This hearing is the first of two to consider whether the priority setting, the guidelines, and the competitive process for the funding of 12 proposed research and development centers (which constitute nearly 80% of the budget of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI) for center-based research) will be adequate to establish a long-term, productive research and development agenda for education and promote national educational equity. In addition to an opening statement by Major R. Owens (Represtnative from New York and chairman of the subcommittee), this report presents a series of letters from various colleges and universities received by the committee and by OERI in response to the notice on proposed centers in the Federal Register, together with testimony and prepared statements from seven witnesses: (1) James Keefe, Director, Government Relations, National Association of Secondary School Principals; (2) Edward Keller, Executive Director, National Association of Elementary School Principals; (3) Arnold Webb, Senior Researcher-Director, Cooperative School Improvement, Research for Better Schools, testifying for the Council for Educational Development and Research; (4) Ramon Santiago, Professor, Department of Linguistics, Georgetown University; (5) Richard Wallace, Superintendent, Pittsburgh Public Schools; (6) David Imig, Executive Director, American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education; and (7) Arthur E. Wise, Director, Center for the Study of Teaching, the Rand Corporation. Also included are prepared statements from the National School Boards Association and Daniele Ghiolfi Rodamar, Assistant Professor, Department of Language and Foreign Studies, American University. (BBM)