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

FY 2003 Budget Summary - February 4, 2002


 
F. Education Research, Statistics, and Assessment


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Overview

The Administration firmly believes that in order to improve student achievement, educators must rely on proven research-based practices and programs. To ensure that Federal education dollars are invested in programs that work, the government also must invest in research to inform instructional and program practices, as well as in data collection needed to track student achievement and measure educational reform.

For 2003, the Administration is seeking $432.9 million for Education Research, Statistics, and Assessment. This request would support a reauthorization proposal—currently under development—that will improve the quality and relevance of the Department's research activities through new programs of research, a more rigorous grant solicitation and peer review process, and structural and management reforms. The request also would maintain the Administration's commitment to supporting high quality statistics and assessment programs.



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Research and Dissemination

 200120022003
Request
BA in millions$120.6$121.8$175.0

The budget would provide $175 million for education research and dissemination sponsored by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI), an increase of $53.2 million, or almost 44 percent, over the 2002 level.

The request includes funds for several important new research initiatives, including $20 million to explore the conditions and strategies that enable children who have broken the reading code to be able to comprehend what they read, $15 million for randomized trials of existing preschool curricula, and $10 million to identify the conditions that encourage the use of evidence-based research in decision-making by teachers, school administrators, and policymakers.

The budget also would provide $20 million to fund large-scale implementations of promising educational practices and technologies through the ongoing interagency education research initiative, a collaborative research effort with the National Science Foundation and the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD). In addition, the request includes $6.3 million for a joint ED/NICHD initiative supporting research designed to identify critical factors that influence the development of English-language literacy competencies among children whose first language is not English. Other funds would support the national research centers, field initiated studies, and dissemination efforts that enable educators to make use of research findings.



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Regional Educational Laboratories

 200120022003
Request
BA in millions$65.0$67.5$67.5

The request would maintain a network of regional laboratories that carry out applied research and development, dissemination, and technical assistance activities designed to address educational needs in their respective regions.



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Statistics

 200120022003
Request
BA in millions$80.0$85.0$95.0

The request includes $95 million for Statistics, an increase of $10 million or 12 percent, to support the collection, analysis, and dissemination of education-related statistics in response both to legislative requirements and to the particular needs of data providers, data users, and educational researchers. The Department's statistics programs—administered by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)—provide general statistics about trends in education, collect data to monitor reform and measure educational progress, and inform the research agenda of OERI. The request also supports NCES efforts to meet the statistical needs of the future through new technologies, training, data development and analysis, and methodological studies that will enable more efficient data collection and produce information that is more useful for parents, teachers, administrators, and policymakers. The increase for 2003 would support the international assessment program, the Schools and Staffing Survey, the Study of Faculty and Students, and the Early Childhood Longitudinal studies.



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Assessment

 200120022003
Request
BA in millions$40.0$111.6$95.4

The request would fund the on-going National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the National Assessment Governing Board. NAEP is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what American students know and can do, and has become a key measure of our Nation's educational performance. NAEP measures and reports on the status and trends in student learning over time, on a subject-by-subject basis, and makes objective information on student performance available to policymakers, educators, parents, and others. The $16.7 million reduction from the 2002 level reflects lower costs in the second year of implementing the biennial State-level reading and mathematics assessments at grades 4 and 8 required by the No Child Left Behind Act.



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Multi-Year Grants and Contracts

 200120022003
Request
BA in millions$57.8$58.0

The request would not fund this activity, which supports technical assistance and dissemination to States, school districts, and schools through the Comprehensive Regional Assistance Centers, Eisenhower Regional Mathematics and Science Education Consortia, and the Regional Technology in Education Consortia. In 2002, the Administration will propose legislation to address the challenge of transforming research findings into educational practice, including provisions to help policymakers, practitioners, and others use the results and findings of scientifically based research to implement effective education policies and practices.

For further information contact the ED Budget Service


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This page was last updated 02/04/02 (smj)