U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

Fiscal Years 2022–2026 

Strategic Plan

MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY

i

MESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY

The scholar and novelist Ralph Ellison once wrote, “Education 

is all a matter of building bridges.” As we enter a new era of 

possibility for our nation, education is the critical bridge to 

America’s recovery, and it is foundational to our rebuilding and 

resiliency efforts. From prekindergarten through postsecondary 

learning, education has the power to lift communities, draw people 

together, strengthen our democracy, drive our economy, and 

meet our nation’s vast potential. That is why the Department of 

Education (Department) and entire Biden–Harris Administration 

are committed to a long-term agenda that ensures every student 

receives what they need to thrive in school and pursue their vision 

of success—this is what this Strategic Plan seeks to achieve.

The Department has an opportunity and responsibility to support 

states, districts, teachers, school leaders, and institutions of 

higher education (IHEs) in delivering on America’s promise of 

high-quality, equitable, and accessible education. As an educator 

myself, I take this charge seriously as I consider our policy and 

programmatic imperatives and their impact on all learners.

As the nation continues to reemerge from the pandemic, I am 

proud that the unprecedented resources provided through the 

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 are enabling districts, schools, 

and IHEs to not only recover and rebuild systems and supports 

to make this vision of an excellent, equitable education for all 

a reality but also help each student achieve academic success, 

including closing the gap from pandemic learning loss. Resources 

from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief 

Fund and the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund are helping 

schools and colleges invest in the academic, social, emotional, 

and mental health resources that our students need and mitigate 

the impacts of the pandemic that, if left unaddressed, would 

continue longstanding inequities that we, at the Department, seek 

Miguel A. Cardona, Ed.D.

U.S. Secretary of Education
iiU.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

to eliminate. Addressing these inequities will help ensure that we meet and exceed 

the Department’s mission to promote student achievement and preparation for global 

competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

I deeply believe that the Department is—and must function as—a service agency.

To fulfill this mission, we must work each day to meet the needs of every learner, 

and we must establish an inclusive and actionable agenda by hearing directly from 

those we serve: students, including student loan borrowers; teachers; parents and 

families; and their communities. That is one reason I have prioritized traveling across 

the country to listen to and learn from Americans in small, rural towns; suburban 

centers; and our largest cities. It is also why I will continue to ensure that our 

Department builds policy that centers the voices and experiences of our constituents.

This fiscal year (FY) 2022–FY 2026 Strategic Plan reflects this commitment to service, 

equity, community building, and high-quality service standards for all our internal 

and external activities as well as President Biden’s vision, which I share, of an 

excellent education system for all.

Equity is a cross-cutting priority integrated into every goal, objective, and strategy 

within the FY 2022–FY 2026 Strategic Plan. That is because the Department is 

committed to ensuring every student receives a high-quality education. We believe 

that all students—regardless of background or circumstance—need and deserve 

access to educational opportunity, including the resources, supports, and inclusive 

learning environments that will set them on pathways to succeed in school and 

in life.

This work to positively impact and engage students begins early, which is reflected 

in the Administration’s deep commitment to universally accessible, high-quality 

prekindergarten rooted in development-focused learning. It is also why the 

Department will continue its significant investments in effective programs that 

reach infants and toddlers. Moving forward, we also will champion and work toward 

fully inclusive, high-quality early learning that reaches students who have been 

most underserved, including students with disabilities and students of color, in all 

communities across the country.
iiiMESSAGE FROM THE SECRETARY

We will continue to prioritize equity and belonging by supporting students and 

educators in communities most in need and strengthening the continuum from 

prekindergarten through grade 12 and beyond, including career pathways, higher 

education, and the workforce. We also will support educators to accelerate students’ 

learning and provide equitable access to high-quality programs and resources to 

ensure students thrive, no matter their zip code. And in all this work, this Strategic 

Plan will help guide the Department in providing educators and schools with the 

tools and resources to ensure students most impacted by the pandemic make strong 

academic progress and are able to succeed.

In higher education, we will work to improve completion rates and build a higher 

education system that is more affordable, promotes equitable opportunity and 

upward mobility, and ensures our postsecondary education efforts create pathways 

to emerging and growing industries and sectors. In doing this work, we will leverage 

education to meet the needs of the 21st century and our globally competitive 

economy.

We know that a high-quality education begins with excellent educators and 

administrators, and we support their in-service training and professional 

development throughout their careers. Through the work in this Strategic Plan, the 

Department will meet the President’s call to strengthen the educator pipeline by 

diversifying the field, supporting teachers’ professional growth, and respecting the 

teaching profession for what it is: the foundation for all other opportunities.

As we support educators to do their best work in classrooms, we will provide the 

resources and tools to help them meet students’ holistic needs, ranging from their 

academic growth to their social and emotional development. Using the science of 

learning and development as a foundation, we will highlight the connections among 

academic achievement; innovative methods of instruction; and the welcoming, safe, 

and supportive environments for learning that must exist for students to thrive.

Finally, we will ensure that our commitment to positive outcomes for children, 

students, families, and learners of all ages and identities is mirrored in our internal 

practices and our commitment to an effectively run federal agency. We will prioritize 

information technology, the use of evidence, and data governance. We will be 

good stewards of federal funds and acquisition powers. We will recruit and retain a 
ivU.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

diverse and effective workforce with staff who are committed to the Department’s 

unique mission and who can see themselves and their own communities in our work 

every day.

We have an opportunity to strengthen the Department by continuing to listen to 

families, students, educators, staff, and partners. We have an opportunity to take 

what we have learned and turn it into action and empower every learner to pursue 

and achieve their version of the American dream. As dedicated public servants, we 

will work tirelessly to make progress toward ensuring every student has access to 

high-quality educational experiences that support their participation in our society, 

economy, and democracy. President Biden has said, “We are building the America we 

want to leave for future generations right now, and that work begins with education.”

We are the foundation, and the goals in this Strategic Plan are the building blocks to 

help ensure education can be the bridge to thriving lives for every American.

As we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, supported by unprecedented federal 

funding, we have a clear vision for what comes next: an American education system 

that serves all students, gives them a pathway to self-determined success, and values 

their identity and potential.

We are excited to embark on the tough but necessary work ahead of us, hand-inhand with America’s students, educators, families, and communities. We will meet 

the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century and beyond, and education will 

illuminate the path.

Miguel A. Cardona, Ed.D.

Secretary of Education
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TABLE OF CONTENTS

vi

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1 STRATEGIC GOAL

Promote equity in student access to 

educational resources, opportunities, 

and inclusive environments.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

HIGHLIGHTS 1

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT 3

STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK 7

STRATEGIC GOALS 11

STRATEGIC GOAL 1: PROMOTING EQUITY . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Strategic Objective 1.1: Equitable Resources and Opportunities 

for Underserved Students . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17

Strategic Objective 1.2: Access to Learning Opportunities and 

Environments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Strategic Objective 1.3: Protection of All Students from Discrimination. . 22

Strategic Objective 1.4: Engagement of Youth and Adults in Learning . . 24

STRATEGIC GOAL 2: DIVERSE EDUCATOR WORKFORCE . . 29

Strategic Objective 2.1: Diversification of the Educator 

Pipeline and Workforce. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33

Strategic Objective 2.2: Well-Qualified Educators in High-Poverty 

and Rural Districts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36

Strategic Objective 2.3: Professional Growth for Educators and 

School Personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39

2 STRATEGIC GOAL

Support a diverse and talented educator 

workforce and professional growth to 

strengthen student learning.

