June 2025
AERA continues to respond to requests for comments regarding federal data collections and systems, despite Executive Orders that have created a precarious foundation for the continuation of, access to, and future planning for data and statistics under the aegis of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Most recently, in June, AERA responded to information requests for two important statistical activities conducted by NCES.
2026 NAEP
On June 16, AERA submitted comments on updates to the 2026 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The comments focused on a statement in the Federal Register announcement and an accompanying supporting statement that noted the removal of confidentiality assurances in the Confidential Information Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act (CIPSEA). The rationale for this removal noted recent staffing updates at NCES while also asserting that confidentiality provisions in the Education Sciences Reform Act would still apply.
CIPSEA, most recently reauthorized in the Foundations of Evidence-based Policymaking Act of 2018, includes provisions that ensure that data collected under a confidentiality pledge are used exclusively for statistical purposes.
In the comments, AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine referenced the overall Department of Education reduction in force that had a disproportionate impact on NCES.
“NCES is also currently without a commissioner or a designated official serving as acting commissioner who would otherwise have the responsibilities for implementing provisions under CIPSEA,” Levine wrote. “Given the importance of NAEP for understanding student academic achievement and for comparing progress across states, we seek an immediate solution that would enable the 2026 NAEP to retain CIPSEA confidentiality assurances.”
EDFacts Annual Collections 2025-28
On June 20, AERA submitted comments on updates to the 2025–26, 2026–27, and 2027–28 school year annual data collections for EDFacts. This resource centralizes the collection of data from states that includes data on district and school demographics, program participation, and performance data.
AERA joined 52 organizations and more than 400 individuals on a January 2025 letter on the initial proposal for future administration of EDFacts that supported an update that would include proficiency levels for state assessments in fourth and eighth grades. Prior to 2019, states reported the percentage of students by multiple performance levels. Beginning in 2021, state education agencies were only required to provide the percentage of students who met proficiency levels.
In its response to the 60-day comment period, the Department of Education indicated, “To minimize the burden on states moving forward, the Department is withdrawing all proposed changes presented in the 60-day package and is proposing to continue collecting the same data groups and categories as in the currently approved EDFacts.”
The AERA comment urged the Department of Education to reconsider the decision to withdraw the proposed update for states to report assessment data for multiple levels of proficiency in fourth and eighth grades. The comment highlighted concerns regarding data quality and inconsistency should the single proficiency level remain.
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