Institute of Education Sciences: A Comprehensive Overview

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the research arm of the U.S. Department of Education. It is independent and non-partisan. Its mission is to provide scientific evidence on which to ground education practice and policy and to share this information in formats that are useful and accessible to educators, parents, policymakers, researchers, and the public. IES conducts six broad types of work that addresses school readiness and education from infancy through adulthood and includes special populations such as English Learners and students with disabilities.

Origin and Leadership

The first director of IES was Grover Whitehurst, who was appointed in November 2002 and served for six years. In May, Education Secretary Linda McMahon announced she was temporarily appointing Amber Northern, senior vice president for research at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute-a conservative-leaning, education-focused think tank-as a special adviser to “re-envision” IES.

Core Functions and Activities

IES's work encompasses a wide array of activities, all aimed at enhancing education through rigorous research and data analysis. These activities can be broadly categorized as follows:

Data Collection and Analysis

IES provides data that describes how well the United States is educating its students. It collects and analyzes official statistics on the condition of education, including adult education and literacy; supports international assessments; and carries out the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). These efforts provide crucial insights into the current state of education in the U.S.

Surveys and Research Projects

IES conducts surveys and sponsors research projects to understand where education needs improvement and how these improvements might be made. Its longitudinal surveys provide nationally representative data on how students are progressing through school and entering the workforce. Its cross-sectional surveys provide a snapshot of how students and the education system are doing at specific points in time. IES fund research that uses these and other data to gain a deeper understanding of the nature and context of needed education improvements.

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Development and Testing of New Approaches

IES funds development and rigorous testing of new approaches for improving education outcomes for all students. It supports development of practical solutions for education from the earliest design stages through pilot studies and rigorous testing at scale. With IES support, researchers are learning what works for improving instruction, student behavior, teacher learning, and school and system organization.

Evaluations of Federal Education Programs and Policies

IES conducts large-scale evaluations of federal education programs and policies. Its evaluations address complex issues of national importance, such as the impact of alternative pathways to teacher preparation, teacher and leader evaluation systems, school improvement initiatives, and school choice programs.

Resources for Data and Research Use

IES provides resources to increase use of data and research in education decision making. Through the What Works Clearinghouse, it conducts independent reviews of research on what works in education. The Regional Educational Laboratories offer opportunities to learn what works as well as coaching, training, and other support for research use. Its Statewide Longitudinal Data System grants enable states to more efficiently track education outcomes and provide useful, timely information to decision makers.

Advancement of Statistics and Research

IES supports advancement of statistics and research through specialized training and development of methods and measures. It funds pre-doctoral and post-doctoral training programs, as well as database training and short courses on cutting-edge topics for working statisticians and researchers.

National Centers Within IES

IES is organized into several national centers, each focusing on a specific area of education research and data collection:

National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE)

NCEE conducts large-scale evaluations and provides research-based technical assistance and information about high-quality research to educators and policymakers in a variety of different formats. NCEE's work includes evaluations of education programs and practices supported by federal funds; the Regional Educational Laboratory Program; the Education Resources Information Center (ERIC); the What Works Clearinghouse; and the National Library of Education.

National Center for Education Research (NCER)

NCER supports research to improve student outcomes and education quality in the United States and pursue workable solutions to the challenges faced by educators and the education community. NCER also supports training programs to prepare researchers to conduct high quality, scientific education research. Albro was Appointed IES Commissioner of NCER.

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)

NCES is the primary federal entity that collects and analyzes data related to education in the United States and other nations. Among the programs and initiatives that NCES oversees is the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER)

NCSER sponsors and supports comprehensive research that is designed to expand the knowledge and understanding of infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities, or those who are at risk of developing disabilities. NCSER also supports training programs to prepare researchers to conduct high quality, scientific special education research.

National Board for Education Sciences (NBES)

The National Board for Education Sciences serves as an advisory board for IES and has 15 voting members, who are appointed by the President of the United States. The Board advises and consults with the director and the commissioners to identify research and organizational priorities for IES. In the winter of 2020-2021, after the election of President Joe Biden but prior to his inauguration in January, the Trump administration carried out several eleventh-hour appointments, including filling the NBES board where vacancies had existed for several years. In May 2021, two of the new NBES appointees, Steve Hanke and John Yoo, both professors, published a commentary in The Wall Street Journal, arguing that their Board commission documents and those of others had been duly signed and certified during the Trump administration and sent to the office of the Secretary of Education. This led to the Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison. District Court for The District of Columbia against Secretary Cardona and the Department of Education.

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Reports and Publications

Under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, IES must report on each grant, contract, and cooperative agreement in excess of $100,000 awarded through its four national education centers. This report summarizes activities by center, type of award, fiscal year, and by the unit or program under which the activity is supported. The report also provides the award number, recipient, and amount of award.

A report from the U.S. Department of Education and the National Science Foundation explains how the two agencies hope to realize the full potential of their education research and development investments-including obtaining meaningful findings and actionable results-through a more systematic development of knowledge. The report describes six types of research studies that can generate evidence about how to increase student learning. Research types include those that generate the most fundamental understandings related to education and learning, examinations of associations between variables, iterative design and testing of strategies or interventions, and assessments of the impact of a fully developed intervention on an education outcome.

Areas of Research Focus

IES initiatives collect data on public and private institutions, support research on strategies to improve outcomes for undergraduate students, and evaluate federally funded programs aimed at increasing postsecondary enrollment and graduation. IES initiatives include evaluation student and technical assistance programs; grant programs to fund research on prekindergarten children (ages 3-5); research on infants, toddlers, and young children (ages 0-5) with or at risk for disabilities; and cross-sectional and longitudinal studies. IES also focuses on adults and the systems and programs that aim to support adult learners. Across the country, literacy is a top priority for state education agencies.

Budget and Political Influence

In February 2025, the Department of Government Efficiency and ED announced the slashing of more than $1 billion in multiyear contracts administered by IES. Mass layoffs at the agency followed, along with litigation over the cancellation of studies and contracts. President Trump asked Congress to cut IES’s budget by about 84 percent, according to the American Association for the Advancement of Science’s appropriations tracker. In the fall, ED requested public comments about how to “modernize” the agency. Then Congress voted to keep its funding relatively level at $790 million.

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