3 STRATEGIC GOAL

Meet students’ social, emotional, and 

academic needs.

STRATEGIC GOAL 3: STUDENT NEEDS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41

Strategic Objective 3.1: Multitiered Systems of Supports for Students . . 44

Strategic Objective 3.2: Supportive, Inclusive, and Identity-Safe 

Environments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .47

Strategic Objective 3.3: Language Services and Supports . . . . . . . . .50
viiTABLE OF CONTENTS

4 STRATEGIC GOAL

Increase postsecondary value by focusing on 

equity-conscious strategies to address access 

to high-quality institutions, affordability, 

completion, post-enrollment success, and 

support for inclusive institutions.

5 STRATEGIC GOAL

Enhance the Department’s internal 

capacity to optimize the delivery of 

its mission.

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STRATEGIC GOAL 4: POSTSECONDARY EDUCATION: 

ACCESS AND SUCCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53

Strategic Objective 4.1: Raising of Quality, Awareness, and 

Completion of Postsecondary Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56

Strategic Objective 4.2: Administration of Federal Student Aid, 

Borrower Supports, and Contractor Accountability . . . . . . . . . . . . 59

Strategic Objective 4.3: Equitable Access to Secondary and 

Postsecondary Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61

Strategic Objective 4.4: Alignment of Pathways to Credentialing . . . . 63

STRATEGIC GOAL 5: ORGANIZATIONAL GOVERNANCE . . . 67

Strategic Objective 5.1: Information Technology. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70

Strategic Objective 5.2: Data Governance, Access, and Management . .72

Strategic Objective 5.3: Workforce Planning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74

Strategic Objective 5.4: Acquisition Management. . . . . . . . . . . . . .76

CAPACITY ASSESSMENT SUMMARY 79

CAPACITY ASSESSMENT SUMMARY 81

APPENDICES 83

APPENDIX A . FY 2022 AND FY 2023 AGENCY PRIORITY GOALS 85

APPENDIX B . FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA 91

APPENDIX C . FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT . . . . . . . .119

APPENDIX D . GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS . . . 151

APPENDIX E . GLOSSARY OF DEFINITIONS 155
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HIGHLIGHTS
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3ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

Mission

The U.S. Department of Education’s mission is to promote student achievement 

and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and 

ensuring equal access.

The Department accomplishes its education mission by funding programs (i.e., early 

intervention services and employment training programs) that provide services to 

children as early as birth all the way to adult learners.

Many of these programs provide grants to state or local educational agencies and 

support students and families protected by Federal civil rights laws and other laws, 

including students with disabilities and those from socio-economically disadvantaged 

backgrounds. Several programs prepare students, teachers, and the nation’s citizenry 

to engage with and succeed in an increasingly globalized world. Other programs 

provide grants and loans to postsecondary students and facilitate research that 

examines ways that states, schools, districts, and postsecondary institutions can 

improve America’s education system. In addition, the Department fulfills its mission 

through the enforcement of student privacy and of Federal civil rights laws that, 

among other things, provide equal access for all individuals to the programs funded 

by the Department.
4U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

FY 2021 Organization Structure1

The following shows the Department’s coordinating structure as of July 2022.

 

1

The White House Initiatives are: Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships; White House Initiative on Advancing 

Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Native Americans and Strengthening Tribal Colleges and 

Universities; White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Hispanics; 

White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity for Black Americans; and 

White House Initiative on Advancing Educational Equity, Excellence, and Economic Opportunity through Historically Black 

Colleges and Universities.
5ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

Department Purposes

When Congress created the Department in 1979, it established the following 

purposes for the agency:

• Strengthen the federal commitment to ensuring access to equal educational 

opportunity for every individual.

• Supplement and complement the efforts of states, local school systems 

and other instrumentalities of states, the private sector, public and private 

educational institutions, public and private nonprofit educational research 

institutions, community-based organizations, parents, and students to 

improve the quality of education.

• Encourage the increased involvement of the public, parents, and students in 

federal education programs.

• Promote improvements in the quality and usefulness of education through 

federally supported research, evaluation, and sharing of information.

• Improve the coordination of federal education programs.

• Improve the management and efficiency of federal education activities, 

especially with respect to the process, procedures, and administrative 

structures for the dispersal of federal funds, as well as the reduction of 

unnecessary and duplicative burdens and constraints, including unnecessary 

paperwork, on the recipients of federal funds.

• Increase the accountability of federal education programs to the President, 

Congress, and the public (Section 102, Pub. L. No. 96-88).

The Department works with state agencies, including education, health, and 

vocational rehabilitation, as well as local educational agencies, educational 

institutions, administrators, educators, parents, caregivers, students, and other 

stakeholders to foster educational excellence and ensure equal access to education 

for all students.

The components within this Strategic Plan reflect the Administration’s and 

Department’s priorities for the direction of the Department and the future of 

education in the nation. The priorities, such as improving educational equity and 

meeting the needs of students, are highlighted and woven throughout this Strategic 

Plan and require cross-organizational collaboration to achieve successful outcomes.
6U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

This Strategic Plan also reflects the commitment to and support of the 

Administration’s priorities by placing an emphasis on equity in education 

opportunities and outcomes for students, especially addressing the needs of those 

who have been underserved, as well as placing an emphasis on the COVID-19 

pandemic response and recovery. Disparities across communities have been 

exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Department will support programs 

that aim to provide equitable opportunities for all students that can contribute to 

enhanced outcomes and improve the lives of students.

The Department is committed to the work that lies ahead and will collaborate with 

internal and external stakeholders to advance this Strategic Plan.

Stakeholder Engagement

This Strategic Plan and the Department’s fiscal year (FY) 2022 and FY 2023 Agency 

Priority Goals (APGs) were developed based on the priorities of the Administration, 

and the Department’s Secretary, and informed by engagement with internal and 

external stakeholders, including educators, education policymakers, state and local 

leaders, education researchers and related organizations, advocacy organizations, 

students, and families. Specifically, the Department engaged and solicited 

suggestions, research, and focus areas from staff at all levels across the Department. 

The feedback from staff provided valuable perspectives about the opportunities 

and challenges for the Department. Additionally, as required by the Government 

Performance and Results Act and Modernization Act of 2010 (GPRAMA), the Department 

shared the strategic framework and APGs with Congress.

In June 2021, education community stakeholders were given the opportunity to 

provide comments through a published notice of proposed Secretary’s Supplemental 

Priorities and Definitions for Discretionary Grants Programs in the Federal Register. 

Following the invitation for comments, the Final Priorities and Definitions-Secretary’s 

Supplemental Priorities and Definitions for Discretionary Grants Programs, which 

included public comments, discussions, and changes, was published in December 

2021. The policy goals in the Strategic Plan align with that document.

Equity Action Plan

In April 2022, the Department released its inaugural 2022 Equity Action Plan related 

to Executive Order (EO) 13985 as part of the Biden–Harris Administration’s continued 
7ABOUT THE DEPARTMENT

commitment to advancing racial equity and support for underserved communities 

through the federal government. This plan aligns with the one of the President’s first 

EOs: 13985, Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved 

Communities Through the Federal Government. Consistent with the priorities of the 

Biden–Harris Administration, the Department has and is focused on strengthening 

the agency’s processes, policies, strategies, and culture to ensure equity is the 

foundation upon which all decisions and protocols rest and strengthening the 

agency’s work and building on its impact.

