; (2) shall reserve 1 percent to evaluate the effectiveness of this title in achieving the purposes of this title and ensuring that results are peer-reviewed and widely disseminated, which may include hiring an outside evaluator; and (3) shall reserve 2 percent for technical assistance and dissemination of best practices in middle grades education to States and local educational agencies. (c) Amount of State allotments (1) In general Except as provided in paragraph (2), of the total amount made available to carry out this title for a fiscal year and not reserved under subsection (b), the Secretary shall allot such amount among the States in proportion to the number of children, aged 5 to 17, who reside within the State and are from families with incomes below the poverty level for the most recent fiscal year for which satisfactory data are available, compared to the number of such individuals who reside in all such States for that fiscal year, determined in accordance with section 1124(c)(1)(A) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 ( 20 U.S.C. 6333(c)(1)(A) ). (2) Minimum allotments No State educational agency shall receive an allotment under this subsection for a fiscal year that is less than 1/2 of 1 percent of the amount made available to carry out this title for such fiscal year. (d) Special rule For any fiscal year for which the funds appropriated to carry out this title are less than $500,000,000, the Secretary is authorized to award grants to State educational agencies, on a competitive basis, rather than as allotments described in this section, to enable such agencies to award subgrants under section 104 on a competitive basis. (e) Reallotment (1) Failure to apply