1 

1 

Department of Education

X. INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION SCIENCES

Fiscal Year 2022 Budget Request

CONTENTS

Page

Appropriations Language.......................................................................................................... X-1

Analysis of Language Provisions and Changes........................................................................ X-2

Appropriation, Adjustments, and Transfers............................................................................... X-3

Summary of Changes ............................................................................................................... X-4

Authorizing Legislation.............................................................................................................. X-5

Appropriations History............................................................................................................... X-6

Significant Items in FY 2022 Appropriations Reports ............................................................... X-7

Summary of Request ................................................................................................................ X-8

Activities:

Research, development, and dissemination....................................................................... X-11

Statistics ............................................................................................................................. X-22

Regional educational laboratories ...................................................................................... X-34

Assessment........................................................................................................................ X-40

Research in special education............................................................................................ X-50

Statewide longitudinal data systems .................................................................................. X-58

Special education studies and evaluations......................................................................... X-62

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Appropriations Language

For carrying out activities authorized by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, the 

National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act, section 208 of the Educational 

Technical Assistance Act of 2002, and section 664 of the Individuals with Disabilities Education 

Act, [$642,462,000] $737,465,000, which shall remain available through September 30, [2022] 

20231: Provided, That funds available to carry out section 208 of the Educational Technical 

Assistance Act may be used to link Statewide elementary and secondary data systems with 

early childhood, postsecondary, and workforce data systems, or to further develop such 

systems:2 Provided further, That up to $6,000,000 of the funds available to carry out section 208 

of the Educational Technical Assistance Act may be used for awards to public or private 

organizations or agencies to support activities to improve data coordination, quality, and use at 

the local, State, and national levels.3 (Department of Education Appropriations Act, 2021.)

[For an additional amount for "Institute of Education Sciences", $28,000,000, to remain 

available through September 30, 2022, to prevent, prepare for and respond to coronavirus, 

domestically or internationally, for carrying out the National Assessment of Educational 

Progress Authorization Act: Provided, That such amount is designated by the Congress as 

being for an emergency requirement pursuant to section 251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget 

and Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.]4 (Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental 

Appropriations Act, 2021.)

NOTE

Each language provision that is followed by a footnote reference is explained in the Analysis of Language 

Provisions and Changes document that follows the appropriations language.
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Analysis of Language Provisions and Changes

Language Provision Explanation

1 ..., [$642,462,000] $737,465,000, which 

shall remain available through September 

30, [2022...] 2023. 

This language provides 2-year availability of 

funds for the account. This language is 

needed to facilitate the planning of long-term 

programs of research and to accommodate 

cyclical surveys and assessments.

2 Provided, That funds available to carry out 

section 208 of the Educational Technical 

Assistance Act may be used to link 

Statewide elementary and secondary data 

systems with early childhood, postsecondary, 

and workforce data systems, or to further 

develop such systems:

This language provides the authority to use 

funds to expand Statewide longitudinal data 

systems to include postsecondary and 

workforce information and information on 

early childhood.

3 Provided further, That up to $6,000,000 of 

the funds available to carry out section 208 

of the Educational Technical Assistance Act 

may be used for awards to public or private 

organizations or agencies to support 

activities to improve data coordination, 

quality, and use at the local, State, and 

national levels.

This language provides the authority to make 

Statewide longitudinal data systems awards 

to agencies and organizations, in addition to 

State educational agencies, to further the 

purposes of the program.

4 [For an additional amount for "Institute of 

Education Sciences", $28,000,000, to remain 

available through September 30, 2022, to 

prevent, prepare for and respond to 

coronavirus, domestically or internationally, 

for carrying out the National Assessment of 

Educational Progress Authorization Act: 

Provided, That such amount is designated by 

the Congress as being for an emergency 

requirement pursuant to section 

251(b)(2)(A)(i) of the Balanced Budget and 

Emergency Deficit Control Act of 1985.]

This language provided supplemental fiscal 

year 2021 funding in response to the 

COVID-19 crisis and is no longer needed for 

fiscal year 2022.
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Appropriation, Adjustments, and Transfers

(dollars in thousands)

Appropriation/Adjustments/Transfers 2020 2021 2022

Discretionary:

Discretionary Appropriation......................................................... $623,462 $642,462 $737,465

Discretionary Appropriation Supplemental, CRRSA Act (P.L 116-260) ............ 0 28,000 0

Total, discretionary appropriation .................... 623,462 670,462 737,465

Mandatory:

Mandatory appropriation Supplemental, ARP Act (P.L 117-02) .................. 0 100,000 0

Total, mandatory appropriation........................ 0 100,000 0

Total, discretionary and mandatory 

appropriation ...................................................

623,462 770,462 737,465
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Summary of Changes

(dollars in thousands)

2021............................................................................................................... $642,462

2021 Supplemental, CRRSA Act (P.L. 116-260) (non-add)........................... 28,000

2021 Mandatory Supplemental, ARP Act (P.L. 117-02) (non-add)................ 100,000

2022............................................................................................................... 737,465

Net change............................................................................ +95,003

Increases: 2021 base

Change 

from base

Program:

Increase for Research, Development, and Dissemination for

research on understanding and mitigating the effects of 

learning loss caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. $197,877 +$70,003 

Increase for the National Assessment of Educational Progress 

(NAEP) to maintain the assessment schedule and to begin 

research and development activities to improve assessment 

quality while reducing future program costs. 165,000 +15,000

Increase for Special Education Studies and Evaluations for a 

study on special education expenditures 11,318 +10,000

Subtotal, increases +95,003 

Net change +95,003
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Authorizing Legislation

(dollars in thousands)

Activity

2021 

Authorized

2021

Estimate

2022 

Authorized

2022

Request

Research and Statistics:

 Research, development, and dissemination (ESRA, Title I, parts A, B, 

and D, except section 174)............................................................. 01,2 $197,877 01,2 $267,880

 : Statistics (ESRA, Title I, part C)............................................................. 01,2 111,500 01,2 111,500

Regional educational laboratories (ESRA, section 174) ....................... 02 57,022 02 57,022

Assessment:

Assessment: National assessment (NAEPAA, section 303) ................................ 02 165,000 02 180,000

Assessment: National Assessment Governing Board (NAEPAA, section 302) .... 02 7,745 02 7,745

Research in special education (ESRA, part E) ...................................... 03 58,500 03 58,500

Statewide longitudinal data systems (ETAA, section 208)..................... 02 33,500 02 33,500

Special education studies and evaluations (IDEA, section 664)............ 03 11,318 03 21,318

Total appropriation ....................................................................... 642,462 737,465

Portion of request not authorized ................................................. 642,462 737,465

1 Section 194(a) of the Education Sciences Reform Act provides that not more than the lesser of 2 percent of the amount appropriated to carry out 

the Act (excluding amount appropriated for the Regional Educational Laboratories) or $1,000 thousand shall be made available for the National 

Board of Education Sciences and that the National Center for Education Statistics shall be provided not less than its fiscal year 2002 amount 

($85,000 thousand).

2 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2009; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2022. 3 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2011; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2022. 
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Appropriations History

(dollars in thousands)

Year

Budget 

Estimate 

to Congress

House 

Allowance Footnote

Senate 

Allowance FootnoteAppropriationFootnote

2013 $621,150 $593,6641 $618,6611 $562,612

2014 671,073 N/A2 652,9372 576,935

2015 637,180 N/A3 579,0213 573,935

2016 675,883 409,9564 562,9784 618,015

2017 693,818 536,0495 612,5255 605,2675

2018 616,839 605,2676 600,2676 613,4626

2019 521,563 613,4627 615,4627 615,4627

2020 521,563 650,000 615,4628 623,4628

2021 565,440 630,462 635,4629 642,462

2021 Supplemental, CRRSA Act 

(P.L. 116-260) 0 0 0 28,00010

2021 Mandatory Supplemental,

ARP Act (P.L. 117-02) 0 0 0 100,00011

2022 737,465

1The levels for the House and Senate allowances reflect action on the regular annual 2013 appropriations bill, which 

proceeded in the 112th Congress only through the House Subcommittee and the Senate Committee.

2 The House allowance is shown as N/A because there was no Subcommittee action; Senate allowance reflects 

Committee action only.

3 The House allowance is shown as N/A because there was no Subcommittee action; Senate allowance reflects 

Senate Subcommittee action only.

4 The levels for House and Senate allowances reflect action on the regular annual 2016 appropriations bill, which 

proceeded in the 114th Congress only through the House Committee and Senate Committee.

5 The levels for the House and Senate allowances reflect Committee action on the regular annual 2017 

appropriations bill; the Appropriation reflects the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2017. 6 The level for the House allowance reflects floor action on the Omnibus appropriation bill; the Senate allowance 

reflects Committee action on the regular annual 2018 appropriations bill; the Appropriation reflects the Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2018 (P.L. 115-141). 7 The levels for the House and Senate Allowance reflect Committee action on the regular annual 2019 appropriations 

bill; the Appropriation reflects enactment of the Department of Defense and Labor, Health and Human Services, and 

Education Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 115-245). 8 The Senate Allowance reflects the Chairman’s mark; the Appropriation reflects the Further Consolidated 

Appropriations Act, 2020 (P.L. 116-94). 9 The level for the Senate Allowance reflects the Chairman’s mark; the Appropriation reflects Division H of the 

Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260).

10 The Appropriation reflects supplemental funds from Division M of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 

(P.L. 116-260).

11 The Appropriation reflects the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-02).
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Significant Items in FY 2021 Appropriations Reports

Institute for Education Sciences (IES) Operating Plan

Senate: The Committee directs the Director to submit an operating plan within 90 days of 

enactment to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

and the Senate detailing how IES plans to allocate funding available to the 

Institute for research, evaluation, and other activities authorized under law.

Explanatory 

Statement: The Committee directs the Director to submit an operating plan within 90 days of 

enactment to the Committees on Appropriations of the House of Representatives 

and the Senate detailing how IES plans to allocate funding available to the 

Institute for research, evaluation, and other activities authorized under law.

Response: The Department submitted the requested operating plan on March 30, 2021.

Protecting Personally Identifiable Information

Senate: The Committee continues to direct the Department to ensure that its employees, 

contractors, and grantees, including States that receive funds from Statewide 

Longitudinal Data System grants, adhere to the strictest and highest standards 

for protecting personally identifiable information.

Explanatory

Statement: The Committee continues to direct the Department to ensure that its employees, 

contractors, and grantees, including States that receive funds from Statewide 

Longitudinal Data System grants, adhere to the strictest and highest standards 

for protecting personally identifiable information.

Response: The Department will continue to ensure that its employees, contractors, and 

grantees adhere to Department and field compliance with Federal privacy laws 

and regulations.

Study on Pell Grant Eligibility

House: The Committee notes that the IES study regarding whether Pell grant eligibility 

and shorter-term programs improves access to job training was due to be 

released September 2019. The Committee directs IES to publish the study within 

30 days of enactment of this Act.

Response: The study was published by IES on December 15. 2020. It can be found at 

https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/2021001/. 
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Summary of Request

Summary of Request

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEAR 2022 PRESIDENT'S BUDGET

(in thousands of dollars)

Cat Code

2020

Appropriation

2021

Appropriation

2022

Request

2022 Request Compared to

2021 Appropriation

Amount Percent

1.

2.

3.

Subtotal 160,745 172,745 187,745 15,000 8.68%

4.

5.

6.

Total D 623,462 642,462 737,465 95,003 14.79%

NOTES: D = discretionary program; M = mandatory programDetail may

not add to totals due to rounding.

Research and statistics:

(a)

(b)

Research, development, and dissemination (ESRA I-A, B and D, except section 174) D 195,877 197,877 267,880 70,003 35.38%

Statistics (ESRA I-C) D 110,500 111,500 111,500 0 0.00%

Regional educational laboratories(ESRA section 174) D 56,022 57,022 57,022 0 0.00%

Assessment (NAEPAA):

(a)

(b)

National assessment (section 303) D 153,000 165,000 180,000 15,000 9.09%

National Assessment Governing Board (section 302) D 7,745 7,745 7,745 0 0.00%

Research in special education (ESRA, Part E) D 56,500 58,500 58,500 0 0.00%

Statewide longitudinal data systems (ETAA section 208) D 33,000 33,500 33,500 0 0.00%

Special education studies and evaluations (IDEA,section 664) D 10,818 11,318 21,318 10,000 88.35%

Institute of Education Sciences

Click here for accessible version
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Summary of Request

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) supports research, data collection and analysis 

activities as well as assessments of student academic achievement and progress. IES serves 

as a leader both within the Department of Education and in collaboration with other Federal 

agencies in developing standards for education research, improving the use and building of 

evidence in grant competitions, and reducing burden and improving the quality of evaluation and 

research through the use of administrative data. The Administration requests $737.5 million for 

this account for fiscal year 2022, an increase of $95.0 million from the fiscal year 

2021 appropriation. 

The Administration requests $267.9 for Research, Development, and Dissemination, an 

increase of $70.0 million from the fiscal year 2021 appropriation. The investment in research is 

important because high-quality information about effective practices can help improve both 

student outcomes and the return on the public investment in education at the Federal, State, 

and local levels. These funds would support building a high-quality evidence base for what 

works in education as well as IES dissemination efforts to ensure that evidence informs practice 

both in the field and at the Department. The increase would be used for research on 

understanding and mitigating the effects of lost instructional time during the COVID-19 

pandemic.

For Statistics, which provides funds to support the collection, analysis, and reporting of data 

related to education at all levels, the Administration requests $111.5 million, level with the fiscal 

year 2021 appropriation. The National Center for Education Statistics collects, analyzes, and 

disseminates education statistics at all levels, from preschool through postsecondary and adult 

education, including statistics on international education activities.

The request includes $57.0 million for the Regional Educational Laboratories, a network of 

10 regional laboratories that provide expert advice, including training and technical assistance, 

to help States and school districts apply proven research findings in their school improvement 

efforts.

