Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 116 Part 3.djvu/351

 PUBLIC LAW 107-279—NOV. 5, 2002 116 STAT. 1943 (16) NATIONAL RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER.— The term "national research and development center" means a research and development center supported under section 133(c). (17) PROVIDER OF EARLY CHILDHOOD SERVICES.— The term "provider of early childhood services" means a public or private entity that serves young children, including— (A) child care providers; (B) Head Start agencies operating Head Start programs, and entities carrying out Early Head Start programs, under the Head Start Act (42 U.S.C. 9831 et seq.); (C) preschools; (D) kindergartens; and (E) libraries. (18) SCIENTIFICALLY BASED RESEARCH STANDARDS. —(A) The term "scientifically based research standards" means research standards that— (i) apply rigorous, systematic, and objective methodology to obtain reliable and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and programs; and (ii) present findings and make claims that are appropriate to and supported by the methods that have been employed. (B) The term includes, appropriate to the research being conducted— (i) employing systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment; (ii) involving data analyses that are adequate to support the general findings; (iii) relying on measurements or observational methods that provide reliable data; (iv) making clsiims of causal relationships only in random assignment experiments or other designs (to the extent such designs substantially eliminate plausible competing explanations for the obtained results); (v) ensuring that studies and methods are presented in sufficient detail and clarity to allow for replication or, at a minimum, to offer the opportunity to build systematically on the findings of the research; (vi) obtaining acceptance by a peer-reviewed journal or approval by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, and scientific review; and (vii) using research designs and methods appropriate to the research question posed. (19) SCIENTIFICALLY VALID EDUCATION EVALUATION. —The term "scientifically valid education evaluation" means an evaluation that— (A) adheres to the highest possible standards of quality with respect to research design and statistical analysis; (B) provides an adequate description of the programs evaluated and, to the extent possible, examines the relationship between program implementation and program impacts; (C) provides an analysis of the results achieved by the program with respect to its projected effects;

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