CFDA Number: 84.215K; 84.215U
Program Type: Discretionary/Competitive Grants, Contracts
Also Known As: FIE

FIE provides authority for the secretary of education to support nationally significant programs to improve the quality of elementary and secondary education at the state and local levels and to help all students meet challenging state academic content standards and student achievement standards. The types of projects that may be supported include: activities to promote systemic education reform at the state and local levels; programs at the state and local levels that are designed to yield significant results, including programs to explore approaches to public school choice and school-based decision-making; recognition programs; and scientifically based studies and evaluations of education reform strategies and innovations. All funded programs must be designed so that their effectiveness is readily ascertainable and is assessed using rigorous, scientifically based research and evaluations.

Activities that have been supported included the following:

• Teach for America (TFA) recruits and trains well-qualified college graduates to teach in high-need communities. The organization receives funds to pay a portion of the costs to train almost 3,000 new teachers in a residential summer training institute and to provide professional development during the first year in the classroom.


• Reach Out and Read receives funds to promote early literacy by providing books to babies and preschool children and advice to parents about the importance of reading with children.

The Fund for the Improvement of Education (FIE) supports "Programs of National Significance." It also supports grants to state and local education agencies, nonprofit organizations, for-profit organizations and other public and private entities that have been identified by the Congress in appropriations legislation.

Programs of National Significance: FIE provides authority for the secretary to support nationally significant programs to improve the quality of elementary and secondary education at the state and local levels and help all students meet challenging state academic content standards and student achievement standards. The types of programs that may be supported include:

• Activities to promote systemic education reform at the state and local levels, including scientifically based research, development, and evaluation designed to improve student academic achievement at the state and local levels and strategies for effective parent and community involvement. Programs at the state and local levels that are designed to yield significant results, including programs to explore approaches to public school choice and school-based decision-making.
• Recognition programs, including financial awards to states, local education agencies (LEAs), and schools that have made the greatest progress in improving the academic achievement of economically disadvantaged students and students from major racial and ethnic minority groups and in closing the academic achievement gap for those groups of students farthest away from the proficient level on the academic assessments administered by the state under Sec. 1111 of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Scientifically based studies and evaluations of education reform strategies and innovations and the dissemination of information on the effectiveness of those strategies and innovations.

All funded programs must be designed so that their effectiveness is readily ascertainable and is assessed using rigorous, scientifically based research and evaluations. Each application for funds must establish clear objectives that are based on scientifically based research for the proposed program and must describe the activities the applicant will carry out in order to meet the stated objectives.

Recipients of awards must evaluate the effectiveness of their programs and report such information as may be required to determine their program's effectiveness. The Department must make these evaluations publicly available.