The Department’s Equity Action Plan complements the FY 2022–FY 2026 Strategic 

Plan, builds on current processes, and implements new strategies to ensure the 

advancement of equity as it works to promote student achievement and ensure the 

nation’s education system meets the demands of today’s global economy. The efforts 

highlighted in the Equity Action Plan include the following:

• Prioritizing college access and college completion.

• Ensuring equitable impact of American Rescue Plan funding for kindergarten 

through grade 12 students.

• Investing in resources to help advance civil rights.

• Advancing equity in contracting and procurement.

• Advancing equity in grant process strategies.

Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

On June 25, 2021, President Biden signed EO 14035, Executive Order on Diversity, 

Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility in the Federal Workforce, which aims to advance 

diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) for the federal workforce. A 

government-wide Strategic Plan to Advance DEIA in the federal workforce was 

published in November 2021. It offers a roadmap for implementing EO 14035 in the 

federal workforce and lays out key steps agencies can take to strengthen DEIA in 

their workforce policies, practices, and culture. The Department supports EO 14035 

through the implementation of a Department DEIA Strategic Plan that guides efforts 

to recruit and retain a diverse workforce is reflective of the American people.

Climate Adaptation Plan

The impact of climate change on students, families, schools, and communities 

across the country is present, severe, and worsening. The increasing frequency 
8U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

and force of natural disasters, such as flooding, hurricanes, tornadoes, extreme 

heat, extreme cold, wildfires, drought, poor environmental conditions, and other 

extreme weather events, are impacting student achievement, impeding learning, 

putting students’ personal health and safety as well as social and emotional wellbeing at risk and causing economic disruption to households and communities. 

Those who are underserved, including communities with high rates of poverty and 

other communities that have been marginalized, have a lower capacity to prepare 

for and cope with extreme weather and climate-related events and are expected to 

experience greater impacts.

The Department’s Climate Adaptation Plan, released in September 2021, provides 

recommendations for enhancing resilience and addressing climate change by 

encouraging educators, parents, and student communities to be climate-literate 

and prepared to act in support of climate change mitigation and adaptation, with 

a particular emphasis on equity. The plan builds on the lessons learned from the 

Department’s past sustainability action plans, climate change adaptation plans, and 

environmental justice plans to offer new actions that the Department can undertake 

to better adapt to climate change and develop agency resilience and resilience across 

the nation’s schools. All students deserve to attend sustainable schools that enhance 

their health and wellness, prepare them for 21st-century careers, and support a 

thriving planet. The Department’s Climate Adaptation Plan looks to implement 

strategies, such as leveraging its expertise at identifying and supporting sustainable 

schools under the Green Ribbon Schools recognition award to put the nation on the 

path toward sustainable, healthy, resilient, and equitable learning environments.
7STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

Strategic Process Building Blocks

The following graphic illustrates how the Department’s structures facilitate strategic 

planning, goal setting, reporting, and monitoring to improve operations and achieve 

the agency’s mission. 

 
8U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

FY 2022–FY 2026 Strategic Goals and Objectives

The following highlights the Department’s fiscal year (FY) 2022–FY 2026 Strategic Goals and 

strategic objectives.

Strategic Goal 1: Promote equity in student access to educational resources, opportunities, and inclusive 

environments.

Strategic Objective 1.1 Prioritize the equitable and adequate distribution of resources to communities of concentrated 

poverty, in an effort to provide underserved students with high-quality educational 

opportunities.

Strategic Objective 1.2 Ensure all students have access to well-rounded, rigorous, engaging, and diverse learning 

opportunities and environments to support their success in school.

Strategic Objective 1.3 Support states, school districts, and institutions of higher education to promote and protect 

students’ nondiscriminatory and equal access to education, as provided by Federal civil 

rights laws. 

Strategic Objective 1.4 Promote greater access and supports for youth and adults to engage in learning, succeed in 

postsecondary education, and increase their employability in high-demand occupations.

Strategic Goal 2: Support a diverse and talented educator workforce and professional growth to strengthen student 

learning.

Strategic Objective 2.1 Strengthen and diversify the educator pipeline and workforce.

Strategic Objective 2.2 Identify and promote evidence-based practices or strategies that support diverse districts 

(including rural districts) with high rates of poverty in recruiting, selecting, preparing, and 

retaining well-qualified (including in-field fully certified) and effective teachers, principals, 

paraprofessionals, and specialized instructional support personnel.

Strategic Objective 2.3 Support the professional growth, retention, and advancement of talented, experienced 

educators and other school personnel and their capacity to meet the social, emotional, mental 

health, and academic needs of underserved students.

Strategic Goal 3: Meet students’ social, emotional, and academic needs.

Strategic Objective 3.1 Support the development and implementation of multitiered systems of supports to increase 

students’ engagement; social, emotional, and mental health; well-being; and academic success.

Strategic Objective 3.2 Foster supportive, inclusive, and identity-safe learning environments and ensure the individual 

needs of underserved students are met through appropriately designed instruction, evidencebased practices, and related supports and services.

Strategic Objective 3.3 Strengthen learning environments, support professional development, and improve educator 

credentialing for emergent bilingual students and multilingual learners.
9STRATEGIC FRAMEWORK

Strategic Goal 4: Increase postsecondary value by focusing on equity-conscious strategies to address access to highquality institutions, affordability, completion, post-enrollment success, and support for inclusive institutions.

Strategic Objective 4.1 Support educational institutions and state systems in efforts to raise academic quality 

and college completion for all students, especially for underserved students, such as firstgeneration students, students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, and students 

with disabilities.

Strategic Objective 4.2 Improve the administration of student aid programs to help eligible students receive aid; 

support borrowers in successfully repaying their loans, claiming loan forgiveness benefits, 

and mitigating student loan default; and hold contractors accountable.

Strategic Objective 4.3 Increase equitable access to secondary and postsecondary programs that have clear on-ramps 

to both high-quality jobs and additional high-quality postsecondary educational opportunities.

Strategic Objective 4.4 Improve the alignment across secondary, postsecondary, and career and technical education 

programs, including through transparent and effective transition processes, inclusive 

pathways, and clear credentialing requirements.

Strategic Goal 5: Enhance the Department’s internal capacity to optimize the delivery of its mission.

Strategic Objective 5.1 Manage information technology as a strategic resource and driver to promote the 

advancement of the missions executed by the Department’s 21st-century workforce.

Strategic Objective 5.2 Strengthen agency-wide data governance and build capacity to improve data access, data 

management, and enterprise data analytics in support of agency goals.

Strategic Objective 5.3 Recruit, retain, and develop the workforce needed to meet the Department’s mission now and 

into the future.

Strategic Objective 5.4 Deliver mission outcomes and value for taxpayers through efficient acquisition management 

and proactive industry partnerships while promoting small businesses.

Agency Priority Goals

Agency Priority Goals (APGs) state results to be achieved in a 24-month period. The successful 

achievement of the Department’s APGs depends predominantly on agency execution. Demonstrating 

performance relies, in part, on the effective use of high-quality and timely data, including the 

appropriate design of performance indicators and evaluations and the appropriate use of allocated 

resources. Quarterly updates for the APGs are available at Performance.Gov.

The Department identified three APGs for FY 2022 and FY 2023 that reflect the top implementationfocused performance improvement priorities of Department leadership and the Administration and 

are consistent with this Strategic Plan. The APGs, which are aligned to the national priority to advance 

educational equity, focus on addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, effectively managing 

federal student loans, and reducing disparities in attainment of high-quality degrees and credentials. 

