Coordinating Board’s $1 million grant to establish research center

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
February 11, 2008

Texas State University-San Marcos, in partnership with three other universities, has received a $1 million grant from the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) to establish a research center on critical education issues in Texas.

Texas State along with three University of Texas System campuses will jointly establish the center for collaborative education research and policy (ERP). Larry Price, associate dean for research and director of the division of education research at Texas State’s College of Education has been named co-director of the collaborative. The University of Texas at Austin has been designated as fiscal agent and research hub.

The initial one-year grant is funding 13 projects that will examine effective curriculum and instruction programs, components of exceptional teacher preparation programs, school finance and allocation of resources at the district level, academic achievement of English Language Learners and developmental education courses that successfully prepare minority students for college.

The center will be a focal point for state policymakers, institutions of higher education and school districts to focus collaborative research, and emphasize the application of research results on designing, implementing and evaluating education programs that address the needs of a growing and diverse Texas student population.

The Texas Education Agency and Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board (THECB) will approve and oversee the studies. Specific project topics include:

  • identification of factors that contribute to the retention of effective teachers in low-performing Texas public schools
  • relationship between the Bridging II TAKS model of professional development and elementary students’ achievement in science
  • examination of ways that student learning data can be used to improve academic achievement in high-poverty Texas schools
  • effect of state-mandated testing and accountability on the achievement of Rio Grande Valley students who are English Language Learners       

Texas State College of Education faculty conducting research on the projects includes Jennifer Battle, David Caverly, Emily Payne, Carol Delaney and Lori Assaf. The research methodologies utilized will include a variety of multivariate methods, structured equation and longitudinal projection models, as well as in-depth qualitative methods. Further information is available on the Division of Education Research Web site at www.education.txstate.edu/der.

Price earned his Ph.D. in Higher Education Research, Measurement and Statistics from Georgia State. In addition to his role as Associate Dean for Research, and Director of the Division for Educational Research, he is a Professor of Psychometrics & Statistics in the Doctoral Program in the College of Education.