NATIONAL ASSESSMENT.

SEC. 404. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT. Section 403 of the Act is amended to read as follows: 104 STAT. 808 “SEC. 403. NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF VOCATIONAL EDUCATION PRO-GRAMS. “(a) In General.— (1) The Office of Education Research and Improvement (in this section referred to as the ‘Office’) shall conduct a national assessment of vocational education programs assisted under this Act, through studies and analyses conducted independently through competitive awards. “(2) The Office shall appoint an independent advisory panel, consisting of vocational education administrators, educators, researchers, and representatives of business, industry, labor, and other relevant groups, to advise the Office on the implementation of such assessment, including the issues to be addressed, the methodology of the studies, and the findings and recommendations. The panel, at its discretion, may submit to the Congress an independent analysis of the findings and recommendations of the assessment. The Federal Advisory Committee Act shall not apply to the panel established under this paragraph. “(b) Contents.— The assessment required under subsection (a) shall include descriptions and evaluations of— “(1) the effect of this Act on State and tribal administration of vocational education programs and on local vocational education practices, including the capacity of State, tribal and local vocational education systems to address the priorities identified in this Act; “(2) expenditures at the Federal, State, tribal and local levels to address program improvement in vocational education, including the impact of Federal allocation requirements (such as within-State allocation formulas) on the delivery of services; “(3) preparation and qualifications of teachers of vocational and academic curricula in vocational education programs, as well as shortages of such teachers; “(4) participation in vocational education programs, including, in particular, access of individuals who are members of special populations to high-quality vocational education programs and the effect on the delivery of services to such populations, of Federal legislation giving States flexibility in allocating funds to serve such populations; “(5) academic and employment outcomes of vocational education, including analyses of— “(A) the effect of educational reform on vocational education; “(B) the extent and success of integration of academic and vocational curricula; “(C) the success of the school-to-work transition; and “(D) the degree to which vocational training is relevant to subsequent employment; “(6) employer involvement in, and satisfaction with, vocational education programs; “(7) the effect of performance standards and other measures of accountability on the delivery of vocational education services; “(8) the effect of Federal requirements regarding criteria for services to special populations, participatory planning in the States, and articulation between secondary and postsecondary programs; 104 STAT. 809 “(9) coordination of services under this Act, the Adult Education Act, the Job Training Partnership Act, the National Apprenticeship Act, the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the WagnerPeyser Act; and “(10) the degree to which minority students are involved in vocational student organizations. “(c) Consultation.— (1) The Secretary shall consult with the Committee on Labor and Human Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Education and Labor of the House of Representatives in the design and implementation of the assessment required under subsection (a). “(2) The Secretary shall submit to the Congress— “(A) an interim report on or before January 1, 1994; and “(B) a final report, summarizing all studies and analyses completed after the assessment, on or before July 1, 1994. “(3) Notwithstanding any other provision of law or regulation, the reports required by this subsection shall not be subject to any review outside of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement before their transmittal to the Congress, but the President, the Secretary, and the independent advisory council established under subsection (a)(2) may make such additional recommendations to the Congress with respect to the assessment as they deem appropriate. “(d) Study.— (1) The assessment required by subsection (a) shall include a study of the distribution of Federal vocational education funds to the States. The study shall— “(A) consider the distributional effects of the formula for allocation to the States established in section 101(a)(2), including the age cohorts and the per capita income allotment ratios; “(B) examine the impact that various other factors such as State tax capacity, tax effort, per capita income, poverty and educational achievement, could have in achieving the Federal goals and policy objectives of this Act; “(C) specifically address the appropriate distribution mechanism to serve the target populations of this Act; and “(D) explore the use of other possible methods of targeting funds to individuals who are members of special populations, particularly individuals who are economically disadvantaged, including the poverty rate of the school-aged population, the gross State product per school-aged child, relative tax capacity, and tax effort of the State, unemployment figures, and dropout rates. “(2) The findings of the study required by paragraph (1) shall be used to formulate recommendations on the most appropriate criteria and methods to direct Federal funds to the States and to achieve the Federal goals and policy objectives of this Act. “(3) The study required under paragraph (1) shall be completed by January 1, 1994.”.