March 18, 2002

The Honorable Michael Castle

Chairman

House Education Reform Committee

2181 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Dear Chairman Castle:

On behalf of the 155,000 members and affiliates of the American Psychological Association (APA), I would like to thank you for the opportunity to comment on the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002. APA appreciates your continued efforts to support high quality education research and your commitment to improving the organization of federal education research activities.   We agree with the overall principles the bill asserts, including: 1) insulating OERI and its research from politicization; 2) enhancing the scientific culture of OERI; 3) improving the scientific rigor of education research; and 4) increasing the authorized appropriations for OERI so that it may accomplish its important mission. While the current legislation takes significant steps towards meeting those goals, APA recommends that committee members keep the following priorities in mind when reviewing the legislation and ensure that they are reflected in the final legislation.

Increase Authorization of Funds Commensurate with Goals of Reform

Restructuring OERI without providing sufficient funds is a recipe for another failed Congressional attempt at meaningful reform. Experts agree on one thing. The federal investment in education research is insufficient to effect a change in education practice and student achievement.  As education researchers seek to answer the complex questions of how students learn, disseminate that information in more effective ways, and implement these findings into education practice, additional funds will be needed. While H.R. 3801 provides additional resources, APA supports modifying H.R. 3801 to reflect the funding levels approved by the subcommittee in last year’s legislation.

Strengthen the Scientific Rigor of Education Research

Psychologists have a long history of conducting scientifically based education research, much of it funded by the Office of Educational Research and Improvement as well as the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.  Cognitive scientists and developmental psychologists have a proven track record of discovering new insights into how children learn and have provided an empirical foundation for many scientifically based education programs and curricula currently being used by our nation’s schools. APA supports the continued efforts of Congress and the Department of Education to fund the highest quality education research, especially experimental and quasi-experimental designs, but including correlational techniques for those situations which do not allow for experimentation.

To increase the strength of the science base, Congress should permit the Assistant Secretary to take significant steps to improve the peer review system at OERI. The current peer review process should be revamped to move it from a broad system to one where reviewers with more specific expertise in scientific areas are judging the scientific merits of grant applications. APA supports H.R. 3801 efforts to grant the Assistant Secretary the authority to establish a more effective peer review system.

Protect Opportunities for Field-Initiated Research

While OERI should have more flexibility in its funding decisions, APA supports the mandatory funding of field-initiated studies, as it provides a mechanism for funding new areas of research and ideas constructed by experts in the field. While the Assistant Secretary, in consultation with the Board, should develop national research agendas, those in the field with experience in education research will continue to serve an important role in the research enterprise. Investigator-initiated grants are recognized by all scientific agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, as an invaluable source of creative ideas and are indications of the strength of an agency’s scientific culture.  Research proposals from researchers and practitioners in universities, schools, and other institutions around the country, who are in unique positions to determine what is important and constructive to study, should be encouraged to look to OERI for funding.  OERI should continue to encourage and support new research ideas from the field and should work with investigators to disseminate information on their research so that it may reach the appropriate end users and practitioners.

Increase Flexibility in Hiring of Scientific Staff

OERI has a history of staff turnover and needs an infrastructure of scientific personnel to counterbalance the historical dearth of senior scientific staff.  The Assistant Secretary should be provided broader authority than is currently proposed to hire scientists through the exempted service authority. APA recommends that H.R. 3801 be modified to limit the amount of staff hired through exempted service authority to a fixed number, rather than the proposed 20 percent of staff of the agency. This will provide continued stability during times of staffing fluctuations. Furthermore, APA recommends that the Assistant Secretary be given the discretion to renew appointments for additional 3-year terms, rather than the proposed one term limit. This will not only increase stability in the agency, but also provide professional development opportunities for staff, and reward individuals for their performance.  This will further allow OERI to instill a scientific culture within the agency, as recommended by the National Research Council’s Report “Scientific Inquiry in Education”, to be an effective federal education research agency.

Thank you for considering our recommendations on this important legislative initiative and for your continued support of education research. If you should have any questions, please feel free to contact Karen Studwell in our Public Policy Office at (202) 336- 5585.

Sincerely,

Raymond D. Fowler, Ph.D.

Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer

American Psychological Association

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