A total of $187.7 million is requested for Assessment, including $180.0 million for the National 

Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), $15.0 million more than the fiscal year 

2021 appropriation, and $7.7 million for the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB). 

The request would support the schedule of assessments approved on by NAGB on March 5, 

2021, as well as initial research and development investments to improve assessment quality 

while reducing future program costs. Key activities include sampling and data collection; pilot 

testing; item development; and scoring, analysis, and reporting of NAEP assessments.

The request provides $58.5 million for Research in Special Education, the same as the 

2021 appropriation. These funds would support research intended to improve the 

developmental outcomes and school readiness of infants, toddlers, and young children with 

disabilities; improve education outcomes in core subject areas for children with disabilities; 

improve social and behavioral outcomes; and help adolescents with disabilities attain collegeand career-readiness.

The $33.5 million requested for Statewide Longitudinal Data Systems, level with the 

2021 appropriation, would support continuation costs of competitive grant awards to States to 
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Summary of Request – continued

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foster the design, development, implementation, and use of longitudinal data systems. In 

addition, funds would support awards to public and private agencies to improve data 

coordination, quality, and use at the local, State, and national levels.

Finally, the request provides a $10 million increase for Special Education Studies and 

Evaluations, for a total of $21.3 million, to support a range of evaluations that are designed to 

provide information on effective programs and practices to inform guidance for educators and 

parents. The increase would fund a study of special education expenditures to provide local, 

State, and Federal policymakers with better data on the costs of special education and related 

services.
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Research, development, and dissemination

(Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, Parts A, B, and D, except section 174)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2022 Authorization: To be determined1, 2

Budget Authority:

Period of fund availability:

2021

Appropriation

2022

Request

Change from

2021 to 2022

Annual appropriation $197,877 $267,880 +$70,003

Mandatory Supplemental Appropriation, 

ARP Act (P.L. 117-02) 100,000 0 -100,000

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2009; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2022. 2 The Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA) provides that not more than the lesser of 2 percent of the 

amount appropriated to carry out the Act (excluding appropriations for the Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs)) 

or $1.0 million shall be made available for the National Board for Education Sciences (NBES)).

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Research, Development, and Dissemination (RDD) program funds core activities of the 

Institute of Education Sciences (IES), which is authorized by the Education Sciences Reform 

Act of 2002 (ESRA). IES provides national leadership to expand knowledge and understanding 

of education from early childhood through postsecondary education study, as well as career and 

technical and adult education, in order to provide parents, educators, students, researchers, 

policymakers, and the public with reliable information about the condition and performance of 

our education system, educational practices that support learning and improve academic 

achievement, and the effectiveness of Federal education programs and related interventions.

IES includes four national centers: the National Center for Education Research (NCER), the 

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the National Center for Education Evaluation 

and Regional Assistance (NCEE), and the National Center for Special Education Research 

(NCSER). The RDD program funds NCER and NCEE, as well as the National Board for 

Education Sciences, which is composed of private sector leaders as well as researchers and 

educators who are charged with approving priorities and peer review procedures and generally 

providing guidance to IES. 

NCER conducts sustained programs of scientifically rigorous research that build an evidence 

base in education to drive better decisions and lead to more effective practice. Activities within 

NCER are organized around research topic areas, such as reading and writing, early learning, 

mathematics and science education, teacher effectiveness and pedagogy, and education 

systems and policies. Since its authorization in 2002, IES has built a diverse NCER research 

portfolio that includes field-initiated research projects, education research training projects, fieldinitiated evaluations of State and local programs and policies, and advancements in statistical 

and research methodology. NCER also funds research training programs to help develop a 

steady supply of researchers dedicated to finding solutions to problems in education.
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NCEE supports a wide range of activities in the areas of evaluation, technical assistance, and 

dissemination. The Center conducts evaluations of the implementation and impact of key 

Federal education programs through both traditional and quick-turnaround studies and serves 

as a standards and validation body for education evaluations. A portion of funding used to 

support NCEE program evaluations comes from other programs (e.g., the Special Education 

Studies and Evaluations program) and is not part of the RDD request. 

NCEE is also responsible for translating research findings into information that is accessible to 

education practitioners and for enhancing the use of evidence by policymakers and practitioners 

through the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), the Education Resources Information Center 

(ERIC), and the National Library of Education (NLE). These programs work with NCES, NCER, 

and NCSER to promote and make accessible the results of their work. Funding for the WWC, 

ERIC, and NLE is part of the RDD request.

The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 provided $100 million in supplemental funding for 

IES to carry out research related to addressing learning loss caused by COVID-19 among the 

student subgroups described in section 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) of the Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act of 1965 (e.g., major racial and ethnic groups, students from low-income 

backgrounds, children with disabilities, students with limited English proficiency, and migratory 

students), as well as students experiencing homelessness and children and youth in foster care.

IES will disseminate findings to State educational agencies and local educational agencies and 

other appropriate entities.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2017 ...................................................................................$187,500

2018 .....................................................................................192,695

2019 .....................................................................................192,695

2020 .....................................................................................195,877

2021 .....................................................................................197,877

2021 Mandatory ARP Act.....................................................100,000

FY 2022 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2022, the Administration requests $267.9 million for the RDD program, 

$70.0 million more than the fiscal year 2021 appropriation, to support additional investments in 

research on understanding and mitigating the effects of lost instructional time caused by the 

COVID-19 pandemic. The RDD program identifies effective strategies for improving student 

learning in early childhood, K−12, postsecondary, and adult education, and it disseminates this 

information to policymakers and practitioners. RDD funds support key activities in IES, including 

those administered by NCER and NCEE.

Key activities include the following:

NCER Research Grants

The request includes $229.2 million for NCER grants designed to support research that will help 

improve the quality of education for all students from early childhood through postsecondary 

and adult education. NCER determines funding priorities for its research competitions in 
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advance of each fiscal year by holding Technical Working Group meetings with education 

researchers and practitioners from around the country and soliciting public comments through 

the IES website. Staff members also discuss priorities with officials within the Department. For 

fiscal year 2021 awards, IES published notices inviting applications in the Federal Register on 

March 25, 2020, and May 4, 2020; awards will be made through the summer of 2021. The fiscal 

year 2022 awards will be made on a similar schedule.

Current competition areas include:

• Education Research Grants: This program supports field-initiated research projects and 

accounts for the largest share of NCER grants (https://ies.ed.gov/funding/ncer_progs.asp). 

For each competition, IES invites applications on specific but wide-ranging topic areas. 

Applicants may propose exploratory research projects, development and innovation 

projects, initial efficacy and followup projects, or measurement projects.

• National Research and Development (R&D) Centers: The R&D Centers program 

(https://ies.ed.gov/ncer/research/randdCenters.asp) supports research, development, 

evaluation, and national leadership activities aimed at improving our education system and, 

ultimately, student achievement. Each R&D Center conducts a focused program of research 

in under-investigated topics that are of interest to education policymakers and practitioners. 

ESRA requires IES to support at least eight R&D Centers on specified topics.

• Statistical and Research Methodology in Education: This program helps give education 

scientists the tools they need to conduct rigorous applied research by supporting the 

development of products that will help education researchers at all levels improve their study 

designs, perform complex data analyses, and rigorously interpret findings.

• Using Longitudinal Data to Support State Education Policymaking. In 2020, IES held its first 

grant competition on promoting the use of State longitudinal data systems to inform State 

education policymaking. State educational agencies can apply on their own or in 

collaboration with other organizations for grants to examine long-term trends in key issues, 

programs, and policies affecting learner outcomes.

• Partnerships and Collaborations Focused on Problems of Practice or Policy: This program 

supports research that is carried out by research institutions and State or local educational 

agencies working collaboratively on problems or issues that are a high priority for the 

education agencies (https://ies.ed.gov/ncer/research/collaborations.asp). The research is 

intended to improve education outcomes for all students, including students who are 

struggling academically and students with or at risk for disabilities.

• Research Training: Since 2004, IES has invested in training programs to prepare individuals 

to conduct rigorous and relevant education research that advances knowledge within the 

field and addresses issues important to education policymakers and practitioners, including 

new approaches to train and mentor students and researchers from diverse backgrounds 

who can improve the quality of education research by encouraging new ideas, approaches, 

and perspectives (https://ies.ed.gov/ncer/research/researchTraining.asp).

• Research Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Policy or Practice: This program 

focuses on high-priority education problems or issues by helping researchers share ideas, 
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build knowledge, and strengthen their research and dissemination capacity 

(https://ies.ed.gov/ncer/research/researchNetworks.asp).

• Systematic Replication: A systematic replication study alters one or more variables of a 

rigorous causal-impact study of an intervention that produced beneficial effects. 

Interventions can include those that were developed and/or tested with IES funding as well 

as those that were not funded by IES. The goal is to verify what interventions improve 

education outcomes and better understand the conditions under which they will likely work.

IES also makes a small number of unsolicited grant awards—grants that are not eligible for 

funding under current grant competitions or that address time-sensitive questions, but that are 

reviewed using the same rigorous selection process as other grants. Additional information is 

available at https://ies.ed.gov/funding/unsolicited.asp.

Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR)

The SBIR program (https://ies.ed.gov/sbir/) awards contracts to qualified small businesses to 

conduct innovative research and development projects focused on education technology. Small 

businesses can receive Federal funding for two phases of research and development: Phase I 

awards are designed to determine the scientific or technical merit of ideas by testing the 

feasibility of a technological approach, while Phase II awards support further development or 

expansion of Phase I projects. Phase II awards require a more comprehensive plan for research 

and development and must describe the commercial potential of the education technology. 

Funding is provided through an annual set-aside of 3.2 percent of total estimated agency 

research and development (R&D) obligations each fiscal year. Historically this set-aside, while 

calculated based on agency-wide R&D expenditures and totaling approximately $10 million 

annually, has been funded by IES. However, a recent review of Department programs identified 

additional non-IES programs that meet the definition of research and development, which 

significantly increased the amount required to be reserved for SBIR grants. Consequently, the 

Department is exploring options for sharing SBIR costs with the programs that generate those 

costs and intends to consult with Congress on those options, which may include, for example, 

seeking appropriations language giving the Secretary authority to reserve a portion of a 

program’s funds for SBIR purposes when the amount generated by that program for SBIR 

awards exceeds a certain threshold. In fiscal year 2022, the Department estimates that SBIR 

funding would total $16.3 million, based on total R&D estimated obligations, including R&D 

obligations of ARP Act funds.

NCEE Dissemination Activities

The fiscal year 2022 request includes $19.6 million for NCEE dissemination activities designed 

to ensure that practitioners and policymakers have access to high-quality research information 

in usable forms. These activities provide tools to help practitioners and policymakers easily 

locate current information on the effectiveness of various strategies and interventions, thereby 

amplifying the impact of the Department’s investments in rigorous research and evaluation. 

The NCEE dissemination activities include the following: 

• What Works Clearinghouse (WWC). The WWC (https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/) reviews 

research to determine which studies meet rigorous, consistent, and transparent standards 
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and produces single study reviews, intervention reports, and practice guides that present 

findings on what works in education. Intervention reports released in 2020 synthesized the 

effectiveness of interventions on diverse topics, including primary school mathematics, 

adolescent literacy, and postsecondary education success. Guides released to date in 

2021 have included information on intensive advising for high school students from lowincome backgrounds to assist them in applying for college and financial aid and a webbased tutoring program for students in grades K-8. IES released two practice guides in the 

first half of fiscal year 2021, one focused on helping students who struggle with mathematics

and one on career pathways at community colleges. The WWC website provides reviews of 

more than 10,700 individual studies, as well as more than 590 intervention reports and 24 

practice guides. The Find What Works tool (https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/FWW) allows users 

to easily search by topic area, such as math or science, to find studies with evidence of 

positive effects.

• Education Resources Information Center (ERIC). ERIC provides a comprehensive, 

searchable, Internet-based bibliographic and full-text database of education research and 

information for educators, researchers, and the general public 

(https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/eric.asp). It covers journal and non-journal literature from 

1966 to the present. More than half a million users search the ERIC website each week, 

with many more searching through ERIC data using vendor sites.

• National Library of Education (NLE). Operating as a depository library under the Federal 

Depository Library Program of the U.S. Government Publishing Office, the NLE serves as 

the Federal Government's primary education information resource to the public, education 

community, and other Government agencies (https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/projects/nle/). The 

NLE's current collection, in print and electronic formats, focuses on education and includes 

subject matter such as economics, law, psychology, and sociology, as they relate to 

education.

• Digital Modernization. The IES Digital Modernization project will rebuild the IES website to 

prioritize customers and products with a customer-centric design, content and data 

management tools, and agile technologies. This work will advance IES' mission as an 

applied science agency by leveraging the website to address the interests of core 

audiences – including parents, teachers, and administrators – in practical, accessible data 

and research on education.

Dissemination activity funding is also used for logistical and technical support, as well as 

technical assistance to support building and using evidence.

In addition, RDD funds support peer review of new grant proposals and the National Board of 

Education Sciences.

To provide the flexibility IES needs to plan and administer a regular cycle of research 

competitions, the Department requests that RDD funding continue to be available for 2 years.
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PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES

(dollars in thousands)

Output Measures 2020 2021 2022

NCER Grants

Education research: Grant awards (new) $39,982 $87,652 $69,699

Education research: Grant award (continuations) 114,893 84,998 159,526

Education research: Subtotal 154,875 172,650 229,225

Small Business Innovation Research Contracts 10,400 14,100 16,340

Dissemination Activities

Dissemination Activities: What Works Clearinghouse 12,577 890 7,560

Dissemination Activities: Educational Resources Information Center 4,103 0 4,100

Dissemination Activities: National Library of Education 2,397 2,399 2,400

Dissemination Activities: Digital Modernization 6,143 1,500 1,500

Dissemination Activities Technical assistance, logistical support, and other 4,006 1,428 4,000

Dissemination Activities: Subtotal 29,226 6,217 19,560

Peer review of new award applications 1,376 2,755 2,755

National Board for Education Sciences 0 155 300

Total 195,877 195,877 267,877

NOTE: Funds from any single fiscal year’s appropriation may be used for 2 years. The table provides estimates of the 

amounts from each year’s appropriation that will be used for each area, not the amount obligated in each of those 

years.

