March 2024

On March 26, Mark Schneider announced that his term as director of the Institute of Education Sciences was ending on March 28. In a blog post, he noted his appreciation for the generous support he had received in advancing key priorities within IES.

Schneider was appointed to serve as IES director by former president Donald Trump in 2018. During his six-year term, Schneider was instrumental in developing and implementing the Standards for Excellence in Education Research (SEER) principles. These principles incorporated components of open science in guiding the work of IES-supported researchers and sought to encourage replication and reproducibility of IES-funded research.

In addition, he established several programs that aimed to make deeper connections between policy, practice, and research. These initiatives included the Transformative Research in the Education Sciences Grants Program, the Using State Longitudinal Data for State Policymaking series of grants, and the encouragement of the broader research use of data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). More recently, he was a champion for efforts to establish in its current form the Accelerate, Transform, Scale Initiative for IES to support innovative, quick-turnaround, evidence-based research and tools with the potential for breakthroughs in teaching and learning.

“We congratulate and extend our appreciation to Mark for his leadership of IES over the past six years,” said AERA Executive Director Felice J. Levine. “Mark’s accomplishments have continued to advance the IES mission to promote rigorous education research and innovative methods. We wish him well in his next endeavor. We also recognize his previous public service as commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, in addition to his leadership at IES during a challenging time as our nation—including students, educators, and researchers—navigated the COVID-19 pandemic.”

During the National Board for Education Sciences meeting on March 29, Matthew Soldner, commissioner of the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, announced that he would be serving as IES acting director.