UpDate - Vol. 11, No. 30, Page 6
May 7, 1992
Center to serve as non-partisan educational 'think tank'

     Reform and change are needed in public education in Delaware to
promote high standards of learning.
     On that point, almost everyone-teachers, administrators, parents
and others who care about the education of Delaware youth-agrees.
     But the agreement stops there. The whats, whys and hows of
educational reform bring forth many conflicting theories, opinions and
ideas from well-meaning and sincere people.
     What to do? That is where the University's new Center for
Educational Research and Development enters the picture, according to
Frank B. Murray, H. Rodney Sharp Professor of Educational Studies and
Psychology and dean of the College of Education.
     The center is a non-partisan, impartial and independent
educational "think tank" that will make recommendations based on solid
research.
     This is a joint project of the University in cooperation with the
Delaware Department of Public Instruction (DPI). Funding, about $6
million over five years, will be from a combination of the University,
state and largely private sources.
     According to state superintendent Pascal Forgione, in his New
Directions for Education in Delaware proposal, three basic questions
are the starting place for educational reform.
     * What is it that all students must know and learn?
     * How will we know when students have accomplished the task?
     * What is the best way to help the students enhance their
learning?
     Although the questions are fundamental and simple, the answers
are complex and far-reaching.
     The center's mission will be to provide a research base to help
answer these questions and other policy issues related to curriculum,
educational standards for student performance, school restructuring,
teacher and administrator standards, educational finance and long-term
policy studies.
     The center will be staffed by five educational researchers, in
addition to faculty from across the University. The director will have
dual responsibilities, both as a University faculty member and as
deputy state superintendent for policy analysis.
     The director also will serve in the state superintendent's
cabinet and provide a link between policy/practice and research/
development.
     The center will have a board of directors, chaired by the state
superintendent, and will include the presidents of the University,
Delaware State College and the State Board of Education, among others.
     The center, which is expected to be operational at the beginning
of the 1992-93 academic year, will work with top Delaware teachers and
administrators in developing instructional materials and programs for
school personnel and will consult with national and international
education experts.
     According to Murray, the center will function as an independent
body and be the educational equivalent of the Delaware Economic
Finance Advisory Committee or the Government Accounting Office, which
carry out unbiased research in different areas for government
agencies.
     "The research 'messenger' is not always thanked," Murray said,
"but if findings and recommendations by an autonomous group are backed
up by solid facts, then the message can be influential. There are many
untried educational theories and innovations, and no group has been
empowered to study the impact of these systematically in Delaware.
     "Such issues as choice and voucher systems, or higher standards
in English, math or science have ramifications that are not well
understood. For example, if Delaware math and science standards are
raised, how will this affect the state's efforts to reduce the
drop-out rate? How will this affect students in special education or
gifted classes? How will this affect the way teachers teach?
     "It is important that we ask more sophisticated questions about
issues like drop-out rates. Nationally, drop-outs have about the same
grades as those who complete school. Is this also true of Delaware?
Where do drop-outs go-to other schools, to work, out of state? How
many come back to school later? What school practices lead to higher
drop-out rates. Who in Delaware knows the answers to questions like
these," Murray said.
     In his proposal, Forgione said, "It is urgent that Delaware move
forward aggressively and in unity to reform our public schools....at
the University of Delaware, the state superintendent and the
University leadership are moving forward to recruit a team of
first-rate researchers who can provide the intellectual and technical
expertise to support Delaware's reform agenda."
     As Murray said, the Delaware Center for Educational Research and
Development "is an idea whose time has come."
     -Sue Swyers Moncure