Additional information on APGs can be found in Appendix A.
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STRATEGIC GOALS
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STRATEGIC GOAL

Promote equity in student access to 

educational resources, opportunities, 

and inclusive environments. 1
14

1

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC GOAL

Promote equity in student access to 

educational resources, opportunities, 

and inclusive environments .

STRATEGIC GOAL LEADER

Assistant Secretary, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and 

Policy Development

GOAL OBJECTIVES

1.1

Prioritize the equitable and 

adequate distribution of resources to 

communities of concentrated poverty 

in an effort to provide underserved 

students with high-quality educational 

opportunities.

1.2

Ensure all students have access to 

well-rounded, rigorous, engaging, and 

diverse learning opportunities and 

environments to support their success 

in school.

1.3

Support states, school districts, 

and institutions of higher education 

to promote and protect students’ 

nondiscriminatory and equal access to 

education, as provided by Federal civil 

rights laws.

1.4

Promote greater access and supports 

for youth and adults to engage in 

learning, succeed in postsecondary 

education, and increase their 

employability in high-demand 

occupations.
15STRATEGIC GOAL 1

Education is, and always has been, an essential aspect of American life. Adequate 

resources, opportunities, and supports are needed to designate and create better 

space for all students to succeed to their full potential.

Although the American education system works for some students, multiple reports, 

such as those from the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the Program 

for International Student Assessment, suggest that inequalities in resources, policies, 

programs, services, and practices serve as barriers to access to equal educational 

opportunities for underserved students that need to be redressed. Certain student 

populations have been underserved by the nation’s education systems, including 

students of color, multilingual learners, students with disabilities, students from lowincome backgrounds, students experiencing homelessness, and students involved 

in the juvenile justice system. Due to structural inequalities in access to resources, 

opportunities, and supports, underserved students can face persistent and profound 

barriers to educational opportunities. For example, school year 2017–2018 data from 

the Office for Civil Rights’ (OCR’s) Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) showed that 

schools with high enrollments of students of color were four times more likely to 

employ uncertified teachers than schools with low enrollments of students of color. 

Additionally, Black students and students with disabilities were disproportionately 

subjected to seclusion, restraint, and exclusionary discipline, and Black and Latino 

students and students with disabilities often had less access to and participated less 

frequently in rigorous courses to prepare them for college and careers. If student 

outcomes are to improve, educational resources and opportunities must increase.

The foregoing realities have been further exacerbated by the devastating and adverse 

impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has exacerbated previously documented 

gaps in educational opportunity, including opportunities for social, emotional, and 

academic development, that magnify the inequities in education described above. 

Chronic absenteeism increased, and learning gains decreased during virtual and 

at-home learning, negatively impacting the development of grade-level competencies 

and proficiency. Additionally, mental health challenges for students and staff have 

impacted well-being and academic progress.

The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) provides states and districts with critical 

resources to address these challenges. The $122 billion ARP Elementary and 

Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund provides state educational 

agencies and local education agencies (LEAs) flexible resources that can support 

hiring, preparing, and retaining high-quality teachers and school personnel to 

address teacher shortages and build a stronger pipeline for the future; promote 

learning acceleration, for example, through summer learning and enrichment and 
16U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

high-quality tutoring; and improve indoor air quality through upgrades to heating, 

ventilation, and air conditioning systems. ARP also requires LEAs to use 20 percent of 

their ARP ESSER allocation to address the academic impact of lost instructional time 

through the implementation of evidence based interventions and that interventions 

respond to students’ social, emotional, and mental health and academic needs and 

address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on students from low-income 

families, students of color, children with disabilities, English learners, migratory 

students, students experiencing homelessness, children and youth in foster care, 

and other disproportionately impacted students.

Improving educational equity for all is a priority for this Administration. The 

Department seeks to remedy the deeply rooted inequities in this country’s education 

system to increase access to educational opportunity and improve student outcomes. 

The ARP further facilitates that goal by providing much needed relief to help districts 

and schools recover and increase capacity to improve student outcomes and address 

historical inequities.

Building Evidence

Evidence building, described in the Department’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022–FY 2026 

Learning Agenda (see Appendix B), supports the Department’s efforts to promote 

equity across the nation’s education system along two lines. First, the Department 

seeks to better understand the extent to which the nation’s students experience 

inequities in access to or outcomes of education programs and services the 

Department supports. As noted in the FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda, a critical 

tool in that exploration is OCR’s CRDC. Collaborative and complementary activities 

planned by the Office of the Chief Data Officer and Institution of Education Sciences 

(IES), supported, in part, by a request in the President’s FY 2023 Budget, have the 

potential to bring additional evidence—from per-pupil expenditures to students’ 

access to advanced coursework that prepares them for college and careers—to the 

fore through public-facing websites.

Assessments administered by IES’ National Center for Education Statistics are another 

important resource for examining equity issues, including assessing courses taken by 

students, courses offered by schools, classroom activities, extracurriculars, and the 

availability of technology at home. The Department seeks to understand what policies, 

programs, services, and practices are effective in remedying inequitable access to 

resources and opportunities to learn how to best ensure that all students experience 

education environments that are safe, are free from discrimination, and promote 

learning and development. The Department seeks to build evidence for various practices 

and activities along the continuum of available evidence, including research-supported 

innovations, so that novel approaches can also begin to contribute to this Strategic Goal.
17STRATEGIC GOAL 1

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1.1

Prioritize the equitable and adequate distribution of 

resources to communities of concentrated poverty in an 

effort to provide underserved students with high-quality 

educational opportunities.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADER 

Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

Due to structural inequalities in access to resources throughout the nation’s education 

systems, underserved students (as defined in Appendix E), including students from 

low-income backgrounds, students of color, Native American students, multilingual 

learners, children living in rural areas, and students with disabilities, face persistent 

and profound barriers to educational opportunities. The Department is focused on 

implementing strategies that seek to address inequities and improve academic and 

other education-related outcomes. This is especially urgent given the many adverse 

impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Department is committed to extending and 

leveraging the resources of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP), specifically 

through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund, the 

Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund (HEERF), and other applicable funding 

sources provided through ARP.

Offices across the Department that support this strategic objective include the Office 

of Elementary and Secondary Education; the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult 

Education; the Office of Postsecondary Education; the Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services, and the Institute of Education Sciences (especially through its 

National Center for Education Sciences).

These offices oversee several funding areas in support of this strategic objective, 

including Education for the Disadvantaged, Indian Education, School Improvement 
18U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1.1

Programs, Safe Schools and Citizenship Education, Innovation and Improvement, 

and multiple grants to strengthen Historically Black Colleges and Universities, 

Tribally Controlled Colleges and Universities, and Minority-Serving Institutions. 

Funding areas include several programs, evidence-based studies, and data analyses 

designed to help state and local educational agencies and colleges improve student 

achievement and support equal access to services for students. In addition to these 

funding sources, ARP ESSER funds also offer considerable support.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate 

with external stakeholders in the education community to promote and implement 

strategies such as:

• Leverage ARP ESSER funds to address and decrease inequities caused or 

exacerbated by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic to support schools, students, 

families, and communities’ academic recovery and well-being. Use tools, such as 

the enforcement of maintenance of effort and maintenance of equity rules, and 

leverage evidence-based interventions to provide systemic supports to ensure 

equitable access to educational opportunity, particularly for underserved 

subgroups adversely impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic.

• Support programs promoting postsecondary degree attainment, including for 

students from low-income backgrounds, first-generation college students, and 

students of color enrolled in secondary and postsecondary education.