FY 2021 OPERATING PLAN

Grant Activities

Completed Competitions for New 

FY 2021 Awards

Number of

Awards

Range of

Awards

Project

Period

FY 2021 

Appropriation

Using Longitudinal Data to Support 

State Education Policymaking 

(84.305S) 

7 $632,778 to 

999,999 3 years $2,320,779

Statistical and Research Methodology 

in Education (84.305D) 8 576,429 to 900,000 3 years 2,197,952

Statistical and Research Methodology 

in Education–Early Career (84.305D) 1 225,000 2 years 104,723
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Competitions for New FY 2021 Awards

(Underway as of March 30, 2021)

Applicants

Notified

Estimated

Range

Maximum

Project Period

Education Research (84.305A) By July 1, 2021 $100,000 to 

760,000 5 years

Research Training Programs in the 

Education Sciences (84.305B) By July 1, 2021 100,000 to 312,000 5 years

Education Research and Development 

Centers (84.305C) By July 1, 2021 1,000,000 to 2,000,000 5 years

Research Networks Focused on 

Critical Problems of Education Policy 

and Practice (305N)

By August 1, 2021 1,000,000 to 

3,800,000 5 years

Research Grants Focused on 

Systematic Replication (84.305R) By July 1, 2021 400,000 to 900,000 5 years

Transformative Research in the 

Education (84.305T) By August 1, 2021 500,000 to 3,000,000 5 years

FY 2021 Continuation Awards Number of

Awards

FY 2020

Carryover

FY 2021

Funds

Education Research (84.305A) 117 $900,368 $55,593,954

Research Training Programs in the Education 

Sciences (84.305B) 19 0 10,730,133

Education Research and Development Centers 

(84.305C) 7 5,339,533 7,528,473

Statistical and Research Methodology in 

Education (84.305D) 16 0 4,176,735

Research Practitioner Partnerships (84.305H) 5 0 5,547,425

Research Networks Focused on Critical 

Problems of Education Policy and Practice 

(305N)

4 2,197,386 0

Research Grants Focused on Systematic 

Replication (84.305R) 1 0 847,252

Unsolicited Proposals (84.305U) 10 1,302,340 1,646,102
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Contract Activities

Research Activities FY 2020 

Carryover

FY 2021 

Funds

Small Business Innovation Research 0 $13,200,000

National Academies review of IES Research Programs $604,185 0

Evaluations of the Experimental Sites Initiatives $37,542 0

Dissemination/Knowledge Utilization Activities FY 2020 

Carryover

FY 2021 

Funds

National Library of Education $18,871 $2,399,236

Educational Resources Information Center 4,102,746 0

What Works Clearinghouse 7,605,676 890,000

Technical Assistance Supporting Evidence-Building and Use 1,038,965 33,175

NCES Teacher Panel 50,717 0

Operational Activities FY 2020 

Carryover

FY 2021 

Funds

Peer review of new award applications 0 $2,754,547

Support for compliance with contractor security requirements $92,578 0

IES Cloud Hosting and Support 1,379,649 0

Website Support and Improvement 1,017,165 0

Digital Modernization 4,092,600 1,500,000

Administrative, Logistical and Technical Support 151,800 346,095

Printing 1,400 10,000

National Board for Education Sciences 0 155,000
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Estimates of American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 Obligations

(dollars in millions)

Activity/Center Type of 

Award 

FY 

2021

FY 

2022 

FY 

2023 Total

IES/NSF Artificial Intelligence (AI) 

Institutes (Intelligent Tutoring and 

Special Education) 

Interagency 

Agreement $20 0 0 $20

NCES School Pulse Survey1 Contracts 2 $8 $2 12

NCER Research Network on State & 

Local Recovery Efforts (2 rounds of 

awards) 

Grants 0 30 0 30

NCER Using Longitudinal Data to 

Support State Education 

Policymaking—Recovery-focused 

Grants 0 10 0 10

NCSER Acceleration RFA-Scaling up 

Promising Practices for Students with 

Disabilities (2 rounds) 

Grants 0 20 0 20

NCEE Knowledge 

Utilization/Dissemination (includes 

Checklists for Recovery) 

Contracts 3 5 0 8 

Total 25 73 2 100

NOTE: Funds are preliminary estimates. 1Approximately $497,000 of Statistics funding was used to initiate the School Pulse Survey in 2021.

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance Measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, goals, 

objectives, measures, and performance targets and data. Achievement of results is based on 

the cumulative effect of the Federal resources provided for this program as well as the 

resources and efforts invested by those served by the program. The Department will be 

reviewing GPRA program performance goals, objectives, and measures for RDD for possible 

revision in future years to ensure alignment with Administration policy.
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Goal: Transform education into an evidence-based field.

Objective: Raise the quality of research funded or conducted by the Department.

Measure: The minimum percentage of projects that result in peer-reviewed publications.

Year Target Actual

2017 85% 83%

2018 87 82

2019 87 82

2020 89 81

2021 90

2022 85

Additional information: Peer-reviewed publications are an expected product of all research 

projects (i.e., grants). Given the lag from time of award to completion of a study and its 

publication, the denominator for each reporting year will be the cumulative number of research 

grants that had been funded through the end of the fiscal year 3 years prior to the reporting 

year. IES had set a long-range goal of 90% for this measure, a figure that proved to be overly 

ambitious, particularly since project lengths were increased to 4 years for development projects 

and 5 years for efficacy projects. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic led to a halt in all inperson data collection, which means that many studies that were scheduled to end in 2020 have 

not been completed. Therefore, the target for 2022 has been reduced to 85 percent.

Measure: The minimum number of IES-supported interventions with evidence of efficacy in 

improving student outcomes.

Year Target Actual

2017 104 110

2018 114 119

2019 130 124

2020 137 135

2021 144

2022 150

Additional information: IES-supported interventions include those developed or evaluated by 

IES. Results of intervention evaluations typically are not available until the end of a grant award 

period. The reported data are the cumulative numbers of interventions since 2002 with evidence 

of meeting WWC standards and having positive effects on student outcomes as determined by 

the WWC reviewers. IES did not meet the target for 2020.
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Efficiency Measures

Measure: The average number of research grants administered per program officer employed 

in the National Center for Education Research.

Year Target Actual

2017 40 42

2018 40 41

2019 40 41

2020 40 51

2021 40

2022 35

Additional information: The principal efficiency measure for IES is the ratio of research staff to 

research grants. In 2001, staff of the Department’s predecessor research organization 

monitored 1.3 research grants per staff member. In 2019, the average staff monitoring load was 

41 grants per program officer; in 2020 it rose to 51. IES had kept the target at 40 for several 

years, believing that it represented an appropriate level of oversight and capacity. Upon further 

examination, the target for 2022 has been reduced to 35. The actual value of 51 for 2020 is far 

from optimal.
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Statistics

(Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, Part C)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2022 Authorization: To be determined1, 2

Budget Authority:

2021

Appropriation

2022

Request

Change from

2021 to 2022

$111,500 $111,500 0

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2009; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2022. 2 The statute authorizes such sums as may be necessary for all of Title I, of which not less than the amount provided 

to the National Center for Education Statistics for FY 2002 shall be available for Part C, which is $85,000 thousand.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) is one of four Centers in the Institute of 

Education Sciences (IES) established by the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA) of 2002. 

NCES is the chief Federal entity engaged in collecting, analyzing, and reporting data related to 

education in the United States.

NCES is authorized to:

• collect, acquire, compile, and disseminate full and complete statistics on the condition and 

progress of education in the U.S.;

• conduct and publish reports on the meaning and significance of such statistics;

• collect, analyze, cross-tabulate, and report data, where feasible, by demographic 

characteristics, including gender, race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, limited English 

proficiency, mobility, disability, and urbanicity;

• help public and private educational agencies and organizations improve their statistical 

systems;

• acquire and disseminate data on U.S. education activities and student achievement 

compared with foreign nations; and

• conduct longitudinal and special data collections necessary to report on the condition and 

progress of education.

NCES is also authorized to establish a program to train employees of public and private 

educational agencies, organizations, and institutions in the use of statistical procedures and 
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concepts and may establish a fellowship program to allow such employees to work as

temporary fellows at NCES.

In addition, under the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018, the NCES 

Commissioner is the Department of Education’s Chief Statistical Officer, responsible for 

directing and coordinating statistical policy for the agency.

Statistical information collected by NCES contributes to the identification of needs in education 

and informs the development of policy priorities. The authorizing statute requires the 

Commissioner of NCES to issue regular reports on education topics, particularly in the core 

academic areas of reading, mathematics, and science, and to produce an annual statistical 

report on the condition and progress of education in the United States. NCES studies provide 

information on a wide range of issues that are critical to understanding the U.S. education 

system, including such topics as preparation for higher education; college costs; student 

financial aid; school choice; homeschooling; high school completion; school safety; teacher 

shortages, mobility, and attrition; and the achievement of students in the U.S. compared with 

that of other countries. NCES coordinates with other Federal agencies when carrying out 

surveys to maximize the value of the information collected and to minimize response burdens 

on stakeholders. For example, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has 

contributed to the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey, Kindergarten Class of 2010−11 (ECLSK:2011); the National Science Foundation participated in the High School Longitudinal Study 

(HSLS:2009); and NCES collaborates with the Bureau of Justice Statistics to administer the 

School Crime Supplement to the National Crime Victimization Survey. Most work is conducted 

through competitively awarded contracts.

ESRA also authorizes the National Board for Education Sciences (NBES) to advise the NCES 

Commissioner. NBES may establish a standing committee to advise NCES.

Five areas, each with a set of specific activities, make up the Statistics budget:

• Administrative Data Collections and Support includes basic descriptive data collections from 

public schools at the elementary and secondary levels and from public and private 

postsecondary institutions, as well as activities that improve data standards and provide 

technical assistance.

• Longitudinal Studies collect information on the same students over time. Such studies 

provide insight into how students and educational systems influence one another and can 

ultimately provide educators and policymakers with information to improve the quality of 

education.

• International Studies provide insights into the educational practices and outcomes in the 

U.S. by enabling comparisons with other countries. These studies reflect the longstanding 

concern—dating back at least to the landmark 1983 report, “A Nation at Risk”—over the role 

of education in maintaining the Nation’s global competitiveness and ensuring continued 

economic growth and prosperity.
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• Cross-sectional Studies provide extensive staffing, school safety, adult education, and 

other issue-specific data from public and private schools, staff, and households.

• Crosscutting Activities include initiatives to train the public on accessing and using 

NCES data; activities designed to enhance the usefulness of statistical data collections 

and publications; and programs to review and improve the quality of NCES studies and 

to safeguard privacy and confidentiality.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2017 ...............................................................................$109,500

2018 .................................................................................109,500

2019 .................................................................................103,0001

2020 .................................................................................117,5002

2021 .................................................................................111,500

1 Reflects a reprogramming of $6,500 thousand in fiscal year 2019 funds from Statistics to the Assessment program 

in the IES account that was “repaid” by reprogramming $6,500 of fiscal year 2020 Assessment funds to Statistics. 2 Reflects a reprogramming of $6,500 thousand in fiscal year 2020 funds from the Assessment program to Statistics 

to “repay” the funds transferred to Assessment in fiscal year 2019.

FY 2022 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2022, the Administration requests $111.5 million for Statistics, level with the fiscal 

year 2021 appropriation. The Statistics request includes funds for a broad range of surveys and 

activities that provide information on education at all levels. During the last year, NCES has

examined the impact of COVID-19 on data collection schedules and adjusted previously 

announced schedules to accommodate local needs. Activities in the Statistics request include:

Administrative Data Collections and Support

The Administrative Data Collections and Support category includes basic descriptive data 

collections from public schools at the elementary and secondary levels and from public and 

private postsecondary institutions, as well as activities that support improvement of data 

standards and technical assistance. The fiscal year 2022 request includes approximately 

$24 million for administrative data collections. NCES staff are working to determine what 

changes need to be made to collection schedules given the effect of COVID-19, and it seems 

likely that some collections will need to be delayed or modified. Key activities include:

• The Common Core of Data (CCD) (http://nces.ed.gov/ccd/), the Department’s primary 

database on public elementary and secondary education in the U.S., provides annual 

information on all school districts and public elementary and secondary schools, including 

public charter schools. Examples of such information include basic descriptive information 

such as student enrollment, demographic, and high school completion data; numbers of 

teachers and other staff; and fiscal data, including revenues and expenditures.
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• The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) (http://nces.ed.gov/ipeds/) is 

a comprehensive data collection system for postsecondary institutions, including all Higher 

Education Act Title IV institutions. Components of the survey include: institutional 

characteristics, fall enrollment, completions, salaries, finance (including current revenues by 

source; current expenditures by function, assets, and indebtedness; and endowment 

investments), student financial aid, staff, graduation rates, outcome measures, and 

academic libraries.

• The Common Education Data Standards (https://ceds.ed.gov/) project is a national 

collaborative effort to develop voluntary, common data standards for a key set of education 

data elements to streamline the exchange, comparison, and understanding of data within 

and across P-20W (Preschool, Grade 20 or Higher Education, Workforce) institutions and 

sectors.

• The Surveys and Cooperative Systems program provides support for efforts to improve the 

quality, timeliness, and comparability of statistics used for education policymaking at all 

levels of government, including the National Forum on Education Statistics 

(http://nces.ed.gov/forum/about.asp) and two National Postsecondary Education 

Cooperatives (http://nces.ed.gov/npec/): one focused on IPEDS and one on the 

postsecondary longitudinal and sample surveys.

