Insert 74A1 QUESTIONS SUBMITTED BY THE COMMITTEE ASSESSMENTS OF PROGRAM EFFECTIVENESS Question: Even though few formal evaluations have been conducted of programs intended to benefit Indians, a continuing responsibility of any manager is to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of programs administered. Since grantees are required to identify goals and report on their success or failure in achieving such goals, program managers in the Department of Education should be able to provide you with assessments of the effectiveness of the programs. Please provide us with such assessments for each program administered. Answer: Information on effectiveness is not available at this time for each and every program intended to benefit Indians. The reports that follow for certain programs are gleaned from formal evaluations or from more informal data collection or program reports. For Chapter 1 Grants to LEAS, achievement data were reported by 47 States, the District of Columbia, and the Bureau of Indian Affairs for school year 1985-86 for 67 percent of Chapter 1 students in grades 2 through 12 who received reading instruction and for 61 percent of those Chapter 1 students who received mathematics instruction. For students tested on an annual cycle in reading, the largest gains were reported in grades 4 though 6, with a high of five percentage points in grade 6, while no change was reported for grade 12. For students tested on an annual cycle in mathematics, gains were reported for all grades, ranging from nine percentage points in grade 5 to two points in grade 12. While the impact of Chapter 1 on these performance gains is unknown, students receiving Chapter 1 services show larger increases in achievement test scores than comparable students who do not. The first activities under the Drug-Free Schools program for Indian students were initiated in fiscal year 1988. Information on program effectiveness is not available. The Impact Aid program has no requirements for the use of maintenance and operations funds distributed on behalf of Indian children. Therefore, no measure of effectiveness is applicable. Construction funds under this program are provided to school districts serving Indian children on the basis of need. Again, no measure of effectiveness is applicable. A review of the accomplishments of recipients of discretionary grants under the Library Services for Indian Tribes and Hawaiian Natives program was completed in 1989. This review found that most basic grant recipients used their funds to purchase library materials and pay salary supplements to library staff to increase the hours of library service and access for tribal members. Special grant recipients used funds for the salaries and training of library personnel, the purchase of library materials, and construction or purchase of library facilities. Two special grant recipients are using their funds to establish tribal libraries that are intended to Insert 74A2 become the premier repositories of materials relating to the histories of their tribes. A very small review of the Minority Science Improvement program was conducted several years ago. Ten participating institutions were visited, and they reported that the program had been of value in improving the quality of the science departments in those schools. At those schools where permanent laboratory equipment was acquired, instruction was found to have improved. The Indian Education Fellowship program is currently undergoing a formal program review. A contractor for the Office of Planning, Budget, and Evaluation is conducting a study of the program through data collection from three sources: (1) the program files on fellowship recipients, (2) questionnaires sent to past and current Fellows, and (3) telephone interviews with staff at the institutions of higher education attended by the Fellows. This study will attempt to contact all Fellowship recipients for fiscal years 1985-89 to solicit information on degree progress or completion, subsequent employment, and involvement with the Indian community. The study has just begun and is expected to be completed in about a year. We hope that this will be the beginning of a systematic review of all Indian Education program activities. While evaluations of some program activities have been conducted in the past, many of these occurred some time ago and need to be updated. IMPROVEMENTS IN EDUCATIONAL ACHIEVEMENT Question: Please describe improvements in the educational achievement of Indian children and youth resulting from Office of Indian Education Act programs. Answer: Some formula grant recipients indicate in their final performance reports that their students show gains in academic performance, such as increases in scores on standardized tests, improved report card grades, increased graduation rates, or increased school attendance. However, it would be nearly impossible to attribute changes in educational achievement for Indian students to the Indian Education programs or any other single factor. There are simply too many variables that may contribute to such changes to be able to isolate those for which the Indian Education program is responsible. PROGRAM MONITORING PLANS Question: What plans does the Office of Indian Education have for monitoring its programs this year? Answer: As required by statute, the program office will monitor at least one-fourth of all Subpart 1 grantees through site visits or telephone reviews. In addition, program staff will revisit grantees where significant deficiencies were found during previous audits to see that corrective action has been taken or is planned and to provide technical assistance where needed. They will also visit as many discretionary grant recipients as time and funds allow and will monitor the activities of the regional resource centers on a continuing basis through site visits, conferences and training Insert 74A3 sessions with staff from all centers, and review of all center products. Question: Does such monitoring include consultation with parent committees, and if so, please explain the results of such consultation. Answer: Office of Indian Education (OIE) monitoring procedures require that parent committee members be consulted by staff during audits of grantees to determine the parents' assessment of the progress of grantees in meeting their project objectives and to learn of the level of parent participation in the planning, development, and evaluation of program activities. Such consultations have informed parents of their rights and responsibilities under the program and have