[Federal Register: January 22, 2002 (Volume 67, Number 14)]
[Notices]
[Page 2864-2866]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr22ja02-51]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Program of Research on Reading Comprehension
AGENCY: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priority.
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SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary proposes a priority for a Program of
Research on Reading Comprehension. The Assistant Secretary may use this
priority for competitions in fiscal year (FY) 2002 and in later fiscal
years. We take this action to build a scientific foundation for
educational practice by supporting rigorous research on reading
comprehension. We intend this priority to produce research findings
that will change instructional practice and promote academic
achievement.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before February 21, 2002.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed priority to Anne P.
Sweet or Rita Foy Moss, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey
Avenue, NW., room 513, Washington, DC 20208-5573. You can fax your
comments to (202) 219-2135. If you prefer to send your comments through
the Internet, use one of the following addresses: anne.sweet@ed.gov or
rita.foy@ed.gov.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Anne P. Sweet or Rita Foy Moss.
Telephone: (202) 219-2079.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call
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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 contact person listed under FOR FURTHER
INFORMATION CONTACT.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation to Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding this proposed priority.
We also invite you to assist us in complying with the specific
requirements of Executive Order 12866 and its overall requirement of
reducing regulatory burden that might result from this proposed
priority. Please let us know of any further opportunities we should
take to reduce potential costs or increase potential benefits while
preserving the effective and efficient administration of the program.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this proposed priority in room 510, 555 New Jersey
Avenue, NW., Washington, DC, between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 4 p.m.,
Eastern time, Monday through Friday of each week except Federal
holidays.
Assistance to Individuals With Disabilities in Reviewing the
Rulemaking Record
On request, we will supply an appropriate aid, such as a reader or
print magnifier, to an individual with a disability who needs
assistance to review the comments or other documents in the public
rulemaking record for this proposed priority. If you want to schedule
an appointment for this type of aid, please contact the person listed
under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.
Background
The Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI),
authorized under Title IX of Public Law 103-227, (20 U.S.C. 6001 et
seq.) supports research and development activities designed to provide
essential knowledge for the improvement of education. Although
significant advances have been made in knowledge about early reading
skills, much less is known about reading comprehension. The Secretary
believes that reading comprehension is necessary for academic
achievement in virtually all school subjects and for economic self-
sufficiency in cognitively demanding job environments. Thus, improving
reading comprehension in this country, and providing all members of
society with equal opportunities to attain a high level of literacy,
require a focused program of educational research. Knowledge gained
from such educational research can help guide the national investment
in education and support local and State reform efforts. Because this
targeted program of research focuses on an enduring problem of
practice, it will be the primary mechanism for pursuing new knowledge
about reading comprehension. Research grant awards can be made to
institutions of higher education, regional education laboratories,
public and private organizations, institutions, and individuals, or a
consortium thereof. The Secretary invites comments on the priority
described in this notice.
Prior to this announcement, OERI reviewed the Report of the
National Reading Panel (2000) and the RAND Reading Study Group Report
(2001) to identify the most needed reading research and development
activities. Following this review, OERI prepared this notice of
proposed priority, recognizing that critical frontiers for reading
research, such as deriving empirically-grounded theories of
comprehension development and reading instruction across the full range
of ages and grades, have barely been broached in the research
literature. OERI's Program of Research on Reading Comprehension (PRRC)
is intended to expand scientific knowledge of how students develop
proficient levels of reading comprehension, how reading comprehension
can be taught most optimally, and how reading comprehension can be
assessed in ways that reflect as well as advance our current
understanding of reading comprehension and its development. An
overarching goal of the program is to obtain converging empirical
evidence on the development and assessment of comprehension that
coheres with scientifically supported theories of the processes
involved in reading comprehension. A further purpose is to provide a
scientific foundation for approaches to comprehension instruction that
allow students to achieve proficient levels of comprehension across a
range of texts and subjects. The Secretary encourages review of the
proposed priority by all interested parties.