• The Education Demographic and Geographic Estimates (EDGE) program 

(http://nces.ed.gov/programs/edge/) uses data collected by the U.S. Census Bureau to 

create custom school district indicators of social and economic conditions for school-age 

children. Data generated by EDGE and many other NCES programs can be analyzed and 

viewed spatially using the MapEd tool (http://nces.ed.gov/programs/maped/).

Longitudinal Studies

Longitudinal Studies are designed to collect information on the same students over time. The 

fiscal year 2022 request includes approximately $38 million to support the following longitudinal 

studies:

• The Early Childhood Longitudinal Studies (ECLS) (http://nces.ed.gov/ecls/) are a series of 

longitudinal studies that follow children from birth or from kindergarten entry to examine child 

development, school readiness, and early school experiences. The first study was the ECLS 

Kindergarten Class of 1998-99; the second was the ECLS Birth Cohort of 2001. The latest 

study in the series, the ECLS Kindergarten Class of 2010-11 (ECLS-K:11), concluded data 

collection in the spring of 2016 and has enabled researchers to study how a wide range of 

family, school, community, and individual factors are associated with school performance 

over time. The next study is scheduled to follow the kindergarten class of 2023-24. The 

study had been scheduled to follow the kindergarten class of 2022-23 but was delayed due 

to the pandemic.

• The Middle Grades Longitudinal Study (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/mgls/) is the first 

longitudinal study to provide information on children’s development in grades 6 through 8 on 

factors associated with successful transition from elementary to secondary school. The 
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study includes a nationally representative sample of sixth graders in the 2017-18 school 

year and will focus on topics associated with students’ high school readiness, inclusion, and 

math and literacy learning in the middle grades. The study has been affected by the 

pandemic. In March 2020 data collection for the first followup moved to an online only mode; 

when most schools did not reopen, the focus shifted to obtaining student participation 

through parent recruitment.

• The High School Longitudinal Studies (HSLS) collect data on a cohort of students from 

ninth grade through their postsecondary years. The first study began in 1972. The fifth 

study, the HSLS:09 (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/hsls09/), collected data in the fall of 2009 

from a sample of students in the ninth grade; followups were conducted in 2012, 2013, and 

2016. Subsequent waves of data collection will follow the sample members through 

postsecondary education and beyond, providing information on transitions from high school 

to postsecondary education or work. The next survey has been rescheduled due to the 

pandemic; data collection is now scheduled to begin in the fall of 2022.

• The National Postsecondary Student Aid Survey (NPSAS) 

(http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/npsas/) is a comprehensive, cross-sectional study of 

undergraduate, graduate, and first-professional degree-seeking students that examines how 

students and their families pay for postsecondary education. NPSAS serves as the baseyear sample for two longitudinal studies, the Beginning Postsecondary Students (BPS) 

longitudinal study and the Baccalaureate and Beyond (B&B) longitudinal study. NPSAS is 

conducted every 2 years with a student interview included every 4 years (e.g. NPSAS:20 

and NPSAS:24). An administrative data collection, which uses only administrative data from 

the Department’s data systems and institutional student records, occurs in the other years 

(e.g., NPSAS:22 and NPSAS:26).

• The Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/bps/)

follows a cohort of beginning postsecondary students and provides data on a variety of 

topics, including student demographics, school and work experiences, persistence, transfer, 

and degree attainment. The BPS 12/17 cohort began their postsecondary education in 

2012; followup data collection occurred in 2014 and 2017.

• The Baccalaureate and Beyond Survey (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/b&b/) follows students 

who complete their baccalaureate degrees. Initially, students in the NPSAS surveys who are 

identified as being in their last year of undergraduate studies are asked questions about 

their future employment and education expectations, as well as about their undergraduate 

education. In later followups, students are asked questions about their job search activities, 

education, and employment experiences after graduation. The first B&B cohort was drawn 

from the 1993 NPSAS sample; the latest B&B cohort was drawn from the 2016 NPSAS and 

will be followed for 10 years.

International Studies

International Studies (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/international/) provide insights into U.S. 

educational practices and outcomes by allowing comparisons with other countries. Funding for 
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the International Studies program is estimated at $20 million in fiscal year 2022 and supports 

the following activities:

• International Analysis supports many activities, including the Indicators of National 

Education Systems Project, a cooperative effort among member countries of the 

Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) to develop an education 

indicator reporting system. The primary vehicle for reporting on these indicators is an annual 

OECD report entitled “Education at a Glance” (http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/).

• The International Computer and Information Literacy Study, organized by the International 

Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) (https://www.iea.nl/icils), is 

a comparative study to evaluate students’ computer and information literacy (i.e., their ability 

to use computers to investigate, create, and communicate in order to participate effectively 

at home, at school, in the workplace, and in the community). The next survey is scheduled 

for 2023.

• The International Early Learning and Child Well-being Study

(http://www.oecd.org/edu/school/international-early-learning-and-child-well-being-study.htm), 

organized by the OECD, collects comparative data that will allow policymakers to better 

understand what outcomes are possible for children in early childhood education and will 

enable insights on the relative effectiveness, equity, and efficiency of early childhood 

education systems across the world. Three nations—the United States, England, and 

Estonia—participated in this study in 2018; the study was released in March 2020.

• The Program for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies

(http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/piaac/), which is sponsored by the OECD, is a household study 

assessing the basic skills and the broad range of competencies of adults around the world. 

The next data collection in the U.S., which had been scheduled for 2021, is now scheduled 

to begin in 2022.

• The Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) 

(http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pisa/), also sponsored by OECD, is designed to monitor, on a 

regular 3-year cycle, the achievement of 15-year-old students in three subject areas: 

reading literacy, mathematical literacy, and scientific literacy. An online International Data 

Explorer (IDE) is available that allows users to create their own tables and charts from 

available data (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/international/ide/). Because of the pandemic, the 

next assessment was rescheduled from 2021 to 2022.

• The Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS) 

(http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pirls/), which is sponsored by the IEA, assesses the reading 

literacy of fourth graders and the experiences they have at home and school in learning to 

read. PIRLS is administered every 5 years, with the fifth assessment scheduled for 2021.

• The Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) 

(http://nces.ed.gov/TIMSS/), also sponsored by the IEA, is a study conducted every 4 years 

of fourth and eighth graders’ mathematics and science achievement in the U.S. and other 

participating nations. The TIMSS IDE allows users to create their own tables and charts 
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using TIMSS data (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/international/ide/). The latest TIMSS was 

administered in 2019 and marked the beginning of a transition to a computer-based 

assessment; the next TIMSS is scheduled to be conducted in 2023 and will complete the 

transition to a digital assessment.

Cross Sectional Studies

Cross Sectional Studies, which include a set of sample surveys that provide extensive data 

about public and private schools, staff, and households throughout the U.S., would receive 

nearly $17 million in fiscal year 2022 for the following surveys and activities:

• The National Teacher and Principal Survey (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ntps/) is the 

Department’s primary source of information on teacher and principal preparation, classes 

taught in public schools, and demographics of the teacher and principal labor force. Topics 

include professional development, working conditions, and teacher and principal evaluation, 

and the survey supports trend analyses in areas such as the average salary of a beginning 

principal, the average student-teacher ratio in the U.S., and teachers’ views of their 

autonomy in the classroom.

• The Private School Survey (PSS) (https://nces.ed.gov/surveys/pss/), conducted every 

2 years, provides information on the number of private schools, teachers, and students in 

the U.S. while providing a sampling frame for other NCES surveys. The survey includes 

private schools in the 50 States and the District of Columbia.

• The School Survey on Crime and Safety (SSOCS) (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/ssocs/) and 

the School Crime Supplement (SCS) (http://nces.ed.gov/programs/crime/) provide many of 

the statistics used to provide context when crises and tragedies strike our Nation’s schools. 

SSOCS provides information on school incidents, discipline rates, and school safety 

programs and policies from a nationally representative sample of approximately 3,500 public 

elementary and secondary schools, while the SCS collects information about school-related 

victimization, crime, and safety in public and private schools as part of a national survey of 

students ages 12 through 18 conducted by the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS). The two 

studies follow each other on a 2-year cycle. BJS is delaying the SCS for 1 year, to the 

beginning of 2022, because of the number of schools that have been operating in “nonregular” modes.

• The Survey of Earned Doctorates in the United States

(http://www.nsf.gov/statistics/srvydoctorates/) annually collects basic statistics from the 

universe of doctoral recipients in the U.S.

• The National Household Education Surveys (https://nces.ed.gov/nhes/) is a suite of data 

collections designed to provide descriptive data on a wide range of education-related issues, 

including early childhood care and education, children’s readiness for school, before- and 

after-school activities of school-age children, adult participation in education and training for 

work, parent involvement in education, school choice, and homeschooling.
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• The Fast Response Survey System (FRSS) (http://nces.ed.gov/surveys/frss/) collects issuespecific data quickly and with minimal response burden from elementary and secondary 

staff, schools, and districts. Data collected through FRSS surveys are representative at the 

national level, drawing from a universe that is appropriate for each study. To ensure minimal 

burden on respondents, the surveys are generally limited to three pages of questions, and 

sample sizes are relatively small.

Crosscutting Activities

Crosscutting Activities would receive approximately $13 million in fiscal year 2022 to support the 

following:

• Annual Reports and Indicators include three major annual statistical compilations of critical

education indicators: the “Condition of Education” (http://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/), the 

“Digest of Education Statistics” (http://nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/), and “Projections of 

Education Statistics” (https://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2018019). NCES 

also produces short-format statistical briefs on emerging issues in education.

• The Current Population Survey (http://www.census.gov/cps/) is a monthly household survey 

conducted by the Bureau of the Census. Since the late 1960s, NCES has provided funding 

for a supplement that gathers data on enrollment in elementary, secondary, and 

postsecondary education and on educational attainment. NCES funds additional items on 

education-related topics such as language proficiency, disabilities, computer access and 

use, and student mobility.

• Funding for Data Development and Statistical Standards provides methodological and 

statistical support to NCES, as well as to Federal and non-Federal organizations that 

engage in statistical work in support of NCES mission. Activities include developing 

standards that ensure the quality of statistical surveys, analyses, and products, coordinating 

the review of NCES products, coordinating revisions to the NCES Statistical Standards,

funding the National Forum on Education Statistics (https://nces.ed.gov/forum/), and 

improving the Department’s Data Inventory (http://datainventory.ed.gov/).

In order to provide the flexibility IES needs to support program activities, the Department 

requests that funding continues to be available for 2 years.
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Statistics

X-30

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES

(dollars in thousands)

Output Measures 2020 2021 2022

Administrative Data Collections and Support $29,831 $23,631 $23,631

Longitudinal Studies 38,100 38,100 38,100

International Studies 20,073 20,073 20,073

Cross-Sectional Studies 17,330 17,051 17,051

Crosscutting Activities 11,666 12,645 12,645

Total $117,0001 $111,500 $111,500

NOTES: 

Funds from any single fiscal year’s appropriation may be used for 2 years. The table provides estimates of the 

amounts from each year’s appropriation that will be used for each area, not the amount obligated in each of those 

years.

1 Reflects a reprogramming of $6,500 thousand in fiscal year 2020 funds from the Assessment program in the IES

account to Statistics to “repay” by reprogramming of $6,500 thousand of fiscal year 2019 Statistics funds to 

Assessment.

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of results is based on the 

cumulative effect of the Federal resources provided for this program as well as the resources 

and efforts invested by those served by the program. The Department will be reviewing GPRA 

program performance goals, objectives, and measures for Statistics for possible revision in 

future years to ensure alignment with Administration policy.

Performance Measures

Goal: To collect, analyze, and disseminate information on the condition of education in 

the United States and to provide comparative international statistics.

Objective: Provide timely and useful data that are relevant to policy and educational 

improvement.
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Statistics

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Measure: The extent to which customers would recommend NCES to others and would rely on 

NCES in the future as measured by the American Customer Satisfaction Index (ACSI).

Year Target Actual

2016 74% 72%

2018 74 73

2020 74 73

2022 74

Additional information: NCES collects customer satisfaction information through the ACSI 

(http://www.theacsi.org/), which provides satisfaction scores based on samples of customers. 

The baseline for this measure, 74 percent, was established using 2008 data. NCES barely 

missed the target in 2020.

The pandemic may have depressed the survey response rate. Customer surveys typically get a 

response rate of 2 to 5 percent, but efforts to reach respondents over the years resulted in a 

response rate of 22 percent in 2018, up from 8 percent in 2014. In 2020, the survey began just 

as the pandemic was declared, and the response rate was 17 percent.

Measure: The percent of data collections in which the response rate was below 85 percent.

Year

Number of 

Reports

Number of 

Survey 

Components

Number of Survey 

Components with 

Response Rates 

Below 85%

Percent of Survey 

Components with 

Response Rates 

Below 85%

2017 20 49 16 33%

2018 12 29 6 21

2019 16 30 13 43

2020

2021

2022

Additional information: One way in which NCES attempts to ensure the quality of its work is 

by maintaining high survey response rates. High response rates help ensure that survey data 

are representative of the target populations. When a survey response rate is lower than 

85 percent, the NCES statistical standards require a bias analysis to help determine the effect of 

the low rate on the survey results. All NCES surveys in 2009 through 2019 either had an 

85 percent response rate or higher or had nonresponse bias analyses conducted and weight 

adjustments made, as needed.

Efficiency Measures

NCES adopted an efficiency measure in 2016 that tracks survey data release timeliness by 

measuring if the reports for certain periodic data collections are released by a predetermined 

date. The efficiency measure addresses customers’ concerns about data timeliness and helps 

assess whether NCES completes work in a timely manner.
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Statistics

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NCES’ goal is to release reports for certain periodic data collections to the public by a 

predetermined release date, ensuring that the public can expect NCES reports for annual or 

biennial data collections at an anticipated date during a reporting year. Specifically, the data 

collections that are tracked for this measure are IPEDS (annual), CCD (annual), PSS (biennial), 

and the Condition of Education (annual). 

