; and (F) identification of areas where further research and evaluation may be needed on these topics to further the development of effective middle grades practices. (3) Report The contract entered into pursuant to this subsection shall require that the National Academies submit to the Secretary, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions of the Senate, and the Committee on Education and the Workforce of the House of Representatives a final report regarding the study conducted under this subsection not later than 2 years after the date of commencement of the contract. (4) Publication The Secretary shall make public and post on the website of the Department of Education the findings of the study conducted under this subsection. (c) Other activities The Secretary shall carry out each of the following: (1) Create a national clearinghouse, in coordination with entities such as the What Works Clearinghouse of the Institute of Education Sciences, for research in best practices in the middle grades and in the approaches that successfully take those best practices to scale in schools and local educational agencies. (2) Create a national middle grades database accessible to educational researchers, practitioners, and policymakers that identifies factors at the school, classroom, and system level that facilitate or impede student academic achievement in the middle grades. (3) Require the Institute of Education Sciences to develop a strand of field-initiated and scientifically valid research designed to enhance performance of schools serving middle grades students, and of middle grades students who are most at risk of educational failure, which may be coordinated with the regional educational laboratories established under section 174 of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 ( 20 U.S.C. 9564 ), institutions of higher education, agencies recognized for their research work that has been published in peer-reviewed journals, and organizations that have such regional educational laboratories. Such research