[Federal Register: July 1, 2004 (Volume 69, Number 126)]
[Notices]               
[Page 40270-40271]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr01jy04-19]                         



[[Page 40270]]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA Nos. 84.305A, 84.305B, 84.305E, 84.305F, 84.305G, 84.305H, 
84.305K, 84.305M, and 84.902B]

 
Institute of Education Sciences; Notice Inviting Applications for 
Grants To Support Education Research for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005

SUMMARY: The Director of the Institute of Education Sciences 
(Institute) announces ten FY 2005 competitions for grants to support 
education research. The Director takes this action under the Education 
Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (Act), Title I of Public Law 107-279. The 
intent of these grants is to provide national leadership in expanding 
fundamental knowledge and understanding of education from early 
childhood education through postsecondary study.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
    Mission of Institute: A central purpose of the Institute is to 
provide parents, educators, students, researchers, policymakers, and 
the general public with reliable information about education practices 
that support learning and improve academic achievement and access to 
education opportunities for all students. In carrying out its mission, 
the Institute provides support for programs of research in areas of 
demonstrated national need.
    Competitions in This Notice: The Institute currently plans to 
support the following competitions in FY 2005:
     National Research and Development Centers. These centers 
will focus on Assessment, Education Policy, Early Childhood Education, 
and English Language Learners;
     Post-doctoral Research Fellowships;
     Reading Comprehension and Reading Scale-up Research;
     Cognition and Student Learning Research;
     Mathematics and Science Education Research;
     Teacher Quality Research with a Focus on Reading;
     Teacher Quality Research with a Focus on Mathematics and 
Science;
     Research on Education Finance, Leadership, and Management;
     Secondary Analysis of Data from the National Assessment of 
Educational Progress; and
     Field-Initiated Evaluations of Education Innovations.
    Eligible Applicants: Applicants that have the ability and capacity 
to conduct scientifically valid research are eligible to apply. 
Eligible applicants include, but are not limited to, non-profit and 
for-profit organizations and public and private agencies and 
institutions, such as colleges and universities.
    Request for Applications and Other Information: Information 
regarding program and application requirements for each of the 
Institute's competitions is contained in the applicable Request for 
Applications package (RFA), which will be available at the following 
Web site: http://www.ed.gov/programs/edresearch/applicant.html on the 

dates indicated in the chart printed elsewhere in this notice. 
Interested potential applicants should periodically check the 
Institute's Web site.
    Information regarding selection criteria and review procedures will 
also be posted at this Web site.
    Fiscal Information: Although Congress has not enacted a final 
appropriation for FY 2005, the Institute is inviting applications for 
these competitions now so that it may be prepared to make awards 
following final action on the Department's appropriations bill. The 
President's FY 2005 Budget for the Institute includes sufficient 
funding for all of the competitions included in this notice. The actual 
award of grants is pending the availability of funds. The number of 
awards made under each competition will depend upon the quality of the 
applications received for that competition. The size of the awards will 
depend upon the scope of the projects proposed.
    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 74, 77, 80, 81, 82, 
84, 85, 86 (part 86 applies only to institutions of higher education), 
97, 98, and 99. In addition 34 CFR part 75 is applicable, except for 
the provisions in 34 CFR 75.100, 75.101(b), 75.102, 75.103, 75.105, 
75.109(a), 75.200, 75.201, 75.209, 75.210, 75.211, 75.217, 75.219, 
75.220, 75.221, 75.222, and 75.230.

Performance Measures

    To evaluate the overall success of its education research program, 
the Institute annually assesses the quality and relevance of newly 
funded research projects, as well as the quality of research 
publications that result from its funded research projects. Two 
indicators address the quality of new projects. First, an external 
panel of eminent senior scientists reviews the quality of a randomly 
selected sample of newly funded research applications, and the 
percentage of new projects that are deemed to be of high quality is 
determined. Second, because much of the Institute's work focuses on 
questions of effectiveness, newly funded applications are evaluated to 
identify those that address causal questions and then to determine what 
percentage of those projects use randomized field trials to answer the 
causal questions. To evaluate the relevance of newly funded research 
projects, a panel of experienced education practitioners and 
administrators reviews descriptions of a randomly selected sample of 
newly funded projects and rates the degree to which the projects are 
relevant to educational practice.
    Two indicators address the quality of new research publications, 
both print and web-based, which are the products of funded research 
projects. First, an external panel of eminent scientists reviews the 
quality of a randomly selected sample of new publications, and the 
percentage of new publications that are deemed to be of high quality is 
determined. Second, publications that address causal questions are 
identified, and are then reviewed to determine the percentage that 
employ randomized experimental designs. As funded research projects are 
completed, the Institute will subject the final reports to similar 
reviews.
    To evaluate impact, the Institute surveys a random sample of K-16 
policymakers and administrators once every 3 years to determine the 
percentage who report routinely considering evidence of effectiveness 
before adopting educational products and approaches.

