UpDate - Vol. 12, No. 17, Page 3
January 21, 1993
Top educator; Research director of new educational center named

     Paul G. LeMahieu, director and senior research associate in the
Division of Research, Evaluation and Test Development of the Pittsburgh
Public Schools since 1982, has been named director of the new Delaware
Educational Research and Development Center, University of Delaware.
     The appointment is effective Feb. 1.
     "We are pleased that Dr. LeMahieu has accepted this appointment. His
considerable talent and expertise bode well for this vital initiative,
which will meet an important need in the state. The new center is a
wonderful combination of the private sector, the state and the University
to address concerns about the future of education in the state and the
nation," said University President David P. Roselle, upon making the
announcement last fall.
     Housed in the University's College of Education, the center is a joint
project of the University and the Delaware Department of Public Instruction
(DPI), and  LeMahieu also will be a senior staff member at DPI, serving in
the state superintendent's cabinet and providing a link between
policy/practice and research/ development.
     "The recruitment of a nationally known educator of Dr. LeMahieu's
stature sends a strong signal both to our state and to the nation that
Delaware is prepared to give the leadership necessary to build world-class
standards and quality assessment systems," Pascal D. Forgione Jr., state
superintendent of public instruction, said.
     "His track record of quality work and his sensitivity to school-based
issues make him an invaluable resource to Delaware's schools and educators.
I compliment the University for its leadership in bringing this educational
innovator to our community and to our educational reform partnership."
     "The need has never been greater for authoritative and objective
information to help state policymakers address the many educational issues
facing Delaware," Frank B. Murray, dean of the College of Education, said.
"Paul LeMahieu is an excellent choice to lead this new think tank in its
key work."
     Funding for the non-partisan, independent center-at about $6 million
over five years-comes from a combination of University, state and largely
private sources.
     A key component of "New Directions for Education in Delaware" is the
partnership among the state board, local school districts and the business
community, according to Forgione. The state and local districts have agreed
to contribute their portion of the fiscal resources necessary, and the
Business/Public Education Council has taken the lead in securing corporate
funding. The Educational Research and Development Center is funded
primarily through private sector support. Through the efforts of the
council, Du Pont has committed $2 million, and Hercules has contributed
$250,000, and the council anticipates another major corporate gift of
$250,000. With the significant sponsorship of the council, the Educational
Research and Development Center will be created and play an important role
in the New Directions education reform, he said.
     Initially, the center will be devoted to research that will support
the development of coherent standards for student achievement, teacher
assessment, professional development and credentials, curriculum design and
educational finance. Over time, the center is expected to develop the most
authoritative data base on Delaware education from kindergarten through
12th grade.
     The center's core staff of five will form a team with research
strength in five areas: educational policy and school reform; instructional
psychology and school subject matters; research design, measurement,
evaluation and statistics; educational finance and organization; and
psychometrics. The full team is expected to be in place by the end of the
school year.
     In addition to the core staff, additional faculty members from
throughout the University will be affiliated with the center on the basis
of their interest and expertise. "The center's work will complement
research, not only in the College of Education, but in the curriculum
fields in the College of Arts and Science, public policy in the College of
Urban Affairs and Public Policy, and finance in the College of Business and
Economics," Murray said.
     A Board of Advisers, chaired by the state superintendent and largely
external to the University, will identify topics and issues that require
investigation and make recommendations about the center's work and
activities. Members of this board will include the presidents of the
University, Delaware State College and the State Board of Education.
     LeMahieu, received a bachelor's degree in philosophy and psychology
from Yale University in 1974, a master's degree in educational development
and evaluation from the Harvard Graduate School of Education in 1977 and a
doctorate in educational research methodology from the University of
Pittsburgh in 1983.
     As director and senior research associate in the Pittsburgh Public
Schools' Division of Research, Evaluation and Test Development, he has been
responsible for the supervision of all research activities and the design
and conduct of in-house evaluation projects for the major urban school
district. He also has major responsibility for the district's testing
program, including its locally developed syllabus based performance
examination system.
     Since 1983, LeMahieu also has been adjunct associate professor at the
University of Pittsburgh, with a joint appointment in administration and
policy studies and psychology in education. From 1980-82, he was a research
assistant in the University of Pittsburgh's Learning Research and
Development Center, and he was project director/research associate at
Universal Systems Development Inc. in Philadelphia from 1978-80. LeMahieu
was research assistant at Tezukayama English Language Laboratory in
Osaka-shi, Japan, from 1977-78, and a consultant to the Round Lake, Ill.,
Area School District in 1976-77.
     A past president of the National Association of Test Directors, he has
been active in such professional organizations as the American Educational
Research Association, the Association for Supervision and Curriculum
Development and the Pennsylvania Governor's Task Force on Statewide
Testing.
     Named a distinguished lecturer to the American Association of School
Administrators this year, he received the Evaluation Utilization Award of
the American Educational Research Association in 1988 and a Guttentag
Fellowship from the Evaluation Research Society in 1984.
     LeMahieu is the author or co-author of numerous publications on such
topics as assessment, staff development, students at risk and teacher
professionalism.
     He has made presentations throughout this country and Canada on a
range of subjects including assessment in service of reform, the impact of
testing on minorities and perspectives on public reporting of test results.