resulted in increased parental involvement in project activities. CHANGES IN FORMULA GRANT NEEDS OR PROGRAMS Question: What do your analyses of formula grant applications reveal about changing needs or programs? Answer: The needs identified by applicants have remained fairly stable in recent years. Although there is some regional variation, the most frequently cited needs are to reinforce cultural education and improve basic education skills. REPORTING REQUIREMENTS FOR GRANTEES Question: Please describe the reporting requirements of both formula and discretionary grantees, and explain how this information affects the administration of the programs or the grants. Answer: The Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) require all grantees to submit annual performance and financial reports after the expiration or termination of grant support. Recipients of multi-year awards are also required to submit regular progress reports. Information obtained from such reports is regularly used as a means to improve operation of the program and implementation of the statute and regulations. This effort includes a variety of activities such as identifying instances of non-compliance with the statute or regulations or areas where changes are needed in the administration of a grant, as well as modifying the application review process to ensure that the best applicants are selected for awards and revising procedures for monitoring or auditing grantees so that stated project objectives are met. DISSEMINATION OF INFORMATION ON SUCCESSFUL PROGRAMS Question: How does the Department disseminate information about successful programs, pilot projects, and demonstrations? Answer: One of the required activities of the five regional resource and evaluation centers is to disseminate information on successful programs to grantees, potential grantees, and Indian tribes. This is accomplished through monthly newsletters, frequent Insert 74A4 workshops, and other training activities. Also, since 1987, OIE has compiled abstracts on effective projects for distribution at the annual conference of the National Indian Education Association and for dissemination to grantees. Question: May we have a dozen or so representative flyers or other papers used in disseminating information? Answer: Examples of regional center newsletters and a copy of the 1989 Showcase of Effective Projects are being provided to the Committee under separate cover. ASSESSMENT OF CHAPTER 1 PROGRAM Question: Please provide the Committee with a copy of the 1987 National Assessment of Chapter 1. Answer: A copy of this report is being provided to the Committee under separate cover. GIFTED AND TALENTED PROGRAM PROPOSALS Question: Please describe the process used by the Department to solicit proposals for the Indian Gifted and Talented program. Answer: A request for proposals (RFP) was published in Commerce Business Daily (CBD). Copies of the RFP were sent to each of the 22 tribally controlled community colleges, the American Indian Higher Education Consortium, and 47 other individuals and groups who requested copies. As indicated in the statute, eligible applicants were limited to the ten fully accredited, tribally controlled community colleges. Question: When did the RFP go out and what was the deadline for applicants? Answer: An announcement that an RFP was forthcoming was published in CBD on May 4, 1989. The RFP was published June 30, 1989, with a closing date of August 1, 1989. Question: Answer: How many responses were there? Only one of the fully accredited, tribally controlled community colleges submitted a proposal. Question: Did any meet the minimum requirements of the RFP? Answer: There was unanimous agreement by the technical review panel that the single applicant did not submit an acceptable proposal. ELIGIBILITY OF INDIANS FOR ED PROGRAMS Question: Please furnish the Committee the results of your survey identifying programs for which tribes and BIA-funded applicants would be considered eligible and programs for which they would be considered ineligible. Insert 74A5 Answer: A copy of the chart prepared by Department staff is being provided to the Committee under separate cover. Question: Was the Director of the Office of Indian Education consulted before the Department concluded that BIA-funded schools were not eligible for Even Start? Answer: The Acting Director of the Indian Education program was not consulted on this issue because it was a matter of legal interpretation rather than program policy. Question: Will the Department support an amendment to the Even Start law to make it even clearer that BIA-funded schools are eligible? Answer: This matter is under consideration by the Administration. All programs for which Indians are not currently eligible are being reviewed in an attempt to identify appropriate policies. ROLE OF NACIE Question: Does the Department agree with the National Advisory Council on Indian Education's interpretation of its role as described on page two of its executive director's testimony at the hearing? Answer: For the most part, the comments of the NACIE executive director on the role of NACIE reflect the requirements of the statute. It is not clear, however, that the statute means that NACIE should advise the Secretary of Education on any Federal education program that Indians may participate in or benefit from, regardless of the Department in which a program is located. It does not seem logical for NACIE to advise the Secretary of Education on a program located in the Department of Labor or the Department of Health and Human Services, for example. Question: Does the Department invite Council participation in regulation drafting when such regulations affect the education of Indians? Answer: The Department's regular consultations with the Council cover the full range of issues that relate to the education of Indians. While it may not be practical to involve the Council in the actual drafting of regulations, the Council is certainly invited to review and comment on any regulatory proposals that may affect Indian education or to suggest changes in existing regulations that would improve the implementation of program statutes or the operation of the programs affecting Indians. ROLE OF PARENT COMMITTEES Question: Does the Department consider parent committees to be advisory in the preparation of grant applications or is their approval a prerequisite to Departmental consideration of an application? Answer: Parent committee approval of a formula grant application is a prerequisite for the Department's consideration of |