Measure: The percentage of reports for certain periodic data collections meeting their annual or 

biennial release dates.

IPEDS Data Collection

Year Number of Reports Target Actual

2017 3 100% 100%

2018 3 100 100

2019 3 100 67

2020 3 100 67

2021 100

2022 100

Additional information: This measure tracks the release dates of the Fall, Winter, and Spring 

IPEDS surveys. Each of these collection cycles includes important information that is used by 

policymakers and researchers, as well as by students and their parents. The goal is to release 

preliminary data first to make the data available, followed by an edited and imputed data file and 

report about three months after the initial release. The COVID-19 pandemic affected the ability 

of many schools to complete the timely submission of their Spring survey data. This led to the 

initial release of those data being delayed, which dropped the “actual” percentages for 2019 and 

2020 to 67 percent.

Common Core of Data (CCD) Data Collection

Year Target Actual

2017 100% 100%

2018 100 67

2019 100 75

2020 100 60

2021 100

2022 100

Additional information: The CCD is the primary source of key information about public 

elementary and secondary schools and their students and staff. The goal is to release data 

within 1 year from the end of data collection. In 2020, the CCD nonfiscal data were released 

within the 1-year limit. Two years of CCD fiscal data were released in 2020. The two files for the 

first year (fiscal year 2017) were not released within the 1-year time limit, but the two files for the 

second year (fiscal year 2018) were released within the 1-year time limit.
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Statistics

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Private School Survey (PSS) Data Collection

Year Number of Reports Target Actual

2017 1 100% 0

2019 1 100 100%

2021 100

Additional information: The PSS is the primary source of data about private schools and their 

students and staff. The data also serve as the sampling frame for sample surveys that include 

private schools. The goal is to release survey data within 1 year of the end of data collection. 

Data from the 2017-18 Private School Survey were released in a First Look Report in June 

2019.

Condition of Education Data Collection

Year Number of Reports Target Actual

2017 1 100% 100%

2018 1 100 100

2019 1 100 100

2020 1 100 100

2021 100

2022 100

Additional information: The “Condition of Education” is a congressionally mandated report 

that is updated using data from every NCES data collection released in the prior year and 

external data from the Census Bureau, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Justice Statistics,

and international education consortia.
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Regional educational laboratories

(Education Sciences Reform Act, section 174)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2022 Authorization: To be determined1

Budget Authority:

2021

Appropriation

2022

Request

Change from

2021 to 2022

$57,022 $57,022 0

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2009; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2022.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) program (https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/), which 

is administered by the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance within 

the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), supports a network of 10 laboratories that work in 

partnership with State educational agencies (SEAs), school districts, and other entities to use 

data and research to improve academic outcomes for students. Each of the RELs serves a 

specific region of the country.

RELs conduct and disseminate information about applied research and evaluations; develop 

and disseminate research-based reports and guidance on best practice; and provide training, 

coaching, and technical support to SEAs, local educational agencies (LEAs), school boards, 

and State boards of education. Through these activities, the RELs build local and State capacity 

to use data and evidence, access high-quality research to inform decisions, conduct their own

research, and track progress over time using high-quality data and methods. REL resources are 

allocated based on several variables, including the number of LEAs and school-age children 

served and the cost of providing services within the region. RELs are funded through 5-year 

contracts with research organizations and institutions of higher education.

The current REL contracts, which were awarded in fiscal year 2017, include an explicit focus 

on supporting sustained, ongoing partnerships with stakeholders at the State and district levels. 

Under the direction of their regional governing boards, RELs identify priority topic areas on which 

to focus their activities. Although the research partners in the regions are the primary

stakeholders of each REL, the Department also requires that RELs develop materials for 

national distribution through the IES website. In addition to reports and studies, these materials

include tools (e.g., rubrics or data organizers) and technical assistance documents (e.g., 

PowerPoint presentations, workshop activities, and facilitators’ guides) that can be used by 

others not directly served by the RELs. A competition for new REL contract awards is being 

held in 2021; new awards will be made in fiscal year 2022.
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In 2020, RELs were able to pivot their work to address emerging needs due to the COVID-19 

pandemic. In late March of 2020, they began offering webinars and other resources to help

educators, families, and others supporting students who were unable to attend school in person 

and were forced to continue their education through distance learning. These products cover a 

wide range of COVID-19 and distance learning topics, including effective distance learning 

resources and strategies, family and caregiver supports for learning at home, equitable learning 

opportunities during the pandemic, student and teacher well-being, accountability and 

assessment activities, safely returning to school buildings, and engagement strategies. In total, 

the RELs have produced more than 150 resources—including “Frequently Asked Questions,” 

infographics, videos, and webinars—to help stakeholders with distance learning during the 

pandemic.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2017 ...................................................................................... $54,423

2018 ........................................................................................ 55,423

2019 ........................................................................................ 55,423

2020 ........................................................................................ 56,022

2021 ........................................................................................ 57,022

FY 2022 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2022, the Administration requests $57.0 million for the RELs, level with the fiscal 

year 2021 appropriation. The fiscal year 2022 request would support the first year of activities 

for 9 of the 10 RELs in the REL 2022-27 cohort under new 5-year contracts. (REL Southwest is 

on a different schedule and will be awarded in fiscal year 2023). The funding would allow each 

REL to assist practitioners and policymakers in their work to improve outcomes for learners in 

its region—from early childhood to adulthood—by supporting stakeholders in the generation and 

use of research, evidence, and evidence-based practices. To achieve that purpose, the RELs

would:

• conduct applied research and development;

• design and implement training, coaching, and technical support activities that emphasize 

building capacity to use data and information to drive change; and 

• disseminate scientifically valid research, evidence-based practices, and supporting materials 

that allow stakeholders to apply this knowledge to their own practice. 

Based upon lessons learned from prior cycles and ongoing research on how education 

stakeholders learn about and implement evidence-based practices, changes to the design of the 

program include:

• Increased transparency and specificity on program goals and activities and more robust 

performance monitoring. Although the current REL cycle placed an emphasis on conducting 

work that stakeholders indicated would support their efforts to solve their most difficult 
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Regional educational laboratories

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problems of education policy and practice, it did not include the requirement that RELs set 

project-specific performance targets. REL 2022-27 will require each partnership to develop a 

logic model that clearly defines State and local stakeholder goals for REL work; activities 

designed to achieve those goals; and metrics that will be reviewed by the Department of 

Education, the REL, and partnership members to monitor—and, as needed, adjust—

performance.

• Increased emphasis on translating evidence-based practices into user-friendly tools. 

Research on educators’ use of evidence-based practices demonstrates the importance of 

actionable resources that bridge the gap from rigorous research to classroom 

implementation. As part of REL 2022-27, IES will require each REL to develop and evaluate 

at least one teacher-facing toolkit based on What Works Clearinghouse Practice Guides, 

IES’ signature products for highlighting “what works” in education. The resulting toolkits, if 

proven effective, will then be made available to other Department of Education technical 

assistance providers (e.g., Comprehensive Centers) and third-party intermediation 

organizations (e.g., national teacher organizations) that can support their adoption at scale.

• Creating new opportunities for community voice in REL activities. Although the program’s 

authorizing statute envisions a wide range of stakeholders for REL work and in REL 

governance, some voices—most notably of parents, students, and other community 

members—may be heard less frequently than those of State and local education leaders. 

Through REL 2022-27, IES seeks to broaden participation in several aspects of REL work 

with an emphasis on including perspectives of individuals underserved in education, to 

increase the likelihood REL work is responsive, useful, and actionable.

The funds requested for 2022 also would continue support for an independent peer review of 

REL products and publications, which helps ensure they are technically sound, readable, 

usable, and relevant to the needs of education practitioners and stakeholders before they are 

disseminated, as well as for website development and support.

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES

(dollars in thousands)

Output Measures 2020 2021 2022

Regional Educational Laboratory contracts $53,172 $53,941 $53,922

Other, including shared web development, 

evaluation, and peer review of REL plans and 

products 2,850 3,081 3,100

Total 56,022 57,022 57,022

NOTE: Funds from any single fiscal year’s appropriation may be used for 2 years; amounts for specific activities may 

vary from estimates based on changing needs.
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Regional educational laboratories

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States Served and Annual Level of Support for Each REL, FY 2022 Award Cycle

Region States

Annual 

Budget in 

Millions

Percent of 

Annual 

Budget

Appalachia Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia $4.6 9.1%

Central Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North 

Dakota, South Dakota, Wyoming 4.7 9.3

Mid-Atlantic Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, New 

Jersey, Pennsylvania 4.8 9.5

Midwest Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, 

Wisconsin 5.8 11.4

Northeast and 

Islands

Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New 

Hampshire, New York, Puerto Rico, Rhode Island, 

Vermont, the U.S. Virgin Islands

5.0 9.9

Northwest Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Washington 4.6 9.1

Pacific

American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 

Northern Mariana Islands, the Federated States of 

Micronesia (Chuuk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and Yap), 

Guam, Hawaii, the Republic of the Marshall 

Islands, the Republic of Palau

4.6 9.1

Southeast Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North 

Carolina, South Carolina 5.4 10.6

Southwest Arkansas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Oklahoma, 

Texas 5.5 10.8

West Arizona, California, Nevada, and Utah 5.7 11.2

Total 50.7 100.0

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of results is based on the 

cumulative effect of the Federal resources provided for this program as well as the resources 

and efforts invested by those served by the program. The Department will be reviewing GPRA 

program performance goals, objectives, and measures for the RELs for possible revision in 

future years to ensure alignment with Administration policy.

IES established new measures for the 2017 REL cohort starting with program year 2019.
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Regional educational laboratories

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Goal: Increase effective use of data and research, and capacity for use, among State and 

local education agencies.

Objective: Increase participants’ capacity to use data and research to inform decision-making.

Measure: The degree to which participants report that REL training increased their capacity to 

use research and data to inform decisions in their organization.

Year Target Actual

2019 Baseline 3.4

2020 Baseline 3.4

2021 3.5

2022 3.6

Additional information: The 2017-2022 RELs are required to survey participants and report 

the data to IES. Ratings use a 4-point scale where 1 equates to “Strongly Disagree” and 

4 equates to “Strongly Agree". For this measure, participants were asked to report on the extent 

to which training increased their capacity to use research or effectively incorporate data into 

decision making for their agency or organization. In 2019, participants in 87 workshops and 

trainings provided an average rating of 3.4; in 2020, participants in 72 workshops and trainings 

provided the same average rating, 3.4.

The performance metric includes all workshops and training completed in the reporting year. 

(Some activities require multiple sessions that may cross reporting years.) Some disruptions 

occurred due to the COVID-19 pandemic and may be a reason for the lower number of 

workshops and trainings in 2020.

Measure: The degree to which REL partnership members report that they plan to use, are in 

the process of using, or have used research or data to inform decisions in their agency, 

organization, or school.

Year Target Actual

2019 Baseline 96%

2020 Baseline 98

2021 100

2022 100

Additional information: RELs have the option to ask one or both of two questions depending 

on the focus of the partnership: (1) “I have used research presented by the REL to inform 

decisions in my agency/organization/school,” and (2) “I have used data in new ways to inform 

decisions in my agency/organization/ school.” In 2019, 96 percent of the 695 partnership 

members responding said that they had done so, were in the process of doing so, or planned to 

do so; in 2020, the equivalent figure was 98 percent for 397 partnership members. 

The total number of partnership members was 787 in 2019 and 670 in 2020, meaning that the 

response rate was 88 percent in 2019 and 59 percent in 2020. One hypothesis for the decrease 

in response rate was that many participant members were giving priority to urgent pandemicrelated needs. The drop in the number of partnerships had numerous causes, e.g., several 
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Regional educational laboratories

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partnerships were put on hold because partnership members were extremely busy responding 

to disruptions due to the pandemic, and others had completed their work. 

Objective: Increase the capacity of REL partnership members to use data and research to 

inform decision-making.

Measure: The degree to which participants report that their participation in a REL partnership 

has increased their capacity to use research and/or data to inform decisions about policies or 

practices in their organization.

Year Target Actual

2019 Baseline 3.3

2020 Baseline 3.4

2021 3.5

2022 3.6

Additional information: The 2017-22 RELs are required to survey participants and report the 

data to IES. Ratings use a 4-point scale where 1 equates to “Strongly Disagree” and 4 equates 

to “Strongly Agree”. For this measure, REL partnership members provided information on two 

questions, one on whether participation in a REL partnership increased their capacity to use 

research, and one on whether it increased their capacity to use data. The average rating in 

2019 was 3.3, based on responses from 88 partnerships. In 2020, the average rating was 3.4, 

based on ratings from 78 partnerships. 

Partnership members are representatives of an organization in the REL region that has a stake 

in improving educational outcomes for students and wants to partner with the REL to undertake 

research, training, coaching, or dissemination projects to address problems that are preventing 

all students from achieving positive outcomes. Partnerships meet regularly and work with the 

REL staff on applied research projects to answer questions posed by partnership members.

