Program Announcement: Special Education Research and Development Centers CFDA 84.324C

Program Officer:
Dr. Robert Ochsendorf
(202) 219-2234
Robert.Ochsendorf@ed.gov

Purpose

The Institute supports special education research and development centers (R&D Centers) that are intended to contribute significantly to the solution of special education problems in the United States by engaging in research, development, evaluation, and national leadership activities aimed at improving the education system, and ultimately, student achievement. Each of the R&D Centers conducts a focused program of research in its topic area. In addition, each Center conducts supplemental research within its broad topic area and provides national leadership in advancing evidence-based practice and policy within its topic area. For information on existing Institute special education R&D Centers, please see http://ies.ed.gov/ncser/projects/program.asp?ProgID=52.

Background

The Institute's R&D Centers grapple with key education issues that face our nation. Through the Institute's R&D Center program, researchers have greater resources to tackle more complex education problems and create innovative education solutions. The Institute currently funds 2 special education R&D centers through the National Center for Special Education Research and 13 national R&D centers through the National Center for Education Research. Here are examples of the types of issues that they are addressing.

• Young children who have not had sufficient language and early literacy experiences prior to kindergarten face significant challenges learning to read. These children often continue to experience poor reading skills throughout school. The Center for Response to Intervention in Early Childhood is creating a Response to Intervention model including innovative interventions to promote the development of language and early literacy skills and an assessment system for tracking children's progress.



• Educators and policymakers argue that major impediments to increasing college enrollment among low-income students are the complexity of the federal application process for financial aid and the lack of information that families have about financial aid. The National Center for Postsecondary Research is testing interventions to determine which combination of services, including direct assistance with completing the FAFSA (Free Application for Federal Student Aid) application process, will improve access to postsecondary education for low-income students.



• School districts are experimenting with the use of incentives for teachers, administrators, and schools to improve the quality of education in their schools. How should performance incentive programs be structured to achieve desired goals and minimize unintended negative consequences? The National Center for Teacher Performance Incentives is conducting a number of studies to test the effects of different parameters for incentive programs.



• For the past several decades, students with emotional and behavioral disorders have had the poorest educational, behavioral, and social post-school outcomes of any disability group, yet very little research exists to inform practice with this population of high school age students. The Center on Serious Behavior Disorders at the Secondary Level is developing and evaluating a comprehensive package of interventions to improve outcomes for students through enhancing school and teacher capacity, building youth competence, and increasing family and community supports.



• Despite advances in education technology, many argue that the full potential of electronic media for educational purposes has yet to be reached. Typical products are not ones that students would naturally gravitate to outside of school — lacking high quality graphics and sounds, sophisticated user interface, a reward structure that cultivates a strong sense of motivation, and engaging activities that maintain the user's attention. The Institute is currently funding two R&D centers in education technology. The centers are capitalizing on rich multimedia gaming environments to create innovative instructional products: one center is focusing on teaching mathematics to ninth graders and the other is addressing science content for seventh graders.



• The recent development of state longitudinal data systems offers the opportunity to answer a multitude of education policy-relevant questions, but requires sophisticated methodological expertise to handle complicated datasets and complex analyses. The Center for the Analysis of Longitudinal Data in Education Research (CALDER) brings together a group of economists with such expertise to take advantage of comprehensive education databases in Florida, Missouri, New York, North Carolina, Texas and Washington state to examine the relations between teacher workforce and governance policies (e.g., certification, compensation, accountability, and choice) and key education outcomes (e.g., student achievement, graduation rates, teacher retention).