• Administer discretionary grants to support programs and activities that 

improve academic and developmental outcomes of children living in distressed 

communities and grants to support services designed to increase opportunities 

and outcomes for children and students with disabilities and multilingual 

learners. 

• Decrease the digital access and digital use divides by supporting programs that 

increase student access to technology and broadband and by increasing student 

engagement and digital fluency through instruction that leverages technology 

as a creative and playful medium that enhances student learning, including by 

supporting educator (as defined in Appendix E) development.

• Provide best practices on use of Title I, Part A Improving Academic Achievement 

formula grant funds that provide extra academic support to help students in 

schools with high rates of poverty meet challenging state academic standards.

• Provide students from low-income backgrounds with greater access to qualified, 

experienced, and effective teachers, principals, and other school leaders.
19STRATEGIC GOAL 1 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1.1

• Support the creation, development, implementation, evaluation, replication, 

and scaling up of evidence-based innovations designed to improve student 

achievement and attainment for underserved, high-needs students.

Desired Outcomes

• There is increased capacity of states, school districts, and institutions of higher 

education (IHEs) to address the needs of students.

• There is a more equitable allocation of federal, state, and local funding, 

including ARP ESSER and HEERF funds.

• There is increased access to educational resources and opportunities for 

underserved students as a result of decreased disparities in funding between 

under-resourced school districts and IHEs that enrolled a large number of 

underserved students.

• There is improved student engagement and digital fluency through 

advancements in student access to technology and broadband services.
20U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1.2

Ensure all students have access to well-rounded, rigorous, 

engaging, and diverse learning opportunities and 

environments to support their success in school.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADERS 

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy 

Development and Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education

Access to educational opportunities is an integral part of providing students with 

diverse learning environments. Students who feel connected to school are more 

likely to succeed through increased school attendance, grades, achievement, and 

educational attainment. Building these relationships requires perspectives that 

embrace positive attitudes, cultural and linguistic competence, and an understanding 

of the needs and experiences of students and of the school environment. The 

Department is focused on implementing strategies that seek to increase access to 

learning opportunities and inclusive environments for students.

Offices across the Department that support this strategic objective include the Office 

of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development; the Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education (OESE); and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative 

Services (OSERS).

OESE oversees funding areas in support of this strategic objective, including School 

Improvement Programs, the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) Elementary 

and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds, Indian Education, Effective 

Educator Development, Teacher Quality, and Innovation and Improvement 

programs. OSERS also supports this strategic objective through administering the 

Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, which provides grants to states to assist 

them in providing special education and related services to children with disabilities. 
21STRATEGIC GOAL 1 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1.2

Each funding area includes several programs designed to help state and local 

educational agencies improve access to diverse and rigorous learning environments 

and opportunities.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate 

with external stakeholders in the education community to promote and implement 

strategies such as:

• Support programs that ensure schools are safe, inclusive, and healthy places of 

teaching and learning for students, teachers, and other education professionals.

• Leverage ARP ESSER and other federal funds to address teacher shortages 

exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic through investing in effective, evidencebased, innovative, and promising strategies to recruit and retain teachers.

• Support opportunities to build the knowledge and skills of teachers in designing 

teaching and learning in ways that provide well-rounded, rigorous, and engaging 

learning experiences to students. 

• Support students’ preparation for, access to, and success in rigorous 

prekindergarten through grade 12 (i.e., P–12) course work that prepare them 

for postsecondary education and in-demand occupations using evidence-based 

approaches.

• Expand participation in multistate collaboratives and other technical assistance 

initiatives to address opportunity gaps exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Provide impactful technical assistance through regional meetings, webinars, 

and national conferences to further promote equity in P–12 and postsecondary 

education.

Desired Outcomes

• Students receive high-quality and personalized learning opportunities as a result 

of more effective preparation and professional development opportunities for 

teachers, which can be supported by ARP ESSER funds.

• Students are provided with adequate and diverse learning opportunities and 

environments to meet their educational needs through safe and inclusive 

learning environments; well-prepared, supported, and diverse educators; 

rigorous and engaging learning and course work; and technical assistance.
22U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1.3

Support states, school districts, and institutions of 

higher education to promote and protect students’ 

nondiscriminatory and equal access to education, as 

provided by Federal civil rights laws.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADER 

Assistant Secretary, Office for Civil Rights 

The Office for Civil Rights (OCR), the civil rights law enforcement agency within 

the Department, focuses on ensuring that laws safeguarding the civil rights of 

students are enforced to their fullest extent. OCR enforces several Federal civil 

rights laws that prohibit discrimination in programs or activities that receive federal 

financial assistance from the Department. Discrimination on the basis of race, 

color, and national origin is prohibited by Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964; sex 

discrimination in education programs and activities is prohibited by Title IX of the 

Education Amendments of 1972; discrimination on the basis of disability is prohibited 

by Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973; and age discrimination is prohibited 

by the Age Discrimination Act of 1975. OCR also has responsibilities under Title II of 

the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which prohibits disability discrimination 

by public entities whether or not they receive federal financial assistance. In 

addition, since January 8, 2002, OCR has enforced the Boy Scouts of America Equal 

Access Act (Section 9525 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as 

amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001).

Offices across the Department that support this strategic objective include OCR, the 

Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), and the Office of 

Postsecondary Education (OPE).
23STRATEGIC GOAL 1 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1.3

OSERS will support the implementation strategies of this strategic objective by 

administering to states grants designed to improve results and outcomes for students 

with disabilities and ensure that parents of children with disabilities and youth have 

access to resources, information, and training. OPE supports this objective through 

programs and activities providing services and supports that improve access to and 

success in postsecondary education for students with disabilities.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate 

with external stakeholders in the education community to promote and implement 

strategies such as:

• Regulate and/or provide policy guidance that focuses on how schools and 

districts serving students in prekindergarten through grade 12 and institutions 

of higher education may comply with Federal civil rights laws by ensuring 

equal access to educational opportunities and by avoiding and addressing 

discrimination based on race, color, national origin, disability, sex, and age.

• Efficiently and thoroughly enforce the Federal civil rights laws within OCR’s 

jurisdiction.

• Collect, expand, analyze, and publish information and civil rights data about 

the experiences of students, including their access to resources and educational 

opportunities, as well as school climate factors, such as the use of student 

discipline and incidents of student harassment, through OCR’s Civil Rights Data 

Collection (CRDC). The Department has collected civil rights data about the 

nation’s public schools via CRDC since 1968.

• Oversee the civil rights compliance programs of state agencies that administer 

career and technical education (CTE), including through the Methods of 

Administration authority to ensure that all students, regardless of race, color, 

national origin, sex, or disability, have equal access to CTE programs.

• Collect, analyze, and publish information and data about infants, toddlers, 

and children with disabilities and their families, including access to early 

intervention services in natural environments and a free appropriate public 

education in the least restrictive environment.

Desired Outcomes

• Federal civil rights laws are effectively and aggressively enforced, and students 

have equal access to educational opportunities within safe and healthy learning 

environments.
24U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1.3

• Civil rights data and information about the experiences of students, including 

their access to resources and educational opportunities, as well as school 

climate factors, such as the use of student discipline and incidents of student 

harassment, through the CRDC are widely known and resolved.
25STRATEGIC GOAL 1

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1.4

Promote greater access and supports for youth and 

adults to engage in learning, succeed in postsecondary 

education, and increase their employability in high-demand 

occupations.

