A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Continuation of Minutes of Quarterly Meeting

Room 100

80 F St., NW

Washington, DC 20208-7564

Members Present

Kenji Hakuta, Chair

Patricia Ann Baltz

James E. Bottoms (by telephone)

Jomills H. Braddock

John T. Bruer

Ann Clark

Edmund Gordon

Paul Goren (by telephone)

Sharon Lynn Kagan

Glenda Lappan

Robert Marley

Joyce Muhlestein

Alba Ortiz

Member Absent

Lea Schelke

Ex Officio Members Present

C. Kent McGuire, OERI

Eric Hamilton, NSF

Designated Federal Official

Thelma Leenhouts

Board Staff Present

Eve M. Bither

Mary Grace Lucier

OERI Staff Present

Ron Anson, Sue Betka, Carol Chelemer, Stephanie Dalton, Greg Dennis, Gil Garcia, Kathy FitzGerald, David Florio, Peirce Hammond, Irene Harwarth, Harold Himmelfarb, Cheryl Kane, Sue Klein, Barbara Lieb, Oliver Moles, Eileen O'Brien, Judith Segal, Nevzer Stacy

Members of the Public Present

Emerson Elliott

Gerald Sroufe

Chairman Hakuta called the meeting to order at 9:10 a.m.

Report of the Assistant Secretary

Assistant Secretary Kent McGuire discussed the progress of the reauthorization of the agency, reported an increase of $30 million in the budget for FY 2000, outlined upcoming research competitions (Interagency Educational Research Initiative, Field Initiated Studies) and staff changes and relocations.

Report of the Chair

The chair made an acknowledgment of recent work of Board members, which had been cited in the media. Edmund Gordon had been quoted extensively in an article, "Schools Are not the Answer," in the New York Times Magazine; and John Bruer published a new book, The Myth of the First Three Years. He updated the members on recent developments in the three-year study undertaken by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) on the impact of information and computer technology on learning, supported in part by the Board and OERI, and on work undertaken by the RAND Corporation on improving the quality of education R&D. The chair and Board member Robert Marley have been chosen to serve for the coming year as members of an expert committee that will provide input on the Department's effort to develop and implement a national research agenda on American Indian and Alaska Native education.

Report of the Executive Director

Ms. Bither reviewed the FY 2000 first quarter budget report; and the meeting calendar for the balance of the year. Meeting dates are March 16-17; June 15-16; September 21-22. She reviewed a proposed study to analyze and compare the role, structure, characteristics, and responsibilities of the NERPPB with those of up to four other federal government advisory committees with similar missions to identify those characteristics that hold promise for strengthening the performance and impact of the NERPPB in improving educational research.

Action Items

The Board approved the minutes of the meeting of September 16 and approved an increase in the compensation of the executive director to maintain parity with the rate of basic pay for level V of the Executive Schedule. The Board voted to refer back to the Executive Committee and the Program Committee a proposed conference on middle schools for reconsideration in the light of the total scope of work to be undertaken and resources available for the remainder of the year. Dr. Kagan objected to the sponsorship of conferences by the Board, and questioned the publication of a "sources sought" notice in the Commerce Business Daily advertising a proposed sole-source contract to organize a conference in advance of approval by the Executive Committee, as well as the appropriateness of the action of the Executive Committee.

Discussion Items

Emerson Elliott facilitated a discussion on topics developed at the Board Forum on September 17, 1999: design-based research and development; dissemination; and organization, structure, and leadership. The Board reviewed the recommendations made in its June 1999 policy paper, Investing in Learning, and considered revisions and expansions of those findings to meet the needs and interests of policymakers in the current debate on reauthorization.

The meeting adjourned at 2:09 p.m.

---

This page last modified -- August 18, 2000 (tca)