We will announce the final priority in a notice in the Federal
Register. We will determine the final priority after considering
responses to this notice and other information available to the
Department. This notice does not preclude us from proposing or funding
additional priorities, subject to meeting applicable rulemaking
requirements.
Note: This notice does not solicit applications. In any year in
which we choose to use this proposed priority, we invite
applications through a notice in the Federal Register. When inviting
applications we designate the priority as absolute, competitive
preference, or invitational. The effect of each type of priority
follows:
Absolute priority: Under an absolute priority we consider only
applications that meet the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(3)).
Competitive preference priority: Under a competitive preference
priority we give competitive preference to an application by either
(1) awarding additional points, depending on how well or the extent
to which the application meets the priority (34 CFR
75.105(c)(2)(i)); or (2) selecting an application that meets the
priority over an application of comparable merit that does not meet
the priority (34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(ii)).
Invitational priority: Under an invitational priority we are
particularly interested in applications that meet the invitational
priority. However, we do not give an application that meets the
priority a competitive or absolute preference over other
applications (34 CFR 75.105(c)(1)).
Priority
Program of Research on Reading Comprehension
Applicants must propose research that is focused on one or more of
three areas of inquiry:
1. Developmental patterns of students' reading comprehension;
2. Instructional interventions for reading comprehension; or
3. Measures of reading comprehension that reflect empirically
justified dimensions, distinguish reader differences, and are sensitive
to instructional goals.
Furthermore, research must be motivated by a specific conceptual
framework and relevant prior empirical evidence, both of which must be
clearly articulated in the proposal. The research must have the
potential to advance fundamental scientific knowledge that bears on the
solution of important educational problems. The proposal must indicate
method and why the approach taken optimally addresses the research
question. Any approach must incorporate a valid inference process that
allows generalization beyond the study participants. Proposals must
indicate which of the following approaches is to be used:
1. Experiment (control group; randomized assignment--both
required).
2. Quasi-experiment (comparison group, stratified random
assignment, groups comparable at pretest, statistical adjustment for
comparability).
3. Correlational study (simple, multiple/logistic regression,
structural
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equation modeling, hierarchical linear modeling).
4. Other quantitative (e.g., simulation).
5. Descriptive study using qualitative techniques (e.g.,
ethnographic methods; focus groups; classroom observations; case
studies; single subject designs).
The design of studies must be clear: Independent and dependent, or
predictor and criterion, variables should be distinguished. Proposed
research is expected to employ the most sophisticated level of design
and analysis that is appropriate to the research question. For research
questions that cannot be answered using a randomized assignment
experimental design, the proposal must spell out the reasons why such a
design is not applicable and why it would not represent a superior
approach. Thus, applicants must propose to conduct rigorous studies
that are scientifically sound, relevant, timely, and ultimately useful
to practitioners and policy makers. The Secretary intends to expend a
total of $5 million during FY 2002 on grant applications. Funding this
priority will depend on the availability of funds, the nature of the
final priority, and the quality of applications received.
Post-Award Requirements
The Secretary established the following post-award requirements
consistent with the OERI's program regulations at 34 CFR part 700 and
the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) at
34 CFR 75.720. Recipients of a research award must:
1. Provide OERI with information about the research project and
products and other appropriate research information so that OERI can
monitor progress and maintain its inventory of funded research
projects. This information must be provided through media that include
an electronic network;
2. At the end of the award period, synthesize the findings and
advances in knowledge that resulted from research conducted and
describe the potential impact on the improvement of reading
comprehension instruction.
Electronic Access to This Document
You may view this document, as well as all other Department of
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site:
www.ed.gov/legislation/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.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC area at (202) 512-1530.
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.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html
(Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance Number (84.305G) Program of
Research on Reading Comprehension)
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6031.
Dated: January 15, 2002.
Grover J. Whitehurst,
Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 02-1480 Filed 1-18-02; 8:45 am]
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