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADERS 

Assistant Secretary, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education 

and Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, many students have been hindered from 

academic instruction due to a lack of access to online platforms, and some 

adult learners face additional challenges of economic, personal, and academic 

uncertainty. An analysis conducted in June 2020 found that 15 to 16 million public 

school students across the United States live in households without adequate internet 

access or computing devices to facilitate distance learning. The Department supports 

programs intended to reach and support youth and adult learners in preparation 

for and completion of postsecondary education, including degree and certification 

attainment, to help them gain employment in high-growth industries and in-demand 

occupations.

Offices across the Department that support this strategic objective include the Office 

of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE); the Office of Postsecondary 

Education (OPE); the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education; and the Office 

of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS).

Specifically, OCTAE’s funding area of career, technical, and adult education will 

support the implementation strategies of this strategic objective. This funding 

area includes career and technical education programs at the secondary and 

postsecondary levels that support attainment of both academic and career skills 

and help students learn about career pathways and attain credentials needed for 
26U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1.4

high-quality jobs and in-demand careers as well as adult education programs 

that enable youth and adults without a high school diploma to acquire basic skills 

and challenging academic and technical skills to be prepared for high-demand 

occupations in the 21st century. OPE’s programs help students, beginning as early 

as middle school, access and succeed in postsecondary education. OSERS programs 

help individuals with disabilities become gainfully employed through the provision of 

services, such as vocational evaluation, counseling and guidance, work adjustment, 

diagnosis and treatment of physical and mental impairments, education and 

vocational training, job placement, and postemployment assistance.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate 

with external stakeholders in the education community to promote and implement 

strategies such as:

• Support efforts that focus on youth work-based learning and industry credential 

attainment as well as related evaluation and technical assistance activities.

• Improve access to and funding for educational programs, including those 

available in correctional settings, and better prepare youth and adults who are 

incarcerated for successful reentry into society, including by increasing their 

opportunity to earn secondary and postsecondary credentials.

• Use grant funding and technical assistance to support a wide range of activities 

that help prepare youth and adults in acquiring the academic, employability, and 

technical skills as well as the cultural and linguistic competencies for in-demand 

occupations.

• Increase access to integrated education and training programs that prepare 

graduates for high-quality jobs in high-demand career fields.

• Expand the delivery of high-quality educational opportunities for adult educators 

that enable adult learners to successfully transition to postsecondary education 

and training and in-demand occupations and launch 21st-century careers. 

• Narrow gaps and disparities in outcomes among adult education participants, 

including those identified by the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act as 

having barriers to employment. 

• Strengthen collaboration among governmental and nongovernmental partners 

to encourage more institutions of higher education to access federal resources 

for adult learners.

• Increase the rate at which Vocational Rehabilitation Program participants 

achieve Measurable Skill Gains and earn recognized secondary or postsecondary 

credentials as they pursue competitive integrated employment. 
27STRATEGIC GOAL 1 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 1.4

Desired Outcomes

• Adult learners are reengaged and succeeding in education, increasing their 

employability in high-quality, in-demand occupations and high-growth 

industries.

• Youth learners have increased academic achievements leading to enhanced 

preparation for employability or further education through work-based learning, 

industry credential attainment, and dual enrollment opportunities.

• Youth and adults who are or have recently been incarcerated have additional 

pathways through access to educational opportunities for successful reentry into 

society, including increased opportunities to earn secondary and postsecondary 

credentials.
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STRATEGIC GOAL

Support a diverse and talented educator 

workforce and professional growth to 

strengthen student learning. 2
30

2

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC GOAL

Support a diverse and talented educator 

workforce and professional growth to 

strengthen student learning .

STRATEGIC GOAL LEADERS 

Senior Advisor, Office of the Deputy Secretary and 

Assistant Secretary, Office of Planning, Evaluation, 

and Policy Development

GOAL OBJECTIVES

2.1

Strengthen and diversify the educator 

pipeline and workforce.

2.2

Identify and promote evidence-based 

practices or strategies that support 

diverse districts (including rural 

districts) with high rates of poverty 

in recruiting, selecting, preparing, 

and retaining well-qualified (including 

in-field fully certified) and effective 

teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, 

and specialized instructional support 

personnel.

2.3 

Support the professional growth, 

retention, and advancement of 

talented, experienced educators and 

other school personnel and their 

capacity to meet the social, emotional, 

mental health, and academic needs of 

underserved students.
31STRATEGIC GOAL 2

Teachers are essential to the learning and development of the students they serve. 

However, the educator workforce faces several challenges that limit students’ 

educational opportunities and place at risk the success of students, particularly those 

who have been underserved by education systems.

One challenge that the education system faces is that many states and regions are 

experiencing significant teacher shortages in kindergarten through grade 12 

(i.e., K–12) schools, particularly in mathematics, science, career and technical 

education, special education, and bilingual education. A second challenge is inequity 

in the distribution of well-qualified, experienced, and effective teachers. Both schools 

in communities experiencing poverty and those that enroll higher proportions 

of students of color are more likely to employ teachers who have fewer years of 

experience, who are not fully certified, or who are not certified in the subject area 

in which they are currently teaching. A third challenge is that the teacher workforce 

does not reflect the racial and ethnic diversity of the nation’s student body. Educator 

diversity benefits all students, and in particular, benefits students of color.

It is essential to attract, prepare, support, develop, and retain a diverse, wellqualified, experienced, and effective pool of educators by ensuring candidates have 

access to high-quality comprehensive preparation programs, such as residency 

programs, and that steps are taken to support and retain qualified, experienced, 

and effective educators through practices such as mentoring early career teachers, 

improving working conditions, and creating or enhancing opportunities for 

professional growth and leadership. The Department is committed to and focused 

on making substantial progress in decreasing teacher shortages nationwide that 

have increased in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In December 2021, Secretary 

Miguel Cardona sent a Dear Colleagues Letter to the field on how American Rescue 

Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) 

funding can support evidence-based and promising short- and long-term strategies 

to address teacher and staff shortages. Specifically, the guidance described how 

states and school districts can use ARP ESSER funds to (1) increase educator and staff 

compensation; (2) build and maintain a cadre of high-quality substitute teachers; 

(3) support educator and staff well-being, including improved working conditions; 

and (4) make continual investments in the educator pipeline. It is also important that 

the diversity of the educator workforce reflects the diversity of the nation. Therefore, 

the Department also seeks to encourage the use of ARP ESSER funds to prepare and 

retain a diverse educator workforce.
32U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Building Evidence

As part of its Fiscal Year (FY) 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda, the Department plans 

to build evidence in service of Strategic Goal 2 to support a sufficiently resourced, 

diverse, and qualified educator workforce in three ways. First, it seeks to ensure that 

school districts and schools have the increased amounts of adequate educators they 

need and that they are well prepared and ready to support the full range of students’ 

social, emotional, and academic needs. For example, work is already underway at 

the Department’s Institute of Education Sciences to build on existing research and 

better understand the role of teacher residency programs in preparing new teachers. 

The Department will use and build evidence in this area through competitive grant 

programs. The Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services invests in 

personnel preparation areas that focus on preparing teachers, early interventionists, 

and related service providers to implement evidence-based practices. Second, the 

Department seeks to ensure that in-service educators continue to receive highquality professional development to bolster their instruction and opportunities 

for career growth to ensure well-qualified educators remain in the classroom. 

Work on improving instruction via feedback as well as the use of teacher-leader 

models have already begun. Finally, the Department seeks to better understand 

the extent to which the educator workforce, particularly teachers who are wellqualified in their specific field of instruction, reflects today’s student demographics 

and that all students have access to a diverse educator workforce throughout their 

K–12 experience.
33STRATEGIC GOAL 2

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE2.1

Strengthen and diversify the educator pipeline 

and workforce. 

