Grover (Russ) Whitehurst, director of the U.S. Department of Education's Institute of Education Sciences (IES), today announced that he has named members of the Independent Review Panel for the National Assessment of Title I.

The panel is to advise Whitehurst on the methodological and other issues that arise in carrying out the mandated evaluation of Title I. Title I is the major federal education program for improving the academic achievement of disadvantaged students.

The panel is composed of 17 members representing researchers, practitioners, parents, local school board members, and others involved in implementing Title I programs, as well as others who would contribute to the overall quality and rigor of the evaluation. The panel will be chaired by Eric Smith, superintendent of Anne Arundel County Public Schools. In addition to Smith, the panel members are:

-- Kaleem Caire, American Education Reform Council

-- Thomas Cook, Northwestern University

-- Christopher Cross, Center on Education Policy

-- Gayle Fallon, Houston Federation of Teachers

-- David Francis, University of Houston

-- Norma Garza, Brownsville Reads Task Force

-- Eric Hanushek, Hoover Institution

-- Sharon Johnson, Withrow University High School

-- Paul Peterson, Harvard University

-- Stephen Raudenbush, University of Michigan

-- John Stevens, Texas Business and Education Coalition

-- Patricia Supple, Archdiocese of Los Angeles

-- Tasha Tillman, Friends of Choice in Urban Schools

-- Thomas Trabasso, University of Chicago

-- Maris Vinovskis, University of Michigan

-- Rodney Watson, Louisiana Department of Education

The first meeting of the Title I Independent Review Panel will be held January 30-31 in Washington, DC.

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