They also help design, and often participate in, training, coaching, and technical support 

activities to help stakeholders use evidence and evidence-based practices. Partners also work 

with the REL to disseminate rigorous evidence and evidence-based practices.
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Assessment

(National Assessment of Educational Progress Authorization Act)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2022 Authorization: To be determined1

Budget Authority:

Period of fund availability:

2021

Appropriation

2022

Request

Change from

2021 to 2022 

National Assessment of Educational Progress $165,000 $180,000 +$15,000

National Assessment Governing Board 7,745 7,745 0

Total 172,745 187,745 +15,000

Supplemental Appropriation, CRRSA Act 

(P.L. 116-260) 28,000 0 -28,000

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2009; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2022.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as “The Nation’s Report 

Card,” is the largest continuing and nationally representative assessment of what our Nation’s 

students know and can do in various subject areas. NAEP is designed to measure and provide 

objective information on the status of and trends in student learning over time in a wide range of 

subject areas. Assessment frequency is specified in the authorizing statute. The Commissioner 

for Education Statistics must conduct:

• National fourth and eighth grade reading and mathematics assessments in public and 

private schools at least once every 2 years;

• National grade 12 reading and mathematics assessments in public and private schools on a 

regular schedule; and

• Biennial fourth and eighth grade State assessments of student achievement in reading and 

mathematics.

If time and resources allow, the Commissioner may conduct national and State assessments in 

additional subjects at the 4th, 8th, and 12th grades in public and private schools at regularly 

scheduled intervals, including writing, science, U.S. history, geography, civics, economics, 

foreign languages, and arts; 12th grade State reading and mathematics assessments; and longterm trend assessments of academic achievement at ages 9, 13, and 17 in reading and 

mathematics. Whenever feasible, information must be collected and reported by race, ethnicity, 

socioeconomic status, gender, disability, and limited English proficiency. The NAEP schedule is 

publicly available at https://www.nagb.org/about-naep/assessment-schedule.html.
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The National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB) is responsible for formulating policy for 

NAEP. NAGB is composed of 25 voting members including Governors, State legislators, chief 

State school officers, a superintendent, State and local board of education members, testing 

and measurement experts, a representative of business or industry, curriculum specialists, 

principals, classroom teachers, and parents. The Director of the Institute of Education Sciences 

(IES) serves as an ex officio, nonvoting member of the Board. Using a national consensus 

approach, NAGB develops appropriate assessment objectives and achievement levels for each 

grade in each subject area to be assessed.

The Assessment budget supports the following major program components:

• National NAEP: The main NAEP assessments report results for the Nation and are 

designed to follow the curriculum frameworks developed by NAGB. They periodically 

measure student achievement in reading, mathematics, science, writing, U.S. history, civics, 

geography, and other subjects.

• State NAEP: State assessments address the needs of State-level policymakers for reliable 

data concerning student achievement in their States in reading, mathematics, science, and 

writing.

• The Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA): Begun in 2002, the TUDA provides information 

on fourth and eighth grade student achievement in reading and mathematics in a small 

number of urban school districts. Although participation is voluntary, demand from districts to 

be included in TUDA has significantly increased in recent years, with 27 districts 

participating in 2017 and 2019.

• Long-term trend NAEP: In its long-term trend program, NAEP administers identical 

instruments from one assessment year to the next, measuring student achievement in 

reading and mathematics. These assessments do not evolve based on changes in curricular 

or educational practices.

• Evaluation and validation studies: Congress mandates that the Secretary provide for 

continuing review of the national and State assessments and student performance levels by 

one or more nationally recognized evaluation organizations. NAEP funds also support 

studies to examine critical validity issues involving NAEP design, interpretation, and 

operations.

In order to inform the American public about the performance of the Nation's students, NAEP 

produces a series of public audience and technical materials that are available online 

(http://nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/). In addition, a data tool allows users to create their own 

data tables with national and State data.

The Federal Government is specifically prohibited from using NAEP to influence standards, 

assessments, curriculum, or instructional practices at the State and local levels, or from using 

NAEP to evaluate individual students or teachers or provide rewards or sanctions for individual 

students, teachers, schools, or school districts. In addition, the use of NAEP data for student 

promotion or graduation purposes is prohibited, and NAEP should not affect home schools. 
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Maintenance of a system of records containing personally identifiable information on students is 

also barred, and assessments must not evaluate or assess personal or family beliefs and 

attitudes.

Test integrity is further ensured by the Commissioner for Education Statistics’ ability to decline 

to release cognitive test items that will be used in future assessments for 10 years—longer if 

important to protect long-term trend data—while continuing to provide for public access to 

assessment materials in secure settings. The NAEP statute requires that the public be notified 

about such access; requires that access be provided within 45 days in a mutually convenient 

setting; establishes procedures for receiving, reviewing, and reporting complaints; and provides 

criminal penalties for unauthorized release of assessment instruments.

Finally, participation in NAEP is voluntary for students and schools, as well as for local 

educational agencies, and each participating State must give permission for the release of the 

results of its State assessment. However, each State receiving funds through the Title I Grants 

to Local Educational Agencies program (i.e., all States, D.C., and Puerto Rico) must participate 

in NAEP’s biennial fourth and eighth grade reading and mathematics assessments, provided 

that the Secretary of Education pays for the costs of participation.

Funding levels for both NAEP and NAGB for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2017 ................................................................................. $156,745

2018 ................................................................................... 156,745

2019 ....................................................................................165,2451

2020 ....................................................................................154,2452

2021 ................................................................................... 172,745

2021, CRRSA Act................................................................. 28,000

1 Reflects a reprogramming of $6,500 thousand in fiscal year 2019 funds from Statistics to the Assessment program 

in the IES account that was “repaid” by reprogramming $6,500 thousand of fiscal year 2020 Assessment funds to 

Statistics.

2 Reflects reprogramming of $6,500 thousand in fiscal year 2020 funds from Assessment to Statistics.

FY 2022 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2022, the Administration requests $187.7 million for Assessment, $15 million 

more than the fiscal year 2021 appropriation. The request includes $180.0 million for the NAEP

and $7.7 million for NAGB. The requested increase would help maintain the assessment 

schedule as well as help allow initial research and development investments to improve 

assessment quality while reducing future program costs. Based on current plans, the fiscal year 

2022 request for NAEP would primarily fund the 2022 assessments in reading, mathematics, 

civics, and U.S history, as well as the age 17 long-term trend assessment. Funds would also

support analysis of the results from these assessments, preparation for the 2024 assessments 

and high school transcript study, and research to enable future cost savings.
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NAEP has faced considerable challenges due to COVID-19. With significant funds already 

expended preparing for 2021 NAEP administration, these assessments were postponed, with 

budgetary impacts for fiscal year 2021 and beyond. The additional $28 million in fiscal year 

2021 funding for Assessment appropriated under the Coronavirus Response and Relief 

Supplemental Appropriations Act helped offset a portion of these 2021costs.

During the last year, NAGB and IES, in regular consultation with Congress, have continued to 

examine the impact of the pandemic on the assessment schedules and costs, examined 

reasons for the rising costs of NAEP, and developed strategies for reducing costs by improving 

NAEP efficiencies.

National Assessment of Educational Progress

The schedule below reflects the NAEP schedule as approved by NAGB on March 5, 2021. 

Because of the pandemic, the reading and mathematics assessments scheduled for 2021 were 

postponed to 2022, as was the long-term trend assessment at age 17, which originally was 

scheduled for 2020. Shifting the assessment schedule forward one year means that the biennial 

fourth and eighth grade reading and mathematics assessments now will be conducted in evennumbered years.
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Revised NAEP Schedule, 2019-2024

Year Subject

National

Grades 

Assessed

State

Grades 

Assessed

Urban District

Grades 

Assessed

2019 Reading 4, 8, 12 4, 8 4, 8

2019 Mathematics 4, 8, 12 4, 8 4, 8

2019 Science 4, 8, 12

2019 High School Transcript Study

2020 Long-Term Trend, ages 9 and 13

2022 Reading 4, 8 4, 8 4, 8

2022 Mathematics 4, 8 4, 8 4, 8

2022 Civics 8

2022 U.S. History 8

2022 Long-Term Trend, age 17

2024 Reading 4, 8, 12 4, 8 4, 8

2024 Mathematics 4, 8, 12 4, 8 4, 8

2024 Science 8

2024 Technology and Engineering Literacy 8

2024 High School Transcript Study

2025 Long-Term Trend, ages 9, 13, and 17

NAEP has experienced growing costs in recent years, in part due to its limited ability to 

undertake the research and development needed to innovate and modernize the NAEP 

assessment platform. For example, NAEP currently brings its own devices to schools, which 

entails costs for both the hardware (i.e., purchasing the devices) and the field staff needed to 

deliver the devices to schools. NAEP also administers short, single-subject tests to many 

students, which is costlier than other assessments that use longer, multi-subject tests. These 

inefficiencies are compounded by mandatory biennial fourth and eighth grade reading and 

mathematics assessments. Based on current trends, the cost of administering these

assessments alone would eventually supplant assessment in all other subjects over time. The 

costs for any given assessment are spread out over 4 years and vary depending on factors 

such as scope, subject, grade levels, and whether the assessment is conducted alone or in 

combination with another assessment. 

The proposed increase for NAEP in fiscal year 2022 would help ensure that NAEP can 

implement the assessments planned for 2022 while simultaneously beginning to invest in the 

research and development needed to upgrade its assessment platform and make the 

improvements that will decrease future assessment costs.
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National Assessment Governing Board

The $7.7 million request for NAGB, an independent, bipartisan organization that formulates 

policy guidelines for NAEP, would be used for the salaries, expenses, and operations of NAGB 

staff. These staff support the development of achievement levels and frameworks required for 

the administration and scoring of assessments, outreach for initial public release efforts, and 

dissemination of assessment results.

NAEP State-level assessments are held every other year, meaning that costs are considerably 

higher in some years and lower in others. Consequently, the Department requests that NAEP 

funds continue to remain available for 2 years to provide flexibility to meet these varying year-toyear cost requirements.

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES

(dollars in thousands)

Output Measures 2020 2021 2022 

NAEP $146,5001 $165,000 $180,000

NAGB 7,745 7,745 $7,745

Total 154,245 172,745 187,745

CRRSA Act funds to mitigate additional 

expenses caused by the pandemic 0 $28,000 0

Number of full-time equivalent permanent 

personnel associated with NAGB 12 14 14

NOTE: 

Funds from any single fiscal year’s appropriation may be used for 2 years. The table provides estimates of the 

amounts from each year’s appropriation that will be used for each area, not the amount obligated in each of those 

years.

1 Reflects a reprogramming of $6,500 thousand in fiscal year 2020 funds from Assessment program to the Statistics 

program in the IES account to repay $6.5 million that was “borrowed” from the Statistics program for Assessment in 

fiscal year 2019.
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Assessment

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FY 2021 OPERATING PLAN

Activity 2020 

Carryover

2021 

Appropriation

2021

Supplemental

Item Development $769,949 $11,890,789 $443,178

Design, Analysis, and Reporting 0 17,252,808 1,967,049 

Sampling and Data Collection 0 27,740,984 5,326,401

Materials, Distribution, Processing, and 

Scoring 0 2,914,056 801,450

Platform Development 0 19,242,665 5,287,500

Web/Technology Development, Operations 

and Maintenance 0 9,735,212 34,182

Program Support, Service Center, Logistics 

Contracts 710,483 10,407,338 424,654

Publications and Dissemination 0 3,862,827 0

State Coordinators 0 8,591,333 0

Alliance Planning and Coordination 0 4,567,255 537,260

National Indian Education Studies 0 199,154 0 

Office of Indian Education/DoDEA 0 770,846 0

Department of Defense Education Agency 0 30,000 0

National Academies of Science and 

Engineering 690,942 0 0 

NCES Teacher Panel 3,200,000 8,526,949 0

Planned carryover to fiscal year 2022 0 39,267,784 13,178,326

Total 5,371,374 165,000,000 28,000,000

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of results is based on the 

cumulative effect of the Federal resources provided for this program as well as the resources 

and efforts invested by those served by the program. The Department will be reviewing GPRA 
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Assessment

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program performance goals, objectives, and measures for Assessment for possible revision in 

future years to ensure alignment with Administration policy.

Performance Measures

Measure: The number of website page views: NAEP page views, excluding views of the NAEP 

Data Explorer (NDE).

Year Target Actual

2017 Baseline 1,057,546

2018 1,050,000 775,988

2019 1,050,000 1,741,757

2020 750,000 1,398,355

2021 800,000

2022 800,000

Additional information: The NAEP page view measure provides an indication of the number of 

sessions during which a page in the entire NAEP website (nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/) was 

viewed at least once, excluding visits to NDE. It includes information about the NAEP program, 

including information geared toward participants, researchers, and educators. The revised 2020 

target reflects decreased views following the move of the NDE and other results-oriented tools 

to the nationsreportcard.gov web site.

Measure: The number of website page views: Nation’s Report Card page views (all Nation’s 

Report Card web site data).

Year Target Actual

2017 Baseline 440,904

2018 470,000 653,545

2019 550,000 920,179

2020 600,000 738,211

2021 600,000

2022 600,000

Additional information: The Nation’s Report Card measure provides an indication of the 

number of sessions during which a page in the entire Nation’s Report Card site was viewed at 

least once, which includes information from all the of the Report Cards, special reports, and 

data dashboards. 
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Assessment

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Measure: The number of website page views: NDE page1 views.

Year Target Actual

2018 Baseline 87,009

2019 82,750 74,843

2020 83,000 55,878

2021 50,000

2022 50,200

Additional information: The NDE measure provides an indication of the number of sessions 

during which a page in the Data Explorer was viewed at least once. Targets were reset to reflect 

the implementation of a new version of the Data Explorer in February 2018 and the delay of the 

2021 NAEP assessment.

Efficiency Measures

NCES measures efficiency by reporting on the time to release of NAEP reports. These 

measures examine the actual time from the end of data collection to release to NAGB and are 

an indication of how efficiently the Department analyzes and reports NAEP results.

Because any year with new frameworks requires additional work to analyze the results (e.g., 

conducting trend studies and having achievement levels set by NAGB) and produce the final 

reports, NCES believes it is appropriate to exempt assessments with new frameworks from the 

efficiency measure calculations. This provides more comparable measurements from year to

year, since different percentages of assessments may have new frameworks each year.

