ED Requests Information on Improving IES Services

Despite how you may feel about the current direction of the Department of Education (ED), it is critical that the department have accurate educational data on which to base its decisions. That’s where ED’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES) comes in, and there is an opportunity now for the public to help shape the future work of the IES.

In a request for information notice in the Sept. 25 Federal Register, ED explains that it is requesting public input on how IES “can modernize its programs, processes and priorities to better serve the needs of the field and American students.” Comments can be submitted to Regulations.gov by Oct. 15.

For those unfamiliar with IES, it was established under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 as ED’s research, evaluation and statistics branch. Its mission is to “provide national leadership in expanding fundamental knowledge and understanding of education from early childhood through postsecondary study, in order to provide parents, educators, students, researchers, policymakers and the general public with reliable information about, including the condition and progress of education in the U.S., including early childhood education and special education; educational practices that support learning and improve academic achievement and access to educational opportunities for all students; and the effectiveness of federal and other education programs.”

IES carries out its mission through four centers: (1) National Center for Education Statistics, which collects and analyzes education-related data; (2) National Center for Education Research, which funds research that expands understanding of educational practices; (3) National Center for Special Education Research, which focuses on improving outcomes for children with disabilities; and (4) National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, which evaluates federal programs and supports regional educational laboratories, What Works Clearinghouse and technical assistance efforts.

The notice seeks specific suggestions from the public on how IES can:

• function more cohesively across its four centers to ensure shared goals drive data collection, research funding and technical assistance;
• better meet the needs of state and local leaders, educators, parents, researchers and state education agencies;
• improve the timeliness, accuracy and accessibility of its statistics and research products;
• boost the utility of federal and other education program evaluations;
• strengthen partnerships with other federal agencies or between state agencies to align data and reduce redundancy;
• improve mechanisms for disseminating and scaling evidence-based practices; and
• modernize its peer review, grantmaking and contracting processes to encourage innovation while maintaining rigor.

ED notes that it especially seeks comments that explain how IES should: (1) prioritize and streamline federal data collections to balance burden and benefit; (2) leverage its grantmaking to advance impactful, practitioner-relevant research on pressing topics, with specific input on the identification of those topics; (3) improve the reach and utility of evidence dissemination; and (4) support states and districts through more responsive technical assistance and capacity building, including building states' capacity for using evidence and creating a culture of continuous improvement.

If you have suggestions that can address these issues pertaining to IES, feel free to let ED know your thoughts. Education is important to all of us.

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