Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Competitive Grants for State Assessments Program CFDA Number 84.368A | ED GRANTS 012819 001

Opportunity Information: Apply for ED GRANTS 012819 001

The Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE) Competitive Grants for State Assessments Program (CFDA 84.368A) is a discretionary grant opportunity from the U.S. Department of Education designed to help improve how states measure elementary and secondary student academic achievement. In practical terms, the program is intended to strengthen the quality of assessment instruments (the tests themselves) and the broader assessment systems that states use to evaluate student learning. The central aim is not simply to fund testing, but to support better, more effective statewide approaches to measuring academic performance.

This posting is a synopsis rather than the full legal and programmatic announcement. The authoritative details are in the official Federal Register application notice, which governs the competition and includes the specific requirements applicants must follow. Applicants are directed to review that notice for critical items such as eligibility rules, application content, submission procedures, performance measures, competition priorities, and program contact information. The Department also points applicants to its government-wide "Common Instructions" for discretionary grant programs, published in the Federal Register on February 12, 2018 (83 FR 6003), which provides standard instructions for obtaining and submitting applications and is incorporated by reference for many Education Department competitions.

The opportunity is identified as Funding Opportunity Number ED GRANTS 012819 001 and is categorized as a discretionary grant within the education funding activity area. Applications were made available on January 28, 2019, with a deadline to submit a notice of intent to apply by February 27, 2019, and a final application transmittal deadline of March 29, 2019. While the notice of intent is strongly encouraged, it is not required; applicants that do not submit it may still apply. The Department explains that the intent notice helps it plan for a more efficient peer review process by estimating how many applications to expect.

For the notice of intent to apply, prospective applicants are asked to send a brief notification identifying the State educational agency (SEA) applicant and, if the application is from a consortium, the SEA that will serve as the fiscal agent. This notification could be submitted by email to Donald.Peasley@ed.gov with "Intent to Apply" in the subject line, or mailed to Donald Peasley at the U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3E124, Washington, DC 20202-6132. The listing indicates an expected eight awards, although it does not specify an award ceiling amount (the posted award ceiling field is shown as 0, which typically means the ceiling was not provided in this summary and applicants must consult the Federal Register notice for funding ranges and limits).

Eligibility is summarized broadly as "Others," with the instruction to consult the application notice for clarification in the "Additional Information on Eligibility" section. In other words, the summary does not provide the complete eligible applicant list, and applicants would need to rely on the official Federal Register notice for definitive guidance on who may apply and under what conditions (including any rules for consortia, fiscal agents, or other entities involved).

Overall, this grant competition is meant to support state-led improvements to academic assessment quality and systems, with formal requirements and detailed selection criteria contained in the Federal Register notice and the Department's common discretionary grant instructions.

• The Department of Education in the education sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE): Competitive Grants for State Assessments Program CFDA Number 84.368A" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 84.368.
• This funding opportunity was created on Jan 28, 2019.
• Applicants must submit their applications by Mar 29, 2019 Applications Available January 28, 2019. Deadline for Notice of Intent To Apply February 27, 2019. Notice of Intent to Apply We will be able to develop a more efficient process for reviewing grant applications if we have a better understanding of the number of applicants that intend to apply for funding under this competition. Therefore, we strongly encourage each potential applicant to notify us of their intent to submit an application for funding. This notification should be brief, and identify the SEA applicant and, if applicable, the SEA that it will designate as the fiscal agent for an award (in the case of consortia applicants). Submit this notification by email to Donald.Peasley@ed.gov with Intent to Applyaposapos in the email subject line or mail to Donald Peasley, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Room 3E124, Washington, DC 20202-6132. Applicants that do not provide this notification may still apply for funding. Deadline for Transmittal of Applications March 29, 2019.. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 8 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others (see text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility for clarification).

Apply for ED GRANTS 012819 001

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