Measure: The percentage of NAEP reports on State-level 4th, 8th, and 12th (if implemented)

grade reading and mathematics assessments ready for release by NAGB within 6 months of the 

end of data collection.

Year Target Actual

2015 100% 100%

2017 N/A N/A

2019 100 100

2022 100

Additional information: In 2017, due to the transition from a paper-based to digital

assessment, the State results were released more than 12 months after the end of data 

collection. The assessments are conducted every other year, so data are reported for odd 

numbered years only for 2019 and prior years. Due to the pandemic, the 2021 assessments 

were postponed to 2022.

1 nces.ed.gov/nationsreportcard/naepdata/
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Other Performance Information

In 2016, the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine completed an 

evaluation1 of the NAEP achievement levels (Basic, Proficient, and Advanced) , concluding that 

the achievement levels are a meaningful and important part of NAEP reporting. The evaluation 

report provided recommendations to ensure that the achievement levels represent the 

knowledge and skills of students at each level. Recommendations included:

• Evaluate the alignment of achievement levels for fourth and eighth grade mathematics 

assessments and revise them as needed.

• Regularly review the achievement-level descriptors to ensure they reflect both the 

frameworks and the incorporation of those frameworks in NAEP assessments.

• Research the relationships between the NAEP achievement levels and concurrent or future 

performance on measures external to NAEP, such as being on track for a college-ready 

high school diploma for eighth grade students and readiness for middle school for fourth

grade students.

1 https://www.nap.edu/read/23409/chapter/1#ix
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Research in special education

(Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Part E)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2022 Authorization: To be determined1

Budget Authority:

2021

Appropriation

2022

Request

Change from

2021 to 2022

$58,500 $58,500 0

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2011; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2022.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Research in Special Education (RiSE) program, which is administered by the Institute of 

Education Science’s (IES) National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER), supports 

rigorous research that aims to improve education outcomes for students with, or at risk for, 

disabilities. This includes developmental outcomes for infants and toddlers with disabilities; 

school readiness; achievement in core academic content areas (reading, writing, mathematics, 

science); behaviors that support learning in academic contexts; and functional skills that 

improve education outcomes and transitions to employment, independent living, and 

postsecondary education. 

IES assesses current special education research needs when determining activities to support, 

and in fiscal year 2021, IES plans to make new grant awards in four competitions:

• Special Education Research Grants. This program, which accounts for the largest share of 

NCSER grants, makes competitive research grants on topics that are relevant to the needs 

of students with disabilities, their families, educators, and policymakers, spanning from the 

early intervention needs of infants and toddlers through postsecondary education. Additional 

information is available at https://ies.ed.gov/funding/ncser_progs.asp.

• Research Training Programs in Special Education Competition. These programs prepare 

individuals to conduct rigorous and relevant special education and early intervention 

research that advances knowledge within the field and addresses issues that are critical to 

education policymakers and practitioners. The competition for new 2021 awards included 

two areas: early career development and mentoring, and methods training for special 

education research.

• Research Grants Focused on National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)

Process Data for Learners with Disabilities. Under this competition, NCSER considers

applications that use restricted-use NAEP data, including the NAEP process data (e.g., how 

students use tools such as a calculator, or how accommodations such as text-to-speech or 

additional time affect performance), from the 2017 eighth-grade NAEP mathematics 

assessment to examine outcomes for students with disabilities.
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• Research Grants Focused on Systemic Replication. Under this area, grantees carry out 

projects to identify what works in special education through systematic replication.

In addition, IES is supporting grants funded in prior years through the Research Networks 

Focused on Critical Problems of Policy and Practice in Special Education program. Research 

Network awards focus on high-priority issues in special education and assist researchers who 

are working on these issues in sharing ideas, building new knowledge, and strengthening their 

research and dissemination capacity. Awards generally range from $300,000 to $1 million per 

year for up to 5 years.

IES also makes a small number of unsolicited grant awards—grants that are not eligible for 

funding under current grant competitions or that address time-sensitive questions, but that are 

reviewed using the same rigorous selection process as other grants. Additional information is 

available at https://ies.ed.gov/funding/unsolicited.asp.

Examples of past projects supported with RiSE funding include:

• Development of Effective Paraprofessional Training. Students with disabilities are often 

supported in the classroom by paraprofessionals, yet these educators typically receive little 

to no formal training in implementing evidence-based practices. NCSER researchers 

developed training for paraprofessionals to improve their instruction for students with severe 

disabilities in preschool through high school using a tiered intervention model that includes 

effective coaching strategies in a group context and one-to-one followup coaching for 

paraprofessionals who need additional support. In a small randomized controlled trial (RCT), 

researchers found that the intervention led to improvements in paraprofessional 

implementation, fidelity of evidence-based practices, and student progress on individual 

goals.

• Replication Evaluation of “First Step Next” (FSN). FSN is an intervention for improving

behavior and social skills outcomes, as well as overall school readiness, of preschool 

children who are at high risk for the development of oppositional and conduct disorders. A 

replication evaluation showed that FSN improved prosocial behavior and reduced 

challenging behavior of students, findings that persist when assessed one year later. The 

research team is currently completing a longer-term followup study to determine if the 

positive results are maintained through third grade, and to examine the trajectory of 

behavioral and academic outcomes over time.

• Evaluation of “Early Literacy Skills Builder”. “Early Literacy Skills Builder” is a literacy 

program that is delivered in general education classrooms via a “buddy” reading program 

that pairs students with severe disabilities with peers without disabilities. The evaluation 

showed significant improvement on reading outcomes for students with severe intellectual 

disabilities. Results challenged the longstanding belief that the needs of students with 

severe disabilities are too complex for general education classroom instruction. Results from 

qualitative research also showed that the general education teachers and children without 

disabilities who participated in the program demonstrated more positive interactions and 

attitudes towards the students with disabilities.

• Evaluation of a Literacy Program for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children. The Center for 

Literacy and Deafness completed the first RCT aimed at testing the impact of an emergent 

literacy intervention on young children who are deaf and hard of hearing (DHH). 
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“Foundations for Literacy” teaches a variety of early literacy skills to DHH children in 

prekindergarten and kindergarten who use spoken language. Children receiving this 

intervention showed stronger gains in spoken phonological awareness, alphabetic 

knowledge, and word reading compared to those receiving typical instruction. Findings also 

indicated that intervention effects were larger for those children who started the school year 

with the weakest early literacy skills.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were as follows:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2017 ........................................................................................$54,000

2018 ..........................................................................................56,000

2019 ..........................................................................................56,000

2020 ..........................................................................................56,500

2021 ..........................................................................................58,500

FY 2022 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2022, the Administration requests $58.5 million for Research in Special 

Education, level with the fiscal year 2021 appropriation. RiSE funding supports a 

comprehensive program of special education research designed to expand knowledge and 

understanding of the developmental and educational needs of infants, toddlers, and children 

with disabilities or at risk for disabilities. Continued investment in RiSE is essential to build the 

body of research for evidence-based practices and policies that will result in improved outcomes 

for students with disabilities. These include developmental outcomes and school readiness, 

academic achievement, transition from high school to independent living, progress through and 

completion of postsecondary education, and employment.

At the fiscal year 2022 request level, IES would support approximately $57.2 million in grant 

continuations and $1.3 million in contracts for peer review, logistical support, and other activities 

from its discretionary appropriation. Grant continuations include the continuation costs of grants 

awarded in 2020 and prior years, as well as the estimated second-year costs of grants to be 

awarded in 2021. IES plans to use $20 million in American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act funds for two 

rounds of awards on scaling up promising practices for students with disabilities; these grants 

are scheduled for award in 2022. The Department budgets for peer review costs each year; any 

funds not used for peer review are used for grant awards.

To provide the flexibility IES needs to plan and administer a regular cycle of research 

competitions, the Department requests that funding continue to be available for 2 years.
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PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES

(dollars in thousands)

Output Measures 2020 2021 2022

NCSER Research Grants

Special Education Research Grants: Grant awards (new) $17,330 $18,523 0

Special Education Research Grants: Grant awards (continuations) 38,112 38,492 $57,230

Special Education Research Grants: Subtotal 55,442 57,015 57,230

Small Business Innovation Research 0 400 0

Logistical support and Other 88 115 300

Peer review of new award applications 970 970 970

Total 56,500 58,500 58,500

NOTE: Funds from any single fiscal year’s appropriation may be used for 2 years. The table provides estimates of the 

amounts from each year’s appropriation that will be used for each area, not the amount obligated in each of those 

years. Amounts may change based on actual new awards in fiscal year 2021 and changing needs,

FY 2021 OPERATING PLAN

Grant Activities

Competitions for New FY 2021 

Awards

Applicants

Notified

Estimated Range Project Period

Special Education Research Grants 

(CFDA 84.324A)

By July 1, 

2021

$100,000 –

760,000 Up to 5 years

Research Training Program in 

Special Education (CFDA 84.324B)

By July 1, 

2021

100,000 –

266,000 

Up to 4

years

NAEP Process Data for Learners with 

Disabilities (84.324P)

By July 1, 

2021

100,000 –

280,000 

Up to 2.5 

years

Systematic Replications (84.324R) By July 1, 

2021

400,000 –

900,000 

Up to 5 

years
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FY 2021 Continuation Awards Number of 

Awards

FY 2020

Carryover

FY 2021 

Funds

Special Education Research Grants (CFDA 

84.324A) 68 $5,435,889 $28,856,657

Research Training Program in Special Education 

(CFDA 84.324B) 18 0 2,714,122

Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Policy 

and Practice in Special Education (84.324N) 5 0 3,662,419

Research Grants Focused on Systematic 

Replication in Special Education (84.324R) 3 0 3,075,804

Unsolicited Proposals (84.324U) 3 244,331 182,938

Contract Activities

Activity FY 2020 

Carryover

FY 2021 

Funds

Small Business Innovation Research 0 $400,000

Administrative, Logistical and Technical Support $87,890 115,365

Peer review of new award applications 0 969,911

Estimated American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 Activities

Activity Type of 

Award FY 2021 FY 2022 FY 2023 Total

Acceleration RFA-Scaling up 

Promising Practices for 

Students with Disabilities 

(2 rounds of awards) 

Grants 0 $20 million 0 $20 million

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of results is based on the 

cumulative effect of the Federal resources provided for this program as well as the resources 

and efforts invested by those served by the program. The Department will be reviewing GPRA 

program performance goals, objectives, and measures for RiSE for possible revision in future 

years to ensure alignment with Administration policy.
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Performance Measures

Goal: Transform education into an evidence-based field.

Objective: Raise the quality of research funded or conducted by the Department.

Measure: The percentage of projects that result in peer-reviewed publications.

Year Target Actual

2017 88% 91%

2018 90 90

2019 91 87

2020 91 86

2021 88

2022 88

Additional information: Peer-reviewed publications are an expected product of all research 

projects. NCSER has been funding research projects since 2006. Given the lag from time of 

award to completion of a study and the publication of results, the denominator for each reporting 

year is the cumulative number of grants that have been funded through the end of the fiscal 

year 3 years prior to the reporting year. The percentage for fiscal year 2020 reflects all projects 

funded from fiscal year 2006 to fiscal year 2017 (the total of which is 354).

Possible reasons for the drop in the percentage include the types of grants funded in 2016 and 

2017—funding years where one would expect to see publications beginning in 2019 and 2020—

and effects of the pandemic. Publication rates for grants funded in 2016 and 2017 have been

lower than those of grants funded in prior years, which meant IES was unable to meet its targets 

in 2019 and 2020. One possible reason for the change is that there was an increase in the 

proportion of grants that supported development and innovation projects; with work of this type, 

it is generally more difficult to publish findings before the end of the project. 

In addition, many projects funded during this timeframe were disrupted and subsequently 

delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, many grants funded in 2016 or 2017 

were in the middle of collecting data when the pandemic caused schools to close and data 

collection to stop. As a result, those projects have been significantly delayed in completing 

proposed studies and publishing findings. Accordingly, the targets for 2021 and 2022 have been 

lowered to account for the continued impact of the pandemic on project timelines and 

publication rates.
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Measure: The number of NCSER-supported interventions with evidence of efficacy in improving 

education outcomes for students with or at risk for disabilities.

Year Target Actual

2017 47 48

2018 51 54

2019 53 56

2020 55 57

2021 60

2022 63

Additional information: Since 2006, NCSER has supported efficacy evaluations of fully 

developed interventions to determine whether they produce a beneficial impact on student 

education outcomes. This measure reflects the cumulative number of interventions NCSER has 

funded that have demonstrated efficacy in improving student outcomes. 

Measure: The number of newly developed or modified interventions with evidence of promise 

for improving education outcomes for students with or at risk for disabilities.

Year Target Actual

2017 51 51

2018 60 60

2019 64 64

2020 66 68

2021 68

2022 72

Additional information: NCSER also examines whether new interventions have promise to 

produce beneficial impacts on student education outcomes. This measure reflects the 

cumulative number of interventions NCSER has funded through Development and Innovation 

projects that show promise for improving student outcomes, which is defined as showing a 

statistically significant or substantively important positive association (0.25 standard deviation or

larger) for at least one student outcome.

The reported data are the cumulative numbers of newly developed or modified interventions 

since 2006 with evidence of promise meeting Education Department General Education 

Regulations standards as determined by NCSER based on grantee final performance reports 

and peer-reviewed publications, if available.
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Efficiency Measures

Measure: The average number of research grants administered per each program officer 

employed in the National Center for Special Education Research.

Year Target Actual

2017 33 35

2018 30 47

2019 37 56

2020 40 50

2021 40

2022 35

Additional information: The principal efficiency measure for IES is the ratio of research staff to 

research grants. These data are collected from the official grant files for NCSER. IES had kept 

the target at 40 for several years, believing that it represented an appropriate level of oversight 

and capacity. Upon further examination, including an analysis of program officer responsibilities 

besides grant monitoring, the target for 2022 has been reduced to 35.