Application Procedures

    The Government Paperwork Elimination Act (GPEA) of 1998 (Pub. L. 
105-277) and the Federal Financial Assistance Management Improvement 
Act of 1999 (Pub. L. 106-107) encourage us to undertake initiatives to 
improve our grant processes. Enhancing the ability of individuals and 
entities to conduct business with us electronically is a major part of 
our response to these Acts. Therefore, we are taking steps to adopt the 
Internet as our chief means of conducting transactions in order to 
improve services to our customers and to simplify and expedite our 
business processes.
    We are requiring that applications for the FY 2005 competitions be 
submitted electronically to the following Web site: http://ies.constellagroup.com.
 Information on the software to be used in 

submitting applications will be available at the same Web site.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: The contact person associated with a 
particular program of research is listed in the following chart and in 
the particular RFA. The date on which applications will be available, 
the deadline for transmittal of applications,

[[Page 40271]]

the estimated range of awards, and the project period are also listed 
in the chart and in the particular RFA that will be posted at: http://www.ed.gov/programs/edresearch/applicant.html
.


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
                                                                Deadline for
       CFDA number and name              Applications          transmittal of       Estimated range of      Project period      For further information
                                          available             applications             awards*                                        contact
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
84.305G Reading Comprehension and   July 9, 2004.........  October 28, 2004.....  $150,000 to            Up to 5 years.......  Elizabeth Albro;
 Reading Scale-up Research.                                                        $1,200,000.                                  Elizabeth.Albro@ed.gov.
84.305K Mathematics and Science     July 9, 2004.........  October 28, 2004.....  $150,000 to $1,200,00  Up to 5 years.......  Diana Cordova;
 Education Research.                                                                                                            Diana.Cordova@ed.gov.
84.902B Secondary Analysis of       July 9, 2004.........  October 28, 2004.....  $65,000 to $100,000..  Up to 18 months.....  Alexandra Sedlacek;
 National Assessment of                                                                                                         Alexandra.Sedlacek@ed.gov.
 Educational Progress Data.                                                                                                     
84.305A National Research and       July 9, 2004.........  Novemberr 18, 2004...  $1,000,000 to          Up to 5 years.......  Michael Wiatrowski;
 Development Centers.                                                              $2,000,000.                                  Michael.Wiatrowski@ed.gov
                                                                                                                                
84.305B Post-doctoral Research      July 9, 2004.........  Novemberr 18, 2004...  Up to $200,000.......  Up to 5 years.......  James Griffin;
 Fellowships.                                                                                                                   James.Griffin@ed.gov.
84.305M Teacher Quality Research--  August 6, 2004.......  December 2, 2004.....  $150,000 to            Up to 5 years.......  Harold Himmelfarb;
 Reading.                                                                          $1,200,000.                                  Harold.Himmelfarb@ed.gov
                                                                                                                                .
84.305M Teacher Quality Research--  August 6, 2004.......  December 2, 2004.....  $150,000 to            Up to 5 years.......  Harold Himmelfarb;
 Mathematics and Science.                                                          $1,200,000.                                  Harold.Himmelfarb@ed.gov
                                                                                                                                .
84.305E Research on Education,      August 6, 2004.......  December 16, 2004....  $100,000 to $750,000.  Up to 4 years.......  Jon Oberg;
 Finance, Leadership, and                                                                                                       Jon.Oberg@ed.gov.
 Management.
84.305H Cognition and Student       August 6, 2004.......  December 16, 2004....  $150,000 to $350,000.  Up to 3 years.......  Elizabeth Albro;
 Learning Research.                                                                                                             Elizabeth.Albro@ed.gov.
84.305F Field-Initiated             August 6, 2004.......  December 16, 2004....  $150,000 to            Up to 5 years.......  Stefanie Schmidt;
 Evaluations of Education                                                          $1,200,000.                                  Stefanie.Schmidt@ed.gov.
 Innovations.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
*These estimates are annual amounts.


    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.

    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed under FOR 
FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT. Individuals with disabilities may obtain a 
copy of the RFA in an alternative format by contacting that person.
    Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as 
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal 
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the 
Internet at the following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.

    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S. 
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    Note: The official version of this document is the document 
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the 
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal 
Regulations is available on GPO Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html
.



    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 9501 et seq. (the ``Education 
Sciences Reform Act of 2002'', Title I of Public Law 107-279, 
November 5, 2002).

    Dated: June 25, 2004.
Grover J. Whitehurst,
Director, Institute of Education Sciences.
[FR Doc. 04-14988 Filed 6-30-04; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U


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