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADERS

Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education and Assistant 

Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

The Department recognizes that implementing policies that help build the educator 

pipeline and workforce is more critical now than ever given critical teacher 

shortages. The Department has created a target series of guidance, fact-sheets, 

webinars, and other resources to promote improvements in hiring additional 

teachers and substitute teachers, including diversifying the teacher pipeline, and 

instructional practices to improve the social welfare and academic success of all 

students, particularly students of color. Diversity among teachers, administrators, 

and other educators that reflects the diversity of the nation contributes to improving 

equity in education systems. Research indicates that students of color tend to 

graduate at a higher rate if they have access to a diverse faculty. Research also shows 

that having diverse educators can increase academic performance, lower rates of 

chronic absenteeism, and increase graduation rates of students of color. Having a 

diverse staff of educators in a school brings differing perspectives and approaches 

to working with students, which can increase the likelihood of success among the 

students they serve.

Offices across the Department that support this strategic objective include the Office 

of Postsecondary Education, the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education 

(OESE), the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), and 

Federal Student Aid (FSA).

OESE oversees funding areas in support of this strategic objective that include 

programs designed to support state and local efforts to implement evidence-based 
34U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2.1

teacher development programs; enhance professional development for new teachers; 

and support alternative routes to obtaining teaching certification through grants to 

states, local educational agencies, institutions of higher education (IHEs), or other 

organizations. OSERS oversees Rehabilitation Services and Disability Research 

funding areas, including programs designed to help state educational agencies 

improve their systems for personnel preparation and professional development 

of individuals providing services to improve results for children with disabilities. 

FSA’s funding area includes Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher 

Education (TEACH) grants, Teacher Loan Forgiveness programs designed to prepare 

highly qualified teachers to teach in high-need fields, and Public Service Loan 

Forgiveness (PSLF), which is designed to encourage student borrowers to enter 

public service and nonprofit employment after graduation.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate 

with external stakeholders in the education community to promote and implement 

strategies such as:

• Fund national technical assistance centers that support state systems and IHEs 

in recruiting, preparing, and graduating diverse educators and providers.

• Fund personnel preparation grants to prepare diverse early intervention service 

providers, special educators, vocational rehabilitation services providers, and 

specialized instructional support personnel to provide culturally responsive 

supports to students.

• Support and fund high-quality, comprehensive educator preparation programs 

that help to stem teacher shortages and build the educator pipeline, by 

emphasizing outreach, recruitment, retention, graduation, and placement 

of additional educators, including those from traditionally underrepresented 

teacher candidates.

• Support programs that develop, implement, and enhance a leadership pipeline 

to select, prepare, place, mentor, coach, and retain diverse school leaders, 

including for under-represented educators.

• Expand access to teacher residency, teacher apprenticeship, and Grow Your Own 

programs as well as expand the recruitment and preparation of diverse teacher 

candidates.

• Support states by sharing best practices on use of Title II, Part A Supporting 

Effective Instruction formula grant funds to prepare, train, and recruit highquality teachers, principals, and/or other school leaders.
35STRATEGIC GOAL 2 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2.1

• Collect and disseminate resources and information on recruiting underrepresented educators and implementing preparation programs within technical 

assistance venues, such as communities of practice.

Desired Outcomes

• There is an increased number of high-quality educators and substitute teachers, 

decreased nationwide shortages, and increased retention rates. 

• There are more teacher candidates in programs that recruit, comprehensively 

prepare, and graduate educators, including more teacher candidates from 

traditionally underrepresented teacher candidates. 

• There is an increased number of high-quality educators from traditionally 

underrepresented teacher candidates placed in schools and districts, particularly 

those with large percentages of students of color.

• There is an increased number of mentoring and leadership development 

programs to retain educators, particularly educators from under-represented 

backgrounds.
36U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE2.2

Identify and promote evidence-based practices or 

strategies that support diverse districts (including rural 

districts) with high rates of poverty in recruiting, selecting, 

preparing, and retaining well-qualified (including infield fully certified) and effective teachers, principals, 

paraprofessionals, and specialized instructional support 

personnel .

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADERS

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Planning, Evaluation, and 

Policy Development and Director, Institute of Education Sciences

Fully certified, experienced, and effective educators and early intervention service 

providers make significant contributions to student academic outcomes. However, 

there is significant inequity in student access to such educators, particularly for 

underserved students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, and students 

with disabilities. Furthermore, a diverse educator workforce yields benefits for 

students as well. Studies have found higher levels of student achievement, enrollment 

in more rigorous courses, increased referrals to gifted and talented programs, and 

reductions in exclusionary discipline when students of color and educators of color 

share the classroom and when students have access to well-qualified, experienced, 

and effective educators.

Offices across the Department that support this strategic objective include the 

Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development; the Institute of Education 

Sciences (IES); the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE); the Office 
37STRATEGIC GOAL 2 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2.2

of Postsecondary Education; and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative 

Services (OSERS).

OESE oversees two funding areas in support of this strategic objective: School 

Improvement Programs as well as Innovation and Improvement. IES and OSERS also 

oversee funding areas to support this strategic objective.

Offices across the Department are also working to elevate strategies to address 

teacher shortages, including those that can be funded through the American Rescue 

Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) and other federal resources. This includes the releasing of 

calls to action, Dear Colleague Letters, facts sheets, and webinars highlighting these 

strategies, where the work is currently happening, and opportunities to scale these 

efforts. The Department is also working in partnership with other agencies, such as 

the Departments of Labor, Treasury, and Transportation, to support these efforts.

Programs within OESE’s funding area of Innovation and Improvement will support 

the implementation strategies for this strategic objective by supporting the 

implementation of evidence-based preparation, development, and enhancement 

opportunities for educators. OSERS oversees funding areas that include programs 

designed to help state educational agencies and early intervention lead agencies 

improve systems for personnel preparation and professional development of 

individuals providing instruction and services to students with disabilities. 

Additionally, funding areas within IES will support implementation strategies for 

this strategic objective by conducting research aimed at identifying evidence-based 

practices related to effective teacher preparation, professional development, 

and retention.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate 

with external stakeholders in the education community to promote and implement 

strategies such as:

• Support grants that improve local educational agencies’ processes for recruiting, 

selecting, preparing, placing, supporting, and retaining effective teachers, 

principals, and other school leaders in high-needs schools, including how ARP 

and other federal relief funds can be used to support these efforts.

• Ensure states and districts have data and other relevant information needed to 

make evidence-based and data-informed decisions, including on recruiting and 

retaining teachers and other educators.
38U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2.2

• Support programs and strategies to increase the number and percentage of 

fully certified teachers and teachers with additional certifications or training to 

teach high-demand subject areas in high-needs schools experiencing significant 

teacher shortages.

• Support programs that help rural school districts carry out activities to improve 

the quality of teaching and learning in schools.

• Support programs that help states reform and enhance their systems in the areas 

of early intervention, educational, and transition services to improve outcomes 

for children with disabilities.

• Support high-retention, specialized programs and effective pathways into 

teaching that provide strong support and incentives for educators working in 

geographically diverse areas.

Desired Outcomes

• There is an increased number of well-qualified, experienced, and effective 

educators representing the diversity of the nation working in schools and 

districts with high rates of poverty and in rural schools and districts.

• There is a reduced shortage of well-qualified, experienced, and effective 

teachers, educators, and administrators recruited to and retained within highneeds schools and schools in geographically underserved areas.

