108 STAT. 220 PUBLIC LAW 103-227—MAR. 31, 1994 race, geographic location, or economic disadvantage, faces a greater risk of low educational achievement or reduced academic expectations. (3) BOARD. —The term "Board" means the National Educational Research Policy and Priorities Board, (4) DEVELOPMENT. —The term "development"— (A) means the systematic use, adaptation, and transformation of knowledge and understanding gained from research to create alternatives, policies, products, methods, practices, or materials which can contribute to the improvement of educational practice; and (B) includes the design and development of prototypes and the testing of such prototypes for the purposes of establishing their feasibility, reliability, and cost-effectiveness. (5) DISSEMINATION.—The term "dissemination" means the communication and transfer, through the provision of technical assistance and other means, of the results of research and proven practice in forms that are understandable, easily accessible and usable or adaptable for use in the improvement of educational practice by teachers, administrators, librarians, other practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public. (6) EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH.— The term "educational research" includes basic and applied research, inquiry with the purpose of applying tested knowledge gained to specific educational settings and problems, development, planning, surveys, assessments, evaluations, investigations, experiments, and demonstrations in the field of education and other fields relating to education. (7) FIELD-INITIATED RESEARCH. —The term "field-initiated research" means education research in which topics and methods of study are generated by investigators, including teachers and other practitioners, not by the source of funding. (8) NATIONAL EDUCATION DISSEMINATION SYSTEM.— The term "national education dissemination system" means the activities carried out by the Office of Reform Assistance and Dissemination established by section 941. (9) OFFICE. —The term "Office", unless otherwise specified, means the Office of Educational Research and Improvement established in section 209 of the Department of Education Organization Act. (10) NATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTE.— The term "national research institute" means an institute established in section 931. (11) TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE.— The term "technical assistance" means assistance in identifying, selecting, or designing solutions based on research to address educational problems, planning, and design that leads to adapting research Imowledge to school practice, training to implement such solutions, and other assistance necessary to encourage adoption or application of research. (12) UNITED STATES; STATE.— The terms "United States" and "State" means each of the 50 States, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, the Virgin Islands, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau (until the effective date of the Compact
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