Staff levels have changed over the years resulting in varying grant caseloads, including the 

highest grant caseloads for the lowest level of NCSER staffing from 2018 to 2020. In 2020, 

NCSER was able to bring on two new program officers, which will help staff provide the type of 

in-depth monitoring and technical assistance that is characteristic of the IES research centers. 

However, the actual value of 50 for 2020 is far from optimal.
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Statewide longitudinal data systems

(Educational Technical Assistance Act, Section 208)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2022 Authorization: To be determined1

Budget Authority:

2021

Appropriation

2022

Request

Change from

2021 to 2022 

$33,500 $33,500 0

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2009; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2022.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

Section 208 of the Educational Technical Assistance Act authorizes the Secretary to make 

competitive grants to State educational agencies (SEAs) to enable them to design, develop, and 

implement Statewide longitudinal data systems (SLDS) to efficiently and accurately manage, 

analyze, disaggregate, and use individual student data, consistent with the Elementary and 

Secondary Education Act (ESEA). The goals of the program are to improve data quality, 

promote data linkages, encourage the accurate and timely generation of data for reporting and 

improving student educational opportunity and achievement, and facilitate research to close 

gaps in educational opportunity and improve student achievement.

The grants help SEAs develop, expand, or improve data systems, and may support necessary 

training, technical assistance, and other activities to promote the effective use of data. Funds 

must supplement, not supplant, other State or local funds used for developing State data 

systems and may not be used to support ongoing implementation and maintenance of such 

systems. The SLDS program is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics 

(NCES) within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES); grants are awarded competitively 

based on the technical quality of the proposals.

The first round of grants was awarded in November 2005 and the seventh round in 2020. The 

activities supported have changed over time: early competitions focused on the infrastructure 

required for SEAs to develop their SLDS and to link K-12 data to early childhood education, 

postsecondary education, and workforce data, while the more recent competitions focused on 

States using their SLDS data to address high-priority policy issues. Applicants for 2020 awards 

could apply for awards to carry out projects lasting up to 4 years in one of three data use 

priorities. IES also provided active grantees with the opportunity to receive supplemental awards 

to help them deal with the challenges associated with education and reporting during COVID19; supplemental awards were capped at $400,0001. 

Beginning in fiscal year 2008, the Department of Education Appropriations Act authorized the 

program to use a portion of the appropriation for activities to improve data coordination and use. 

1 https://nces.ed.gov/programs/SLDS/supp_award_announcement.asp
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In addition, the fiscal year 2009 Appropriations Act authorized the use of funds for SLDS that 

include postsecondary education and workforce information, and the fiscal year 2010 

Appropriations Act added inclusion of information on children of all ages, including early 

childhood education, as an authorized activity. Since 2012, the Department has had the 

authority to use funds to link Statewide elementary and secondary data systems with early 

childhood education, postsecondary education, and workforce data systems, or to further 

develop such systems.

To date, 49 States, the District of Columbia, American Samoa, the Commonwealth of the 

Northern Marianas Islands, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands have received awards to 

develop and implement longitudinal data systems.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2017............................................................ .......................$32,281

2018............................................................ .........................32,281

2019............................................................ .........................32,281

2020............................................................ .........................33,000

2021............................................................ .........................33,500

FY 2022 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2022, the Administration requests $33.5 million for Statewide Longitudinal Data 

Systems, level with the fiscal year 2021 appropriation. Most of the funds would support the third 

year of the grants awarded in 2020. Longitudinal data systems serve as a vital source of

information for educators, parents, policymakers, researchers, and the public on the 

performance of schools and effective practices in education. The Department’s investment in 

the SLDS program supports States in answering key questions about education, such as 

whether students are ready for kindergarten, whether students are adequately prepared for 

postsecondary education, or whether students can earn a living after completing their degrees. 

In addition, approximately $6 million would support national activities to improve data 

coordination, quality, and use. National activities funding has been used to provide a broad 

array of technical assistance services to SEAs, including the ability to share nonproprietary 

products and best practices; funds also support webinars, listservs, and State-specific technical 

assistance1. In addition, national activities funds would support the Privacy Technical 

Assistance Center (PTAC), which would continue to serve as a valuable resource center to 

State and local educational agencies, the postsecondary education community, and other 

parties engaged in building and using education data systems on issues related to the privacy, 

security, and confidentiality of student records. Protecting the privacy of individuals is a key 

support needed when building data systems and using student data to improve educational 

opportunities and outcomes2. 

1 http://nces.ed.gov/programs/slds/index.asp

2 https://tech.ed.gov/privacy/
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PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES

(dollars in thousands)

Output Measures 2020 2021 2022

Funding for new grant awards $27,000 0 0

Funding for continuation grant awards 0 $27,500 $27,500

Funding for awards to improve data 

coordination, quality, and use 6,000 6,000 6,000

Total for Statewide longitudinal data systems 33,000 33,500 33,500

Number of new grant awards 28 0 0

Range of new grant awards $146 – 1,812 — —

Number of continuation grant awards 0 28 28

Range of continuation grant awards — $689 – 1,811 $577 – 1,077

NOTE: Funds from any single fiscal year’s appropriation may be used for 2 years.

.

PROGRAM PERFORMANCE INFORMATION

Performance Measures

This section presents selected program performance information, including, for example, GPRA 

goals, objectives, measures, and performance targets and data; and an assessment of the 

progress made toward achieving program results. Achievement of results is based on the 

cumulative effect of the Federal resources provided for this program as well as the resources 

and efforts invested by those served by the program. The Department will be reviewing GPRA 

program performance goals, objectives, and measures for SLDS for possible revision in future 

years to ensure alignment with Administration policy.

The Department established three performance measures that assess progress of all States, 

not just the SLDS grantees. The Department believes that assessing the progress of all States 

is appropriate because the goal of the program is to ensure that critical information needed to 

improve student opportunities and outcomes is available across the Nation.

Prior to 2018, the Department used data for active grantees combined with the most recent data 

NCES had available for non-grantee States. Beginning with 2018, the data are from a system 

capacity survey launched by the SLDS program in 2017. The survey enabled more systematic 

and reliable collection of capacity data for grantees and non-grantees alike.

Goal: To help States successfully implement longitudinal data systems to make informed 

decisions and improve instruction through the use of data.

Objective: Increase the number of States implementing P-Workforce data systems.
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Measure: Number of States linking K-12 with early childhood data.

Year Target Actual

2017 31 35

2018 33 32

2019 37 33

2020 38 40

2021 40

2022 42

Additional information: States meet this measure if they can track all public pre-K students 

into public kindergarten and include at least one additional source of early childhood data (e.g., 

Head Start or private pre-K) in the State longitudinal data system. In 2012, eight States had data 

systems that met the criteria. By 2017, 35 had met the criteria. In 2018, after the new 

methodology was implemented, the number dropped to 32, but it rose to 40 in 2020. IES 

increased the prior 2021 target of 34 to 40 to account for the actual 2020 value and set a target 

of 42 for 2022.

Measure: Number of States linking K-12 with postsecondary data.

Year Target Actual

2017 37 45

2018 45 33

2019 46 34

2020 46 37

2021 38

2022 40

Additional information: States meet this measure if they can link State K-12 student data to 

State data from public 2- and 4-year institutions of higher education. By 2017, NCES was 

reporting that 45 States had met the criteria, but in 2018, using the revised methodology, NCES 

determined that only 33 States had done so. That number rose slightly to 37 in 2020.

Measure: Number of States linking K-12 and postsecondary data with workforce data.

Year Target Actual

2017 27 28

2018 29 18

2019 31 19

2020 31 25

2021 25

2022 27

Additional information: States meet this measure if they can track all public 2- and 4-year 

postsecondary education students to, at a minimum, State employment records (e.g., State 

unemployment insurance systems). In 2012, the baseline year, five States were able to link their 

K-12 and postsecondary education data with workforce data. In 2018, using the new 

methodology, the number was 18. In 2020 the number rose to 25. The 2021 target was revised 

downward to 25 to reflect the actual 2020 value, with a target of 27 for 2022.
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Special education studies and evaluations

(Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Section 664)

(dollars in thousands)

FY 2022 Authorization: To be determined1

Budget Authority:

2021

Appropriation

2022

Request

Change from

2021 to 2022

$11,318 $21,318 +$10,000

1 The GEPA extension expired September 30, 2011; reauthorizing legislation is sought for FY 2022.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

The Special Education Studies and Evaluations program awards competitive grants, contracts, 

and cooperative agreements to assess the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities 

Education Act (IDEA) and the effectiveness of State and local efforts to provide special 

education and early intervention programs and services to infants, toddlers, and children with 

disabilities.

The statute authorizes the Department to support studies, evaluations, and assessments that:

• analyze the results achieved by State and local educational agencies to improve services for 

children with disabilities;

• analyze State and local needs for professional development, parent training, and other 

activities that can reduce the need for disciplinary actions involving children with disabilities;

• measure educational and transitional services and outcomes for children with disabilities, 

including those from minority backgrounds; and

• identify and report on the placement of children with disabilities by disability category.

In addition, the Department is required to submit an annual report to Congress summarizing the 

studies and evaluations conducted under this authority; the research conducted under part E of 

the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (which authorizes research on special education);

and the data on children with disabilities required by section 618 of the IDEA.

The IDEA requires the Secretary to delegate responsibility for most studies and evaluations in 

special education to the Director of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). IES supports a 

range of evaluations that are designed to provide information about which programs and 

practices are effective for improving outcomes for children and youth with disabilities, thereby 

providing concrete guidance to educators and parents. Within IES, the National Center for 

Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) has primary responsibility for managing 

the studies and evaluations under Section 664 of IDEA. (However, the National Center for 
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Education Statistics has primary responsibility for carrying out longitudinal studies with special 

education components, such as the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study.) NCEE consults with 

staff from the other IES research centers, including the National Center for Special Education 

Research, the Office of Special Education Programs, and other policymakers in the Department 

to identify needs for new studies and the research questions that those studies would address. 

In some cases, NCEE has funded separate design contracts to identify options for new studies 

in particular areas.

Funding levels for the past 5 fiscal years were:

Fiscal Year (dollars in thousands)

2017 ................................................................................ $10,818

2018 .................................................................................. 10,818

2019 .................................................................................. 10,818

2020 .................................................................................. 10,818

2021 .................................................................................. 11,318

FY 2022 BUDGET REQUEST

For fiscal year 2022, the Department requests $21.3 million for Special Education Studies and 

Evaluations, $10.0 million more than the fiscal year 2021 appropriation. The increase would be 

used to conduct a nationwide study on special education expenditures. The last national 

comprehensive study of special education expenditures was conducted more than twenty years 

ago.1 This new study will provide up to date analyses on trends of special education costs such 

as specific services (e.g., assistive technology, therapies) and staff and administrative costs 

(e.g. transportation and due process costs). The study will also conduct expenditure analyses 

on a variety of emerging topics such as how districts identified for significant disproportionality 

are spending coordinating early intervening services (CEIS) funds.

The study will seek to identify how funds for services in special education are being used; 

identify gaps in funding; and inform local, State, and Federal policymakers about critical 

expenditure information. For example, the study will provide data and reports that will help State 

and local administrators compare the special education costs their districts incur to regional and 

national average costs. The Department will consult with Congress and special education 

administrators and researchers to incorporate their interests and input into the design of the 

study. 

In addition to the new study on special education expenditures, the request would support the 

following three ongoing activities:

• Impact Evaluation of Transition Supports for Youth with Disabilities: This study, which began 

in September 2019, is summarizing available evidence on the effectiveness of transition 

supports and interviewing transition stakeholders to identify promising transition 

strategies and methods for studying them. The systematic evidence review is expected 

to be released in 2021. Fiscal year 2022 funds would be used for an impact study that 

would focus on the effectiveness of an identified promising strategy to support the transition 

1 https://www.air.org/project/center-special-education-finance-csef
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of students with disabilities beyond high school, which is a national priority emphasized by 

the IDEA.

• Impact Study of Support for Students with Disabilities: This study, which is scheduled to 

begin in 2021, will be a random-assignment evaluation of potentially promising supports to 

improve outcomes of students with disabilities. Priority areas for study include strategies for 

tailoring instruction and providing better supports for students with disabilities, including 

students with autism and emotional disturbance; better use of technology; and effective 

practices for providing information to parents or caregivers and students on available 

schools and services.

• What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) Reports: The WWC reviews existing research on 

different programs, products, practices, and policies in education to provide educators with 

the information they need to make evidence-based decisions. Data on website use shows 

that there is extensive demand for WWC products focused on students with disabilities. IES 

released the Practice Guide “Assisting Students Struggling with Mathematics: Intervention in 

the Elementary Grades” in March 20211; potential future guides that include a focus on 

students with disabilities include a guide on supporting social and behavioral success for 

learning in elementary schools and on assisting students in fourth through ninth grades who 

are struggling with reading.

PROGRAM OUTPUT MEASURES

(dollars in thousands)

Output Measures 2020 2021 2022

Impact Evaluation of Transition Supports for Youth 

with Disabilities $1,767 $7,614 $7,653

Impact Study of Support for Students with Disabilities 0 1,200 2,665

What Works Clearinghouse Special Education Reports 487 513 1,000

Impact Evaluation of Training in Multi-Tiered Systems 

of Support for Reading in Early Elementary School 2,860 0 0

National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012, Phase 2 1,231 1,991 0

Study of State and Local Implementation of IDEA 2019 1,073 0 0

Multi-tiered Systems of Support for Reading in Early 

Elementary School 3,400 0 0

Study of Special Education Expenditures 0 0 10,000

 Total 10,818 11,318 21,318

NOTE: Funds from any single fiscal year’s appropriation may be used for 2 years. The table provides estimates of the 

amounts from each year’s appropriation that will be used for each area, not the amount obligated in each of those 

years.

1 https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/PracticeGuide/26