The 1989 request for Programs for the Laprovement of Practice is $19,783,000,
which is $1,602,000 less than the amount provided for 1988. The 1988
appropriation of $3,830,000 for the rural education progra is the second
year of funding for that program, which Congress indicated was to be a
two-year effort.

Consequently, funding for the program is not lacluded in
the 1989 request. 1988 is also the last year of funding for the teacher
education development and demonstration contracto. Punding for some of the
other activities of this office would increase.
$17,633,000 of the amount requested would be used for the fourth year of
the five-year contracts for the aine regional education laboratories. The
labs will work with State and local educators to identify effective
teaching and school leadership techniques, make research findings useful
and available, develop training materials, and provide technical assistance
in school improvement efforts. Also, a comprehensive four-year evıluation
of the labs would be continued to 1989 ($150,000), and planning vould begia
for the laboratory competition to be conducted to 1990 ($75,000).
Funds of $649,000 are requested to track education refon. The Programs
for the Improvanent of Practice staff would organize metings with profer
sional educators and organizations to result to publications on topics
critical to education inprovenent. The staff would meet with evaluators of
State refon to discuss how each State is tracking the taplementation and
assessment of refon policies, and would provide support for six new
syntheses on topics such as school-site management in the areas of State
educational refor. In conjunction with the release of results from the
1988 NAEP history assessment, they would support the involvement of State
and local curriculum developers and policymakers in developing ways to
improve the teaching and learning of history. They would provide support
for the developnent of a series of case studies of how parents can be
effectively involved in school affairs. They would support a group of te
academic leaders to describe specific policies and practices related to
successful higher education assessment. Finally, they would provide
support for two groups of superintendents to develop strategies to increase
the holding power of schools.

127

Education Research and Statistics

Education Research and Statistics

1989 Revised Request--continued

Programs for the improvement of Practice would produce a major study of the
reform movement itself. The study would include case studies to understand
how reform and improvement work, and the results would be published in a
book and a series of monographs ($400,000). As part of this initiative, and
in cooperation with the Office of Research and the Department's Office of
later agency and Intergovernmental Affairs, Programs for the Inprovement
of Practice would continue to track and support the reforms proposed by
the National Governors' Association in Time for Results by documenting
progress in the 16 test sites and fostering communications among
those participating in the NGA project. This study will provide new
strategies for effective reform at the grassroots level. Plans also
include a series of booklets or syncdeses bringing research to bear on
instructional problems within schools and school systems designed to assist
school policy makers with their schools' improvement activities ($150,000).
Punds would also support 50-60 projects for classroom teachers to conduct
research in areas important to instructional improvement ($280,000).

By convening practicing educators, or those who influence school policy,
and combining this real-world perspective with research findings, the
office would also produce a synthesis of what works in the assessment
of student performance ($250,000), and provide for the development of
a hand book for schools describing effective transmi881on of values,
knowledge, and beliefs in schools and communities ($80,000). Plans
also include a series of three conferences to examine technology's
impact on teaching and learning processes, which would result in a
guidebook on technology use in schools ($100,000) and completion of the
documentation, evaluation, and synthesis of the 29 teacher education
development and demonstration projects ($16,000).

The 1989 request for Information Services 18 $8,308,000, an increase
of $2.1 million over the 1988 level.
of the total requested, $6.7 million would go to the Education
Resources Information Center (ERIC) system. This 20-year-old educa-
tion information service underwent a major review and redesign effort,

128

Education Research and Statistics

Education Research and

Statistics

1989 Revised Request--continued

with changes implemented in fiscal year 1988. Some of these improvements cannot be fully laplemented until 1989 due to the lack of adequate funds in 1988.

Pollowing competition, new contracts were awarded in 1988 for ERIC clearing-
houses. Related system contracts are new as well. In addition, ACCESS
ERIC, a new effort to coordinate sya tervide products and services, vas
initiated. ACCESS ERIC will promote and foster use of ERIC as well as
provide training, evaluation, and other centralized laprovement functions.
In an effort to make ERIC products more accessible and available to a
range of audiences, ACCESS ERIC will collaborate with an extensive network
of professionals in State education departments, teacher centers, associa-
tion offices, central offices of school districts, private school system,
and school and university libraries. Funds are needed in 1989 to contique
these activities and to pursue additional laprovements in the ERIC systa
designed to make the database more comprehensive, accessible, and available
in useful formats.

Funds are also requested to continue support for the Education Research
Library and the Education Reference Center, with some enhancenents to
both ($501,000), and for printing the many publications to be released
by the Office of Educational Research and Laprovement in 1989 ($600,000).
The Library would catalogue its textbook collection, inprove the delivery
of services, and strengthen its links to other major education 11braries.
Other Information dissenination activities would also be expanded in 1989.
The Office of Educational Research and Improvement proposes to develop and
begin operation of EDsearch, a computerized telecommunications systea that
would provide teachers, administrators, policymakers, and journalists with
instant access to education statistics and research results. EDsearch
would narrow the gap between the time a study ends and the time its results
are disseninated. Public awareness of and access to OERI-sponsored
research results would also increase through the continued dissemination
of data tapes and axpansion of telecommunications links and electronic
bulletin boards. In addition, 11nks with other large education research
11braries and online access to sone 300 education and social science data-
bases would enable the library and information staffs to respond quickly
and comprehensively to the ever increasing number of requests they receive.
A total of $510,000 is requested for these activities.

WITNESSES

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Page Alexis, C. P .....

1589 Bellamy, G. T.... ........

617 Bennett, Hon. W. J.

1 Bonner, D. F

201, 337 Carnes, B. M.

1, 829, 949, 1353 Castle, W. E..

1493 Cheek, J. E

1589 Christensen, S. H ..... 109, 201, 337, 425, 617, 735, 1005, 1151, 1233, 1475, 1493, 1523,

1589 Cichowski, C. A....

201, 489, 565, 617, 735, 1475, 1493, 1523 Coro, Alicia....

425 Corwin, T. M.

109, 201, 337, 425, 1233 Daniels, L. S........

1353 Dexter, D. T..

1151 Dorsett, Beryl

109, 201, 337 Elliott, E. J.

489 Finn, C. E., Jr ..........

489, 565 Guiton, Bonnie..

1233 Haigler, K. O...

1233 Haines, J. S..

829, 949, 1005, 1151, 1589 Hjelm, H. F

1233 Jones, M. W.

1589 Jordan, I. K ......

1523 Kirkgasler, S. K.

829, 949, 1005, 1151 Klassen, R. L..........

565 Kruger, W. S.

337 Lobosco, William

109 Manno, B. V ...

201 Mathews, A. J

565 Nolan, C. Y....

1475 Preston, R. P.....

489, 565 Reswick, J. B..

735 Schecter, Daniel

949 Skelly, T. P....

1353 Staehle, John

109 Suter, S. S.............

735 Thomas, J. B., Jr

1353 Thompson, W. S....

1493 Tyrell, W. D...........

109 Whitehead, K. D.

1005, 1151, 1589 Will, M. C..

617, 735, 1465, 1475, 1493, 1523 Wright, Linus.......

1

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