[Federal Register: March 27, 2000 (Volume 65, Number 59)]
[Notices]
[Page 16289-16291]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
[DOCID:fr27mr00-151]
[[Page 16289]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Part IV
Department of Education
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Education Program: National
Research and Development Center; Notice
[[Page 16290]]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Education Program: National
Research and Development Center
AGENCY: Office of Educational Research and Improvement, Department of
Education.
ACTION: Notice of proposed priority.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Assistant Secretary for the Office of Educational Research
and Improvement (OERI) proposes a priority under the Jacob K. Javits
Gifted and Talented Education Program--National Research and
Development Center (Center). The Assistant Secretary will use this
priority for the Center competition in fiscal year (FY) 2000. This
priority is intended to focus on research to obtain a better
understanding of the under-representation of students from some
minority groups among top performers, and on using national data sets
to better understand the educational opportunities available to top
performing students.
DATES: We must receive your comments on or before April 26, 2000.
ADDRESSES: Address all comments about this proposed priority to Beverly
Coleman, U.S. Department of Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., room
611A, Washington, DC 20208-5521. If you prefer to send your comments
through the Internet, use the following address:
beverly__coleman@ed.gov
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Beth Fine, U.S. Department of
Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue, NW., room 613, Washington, DC 20202-
5521. Telephone: (202) 219-1323. 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
alternate format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding
paragraph.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Invitation to Comment
We invite you to submit comments regarding this proposed priority.
During and after the comment period, you may inspect all public
comments about this proposed priority in room 611a, 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, you may call (202) 205-8113 or
(202) 260-9895. If you use a TDD, you may call the Federal Information
Relay Service at 1-800-877-8339.
General Information
OERI administers the Jacob K. Javits Gifted and Talented Students
Education Act of 1994 (Javits Act) under Title X, Part B of Public Law
103-382 (20 U.S.C. 8031 et seq.). The purposes of the Javits Act are
(1) To support a coordinated program of research, demonstration
projects, personnel training, and similar activities designed to build
a nationwide capability in elementary and secondary schools to meet the
special educational needs of gifted and talented students; (2) to
encourage rich and challenging curricula for all students through the
appropriate application and adaptation of materials and instructional
methods used with gifted and talented students; and (3) to supplement
and make more effective the expenditure of State and local funds
devoted to gifted and talented students.
The Secretary is authorized, under the Javits Act, to create a
national research center to carry out: (1) Research on methods and
techniques for identifying and teaching gifted and talented students,
and for using gifted and talented education programs and methods to
serve all students; and (2) program evaluations, surveys, and the
collection, analysis, and development of information needed to
accomplish the purposes of the Act.
The Javits Act gives the highest priority to: (1) The
identification and services for gifted and talented students who may
not be identified and served through traditional assessment methods
(including economically disadvantaged, individuals of limited-English
proficiency, and individuals with disabilities); and (2) programs and
projects designed to develop or improve the capability of schools in an
entire State or region of the Nation through the cooperative efforts of
State and local educational agencies, institutions of higher education,
and other public and private agencies.
The Secretary believes that there are certain areas of research in
gifted and talented education that are especially significant and in
the national interest. He believes that focusing on these areas will
substantially increase our knowledge and improve our ability to serve
gifted and talented students well. Therefore, the Secretary proposes
one priority for the Center competition.
First, the Secretary believes that it is in the national interest
to have a better understanding of the reasons for the under-
representation of some minority groups among top performing students.
National surveys reveal that only about ten percent of the students
performing at the highest levels are African-Americans, Latinos, or
Native Americans, even though they make up about one-third of the
population. There has been very little sustained and coordinated
research to investigate the reasons for the under-representation of
minorities at the highest levels of achievement or to develop and
evaluate methods for increasing the number of minority students
performing at the highest levels.
Second, there is a substantial body of information on gifted and
talented students and their educational programs contained in national
and international studies, such as those conducted by the National
Center for Education Statistics (NCES), that could and should be used
to inform our understanding of the opportunities available for top-
performing students. There are robust data sets in a number of national
and international studies that address issues related to the education
of high achieving and high ability students. These studies have not
been analyzed, to any significant degree, in order to gain a national
and international portrait of these students and the educational
opportunities available to them. These studies include, but are not
limited to, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, the National
Educational Longitudinal Study (NELS 88), the National Assessment of
Educational Progress (NAEP), and the Third International Mathematics
and Science Study (TIMSS). For example, data from the Early Childhood
Longitudinal Study could provide findings about the early childhood
experiences of high achieving minority and nonminority children, both
at home and in school. Data from the National Educational Longitudinal
Study (NELS) could help address a number of questions related to the
opportunities and achievement of middle and high school students, such
as: what can we learn about the educational experiences of minority
students identified as high
[[Page 16291]]
achieving in eighth grade? What coursework did they take, and did this
lead to differences in achievement? Did they go on to higher education?
How is this the same or different from nonminority students? The
Secretary believes that analyzing these studies will lead to a better
understanding of how top performing students are identified and served
throughout the nation and the world.
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. A notice
inviting applications under this competition will be published in
the Federal Register concurrent with or following publication of the
notice of final priority.
Priority
Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) the Secretary proposes to give an
absolute preference to applications that meet the following priority.
The Secretary proposes to fund under this competition only one
application that meets this absolute priority.
Proposed Priority--Research on Gifted and Talented Students
The Secretary will only fund a Center application that proposes to
carry out the following activities--
(a) Conducts a coherent and sustained program of research that:
(1) Investigates the causes for disparities in achievement at the
highest levels of performance among various racial and ethnic groups;
(2) Studies models for increasing the proportion of under
represented students performing at the highest levels; and
(3) Generates findings and applications that build the capacity of
teachers and schools to improve the performance of under-represented
students.
(b) Informs the research carried out under paragraph (a) by
conducting analyses of existing national and international databases to
determine what is known about the opportunities available to, and
educational outcomes of gifted and talented, high achieving or high
ability students from these studies. Special attention would be given
to studies that provide analyses that:
(1) Lead to a better understanding of what contributes to the
educational achievement of these students, disaggregated by socio-
economic status and race;
(2) Frame questions not yet being asked that will guide future
discussion and inquiry;
(3) Propose new approaches to enduring problems; and
(4) Influence discussion of subsequent research, practice, and
policy activities.
(c) Reserves five percent of each budget period's funds to support
activities that fall within the Center's priority area, are designed
and mutually agreed to by the Center and OERI, and enhance OERI's
ability to carry out its mission. These activities may include
developing research agenda, conducting research projects collaborating
with other federally-supported entities, and engaging in research
agenda setting and dissemination activities,
(d) Prepares, at the end of the award period, a report that
synthesizes the findings and advances in knowledge that resulted from
the Center's program of work and that describes the potential impact on
the improvement of American education, including any observable impact
to date.
Executive Order 12372
This program is not subject to Executive Order 12372 and the
regulations in 34 CFR Part 79.
Applicable Program Regulations: 34 CFR Part 700.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 8034(c).
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 either of the
following sites:
http://ocfo.ed.gov/fedreg.htm
http://www.ed.gov/news.html
To use the PDF you must have the Adobe Acrobat Reader Program with
Search, which is available free at either of the previous sites. If you
have questions about using the PDF, call the U.S. Government Printing
Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-294-6498; or in the Washington, D.C.,
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: 84.206R Jacob K.
Javits National Research and Development Center for Gifted and
Talented Education Program)
Dated: March 21, 2000.
C. Kent McGuire,
Assistant Secretary for Educational Research and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 00-7363 Filed 3-24-00; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4001-01-U