Background

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) has as its mission “to collect, analyze, and disseminate statistics and other information related to education in the United States and in other nations.” In enacting the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA) in 2002, Congress placed NCES within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in the U.S. Department of Education.

NCES administers the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which tests K-12 students in various subjects, and publishes data and maintains large-scale data sets for the following:

• The Condition of Education, an annual compendium of statistics and longitudinal trends in the PK-12 and postsecondary sectors;
• The Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS);
• Common Core of Data; and
• The High School Longitudinal Study (HSLS), among others.

Funding for NCES is provided through the congressional appropriations process. For FY 2011, $108.3 million was allocated to NCES, with an additional $138.5 million appropriated to NAEP. Accounting for inflation, appropriations for NCES have increased by only 5 percent between 2002 and 2010, while appropriations for NAEP have decreased by nearly 4 percent in that timeframe. More information on education research funding may be accessed here.

AERA Action

In response to the stated priorities of the National Board of Education Sciences and findings and recommendations on federal education statistics by the National Research Council, AERA has advocated for restoring autonomy to NCES. Six recommendations for meeting this objective are included in AERA’s Report and Recommendations for the Reauthorization of IES:

• Requiring the NCES Commissioner to report to the Secretary of Education;
• Establishing a National Board of Education Statistics that would comprise of experts in education statistics appointed by the Secretary of Education;
• Charging the NCES Commissioner with developing and maintaining high standards of quality and ensuring their implementation;
• Clarifying and strengthening legislation regarding the role of NCES in providing assistance to states and districts in developing statewide longitudinal databases;
• Delegating the review and release of NCES reports and data sets to the NCES Commissioner; and
• Providing for the NCES Commissioner to serve as an ex officio member of the National Assessment Governing Board