Report Suggests Maintaining and Reforming IES

Department of Education Senior Advisor Amber Northern submitted a report to Secretary Linda McMahon recommending reforms to the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The report, Reimagining the Institute of Education Sciences, outlines proposals to strengthen IES’s ability to provide high-quality, actionable research and data to policymakers, educators, and other stakeholders.

A central recommendation of the report, released last month, is to retain but modernize the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) data collections, including IPEDS, which produce information and reports that NAICU frequently uses in its advocacy work. The report further calls for reviewing NCES products to identify gaps and improve coordination among datasets, standardizing data definitions and structures, improving access through better data linking and technology, speeding up data releases, and strengthening coordination with external research organizations.

The report also suggests reviewing NCES longitudinal studies that are not required by statute but provide valuable insights for higher education, to determine whether they should be redesigned or replaced. One example is the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study, which tracks cohorts of students entering postsecondary education and collects academic and financial aid data every two or three years.

Department leadership has indicated that it will review the report over the coming year as it considers if or how to implement its recommendations.

For more information, please contact:
Jason Ramirez