Designated Federal Official Thelma Leenhouts established the presence of a quorum. The chair offered an introduction to the agenda, featuring a number of reports on Board initiatives, and then recognized the Assistant Secretary for the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) Kent McGuire.

Report of the Assistant Secretary
Dr. McGuire directed his remarks to the agency?s budgets for FY 1998, FY 1999, and FY 2000. Speaking in the concluding weeks of FY 1998, he reported that he had authorized a number of task orders to use up a residual $3-400,000, but that virtually all funds for the year had been expended. The FY 1999 budget had yet to be passed by the Congress, and there was an expectation of a continuing resolution. The recommended budget request for FY 2000 was sent by the Secretary to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) on September 14. The Assistant Secretary said his priorities in that request reflected the core operations of the agency, namely, research, development, dissemination, statistics, and assessment. Once the Congress passes the FY 1999 appropriation, there will be an opportunity for revising the FY 2000 request.

There was a discussion of the time constraints and other constraints on the Board?s input and involvement in the process. Reports commissioned by the Board suggest an emerging ?collective wisdom? on priorities, but these findings presumably could not be incorporated into the budget process until FY 2001.

Dr. McGuire also cited the need to marshal support from the field and the broader community for investments in the R &D system.

Compendium of Research Institute Products
Carole Lacampagne, director of the Institute on Postsecondary Education, Libraries, and Lifelong Learning, presented the Board two copies of the Compendium of Research Institute Products, listing all the research currently being funded by the five OERI institutes. The Compendium will also be available on the Web.

Report of the Program Committee
Ann Clark, chair of the Program Committee, introduced Jim Greeno, co-principal investigator on the Board?s contract with the National Academy of Education, reported on the group?s progress to date. This progress consisted of selection and recruitment of three panels (topics: research capacity, critical transitions, and teacher professional development), preparation of agendas, and meetings and preliminary findings of the panels. The panels will meet both collectively and separately in Denver on October 26 and 27, and members of the Board were encouraged to attend.

Report on Conference on National Directions in Research Planning
Michael Timpane, who acted as moderator for the June 17 and 18 conference on National Directions in Research Planning, co-sponsored by the Board and OERI, gave his conclusions on the findings and implications of the meeting. He emphasized that (1) educational research planning must emphasize focus and selectivity and that student learning is too broad a focus, and (2) more emphasis was needed on rigorous methods and designs. Crosscutting issues included diversity and equality, and progress in the field lies at the point where there is a conjunction of interests of the research community, the policymaking community, and the community of professional practice. He pointed to a need to review the role of policymakers and practitioners as ?peers? for this purpose, the human and institutional capacity of the system, and called for a new approach to communication. Mr. Timpane invited members to comment on his report prior to the final version which would be submitted at the end of September.

Report of the Peer Review and Standards Committee
Chair Glenda Lappan called on Margo Anderson for a report on the Phase III Standards (for the evaluation of the performance of all recipients of grants from, and contracts and cooperative agreements with OERI). Ms. Anderson outlined the public comments (and responses) on the standards. After discussion by the Board on the implementation of the standards, Ms. Muhlestein moved for the approval of the Phase III Standards. Mr. Marley seconded the motion. The chair called for a vote, which was unanimous in favor; the motion passed.

Peirce Hammond and Sharon Bobbitt gave an update on the four expert panels (on math/science, gender equity, safe and drug-free schools, and education technology) presently in place to designate exemplary and promising programs in furtherance of the Phase II Standards. Issues under consideration are those of dissemination of programs that are recognized and the process by which promising programs can advance to exemplary, the submission process, and monitoring how the programs are sustained in schools.

The chair recognized Diane August, assisted by Kathy Fitzgerald, for a report on the findings and recommendations of the expert panel convened as part of the Peer Review Study, due to be completed and submitted to the Board in October 1998. The panel is examining the implementation of the Phase I Standards. Ms. August summarized the design and scope of the study, including a sampling plan of the FY 96 and FY 97 competitions, and the analyses undertaken of reviewer credentials and application reviews. Major preliminary recommendations growing out of the study covered such topics as the establishment of standing panels, professional development for staff, the elimination of standardizing scores, feedback to unsuccessful applicants, and exploring the use of technology.

After a short break, the chair introduced Cynthia Dorfman, director of OERI?s Media and Information Services (MIS), along with Karen Levitan, assistant executive director, ManTech Systems Engineering. Ms. Levitan assisted in a baseline study that will help MIS structure its dissemination efforts for the future, and discussed critical elements for an improved system.

Joann Morris, director of the Office of Indian Education Programs at the Department of the Interior, alluding to the previous day?s site visit to the At-Risk Institute, offered some comments on a recent Executive Order on Indian Education. The Executive Order has for its focus the academic achievement of Indian students and cites a number of federal agencies that work with Indian students on academic and social issues. She indicated a hope that the fragmented efforts of many services might be pulled together and enhanced by wider support.

Chairman Hakuta asked about avenues where the Board might be proactively involved in this work. Members offered suggestions as to contacts with individual researchers, with the regional labs, and with other offices in the Department, as well as OERI.

The meeting was adjourned at 4:21 p.m.

Minutes, National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board Meeting

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September 18