• There is an adequate number of teachers with advanced certifications teaching 

in high-demand subject areas.
39STRATEGIC GOAL 2

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE2.3

Support the professional growth, retention, and 

advancement of talented, experienced educators and 

other school personnel and their capacity to meet the 

social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs of 

underserved students .

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADER

Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

To strengthen student learning in a supportive environment, it is essential to recruit 

and retain qualified teachers and other instructional support personnel. The 

Department is dedicated to stabilizing a diverse and qualified educator workforce 

in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has impacted not only the nation’s 

children but also the personnel who support them in their academic pursuits. The 

Department recognizes the need to support additional essential skilled staff to safely 

reopen schools and programs, keep them open, and provide in-person services to 

address students’ needs.

Offices across the Department that support this strategic objective include the Office 

of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE); the Office of Career, Technical, 

and Adult Education; the Office of Postsecondary Education; the Office of Special 

Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS); and Federal Student Aid.

OESE oversees funding areas that support the implementation strategies of this 

strategic objective. These funding areas include programs designed to improve 

teacher and principal quality, provide high-quality preparation programs, and 

provide enhanced professional development activities for new teachers. Additionally, 
40U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 2.3

OSERS oversees funding areas that include programs designed to support states 

that meet the state-identified need to obtain fully certified personnel and improve 

practices of professionals and others involved in providing services that promote 

academic achievement for students with disabilities.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate 

with external stakeholders in the education community to promote and implement 

strategies such as:

• Support the allocation of additional resources to prekindergarten through 

grade 12 schools and postsecondary institutions to build the capacity of 

educators and other school personnel to support the mental health of students.

• Support activities designed to increase student achievement by improving and 

increasing the effectiveness of teachers, principals, and other educators.

• Leverage existing grants to support teacher candidates and public-school 

teachers to obtain initial and additional certifications in high-demand subject 

areas such as special education; bilingual education; science, technology, 

engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education; and career and technical 

education (CTE).

• Support states in hiring teachers and other school personnel, including school 

counselors and school nurses, with federal funds including pandemic recovery 

funds.

Desired Outcomes

• Underserved students are provided educational opportunities and social and 

emotional supports through experienced and effective educators, nonteaching 

school staff, and health professionals.

• There are an increased number of public-school teachers that have obtained 

certifications in high-demand subject areas, such as special education, bilingual 

education, STEM education, and CTE, to meet the needs of all students, 

particularly underserved students.
STRATEGIC GOAL

Meet students’ social, emotional, and 

academic needs. 3
42

3

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC GOAL

Meet students’ social, emotional, and 

academic needs .

STRATEGIC GOAL LEADER

Senior Advisor, Office of the Deputy Secretary

GOAL OBJECTIVES

3.1

Support the development and 

implementation of multitiered systems 

of supports to increase students’ 

engagement; social, emotional, 

and mental health; well-being; and 

academic success.

3.2

Foster supportive, inclusive, and 

identity-safe learning environments 

and ensure the individual needs of 

underserved students are met through 

appropriately designed instruction, 

evidence-based practices, and related 

supports and services.

3.3 

Strengthen learning environments, 

support professional development, 

and improve educator credentialing 

for emergent bilingual students and 

multilingual learners.
43STRATEGIC GOAL 3

Learning and development across a student’s life span are influenced by several 

deeply interrelated factors, including the individual’s social, emotional, academic, 

and career development. Generally, research has shown that growth in one domain 

is positively associated with strengthening outcomes associated with the other 

domains. Attending to each is a promising strategy for improving a wide range 

of outcomes for all students. In addition, access to evidence-based programs and 

school–family–community partnerships bolsters social and emotional development, 

academic achievement, and career development.

Research has shown that a safe, healthy, and equitable school climate that 

addresses students’ social and emotional development is associated with higher 

student attendance and engagement, improved student connectedness, and better 

social and emotional health. These conditions also correlate with greater job 

satisfaction and higher retention for school staff. Examples of social and emotional 

development in school settings include activities that cultivate attention, collaboration, 

communication, problem-solving, innovation, empathy, and ability to resolve conflicts.

Building Evidence

The Department’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda emphasizes better 

understanding of the policies, programs, services, and practices that promote growth 

across a range of important learning and developmental outcomes, including social 

and emotional learning, academic achievement, and career attainment. There 

is a particular emphasis on identifying strategies that are effective for students 

belonging to groups that have been underserved by education systems. Evidence 

building relevant to this Strategic Goal occurs across the Department, including 

grant activities at the Institute of Education Sciences’ (IES’) National Center for 

Education Research and National Center for Special Education Research, the Office 

of Elementary and Secondary Education’s Education Innovation and Research 

discretionary grant program, and the Research to Training activities of the Office of 

Special Education Programs. Of note is ongoing work led by the National Center for 

Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance and the Office of Career, Technical, 

and Adult Education as part of the National Evaluation of Career and Technical 

Education Programs under Perkins V. This national evaluation draws on impact 

studies being conducted through IES’ grantmaking and fills evidence gaps as needed 

with new studies.
44U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE3.1

Support the development and implementation of 

multitiered systems of supports to increase students’ 

engagement; social, emotional, and mental health; 

well-being; and academic success . 

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADER 

Deputy Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary 

Education

The U.S. education systems at the state and local levels continue to address the 

disruption in student learning resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. Underserved 

students have experienced a disproportionate impact from the pandemic, both 

academically and socially. These academic and social tolls necessitate additional 

supports and interventions to redress students’ social, emotional, mental health, 

and well-being success; support student learning; and close gaps in educational 

opportunities and outcomes. The Department supports programs that address the 

holistic well-being of students.

Social and emotional competencies have been associated with academic and 

behavioral successes as well as improving outcomes for at-risk populations. 

Addressing the social, emotional, and behavioral well-being of students and the 

educators and professionals who educate and support them is critical as schools, 

educators, families, and students confront the challenges of continuing to navigate 

and recover from this national health crisis.

Offices across the Department that support this strategic objective include the 

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), the Office of Postsecondary 

Education, the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), and 

the Institute of Education Sciences.
45STRATEGIC GOAL 3 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3.1

OESE oversees funding for several areas in support of this strategic objective, 

including School Improvement Programs, Safe and Supportive Schools, Arts 

Education, teaching American history, government and civic engagement, and 

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARP) Elementary Secondary School Emergency 

Relief (ESSER) funds. With ARP ESSER, school districts receive funds to help with 

the implementation of evidence-based interventions to address students’ social 

and emotional development and needs, mental health, and overall well-being, 

specifically focused on the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic 

on underrepresented student subgroups. Both OESE and OSERS provide funding 

and technical assistance aimed at building state and local capacity to implement 

multitiered systems of supports.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate 

with external stakeholders in the education community to promote and implement 

strategies such as: 

• Leverage ARP ESSER funding to address and improve social, emotional, and 

mental health outcomes, such as by increasing the number of school-based 

health service providers serving in schools, especially in high-poverty schools 

most impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Support states in the use of funding to provide wrap-around services for 

underserved students, including students experiencing homelessness and 

through the expansion of full-service community schools.

• Expand resources for Full-Service Community Schools, which play a critical role 

in providing comprehensive wrap-around services to students and their families, 

including afterschool services, adult education opportunities, and health and 

nutrition services.

• Support geographically isolated communities by providing and expanding access 

to resources through cross-state or district collaboration (e.g., communities of 

practice).

• Implement model programs that enable access to mental health services 

for underserved students that are culturally and linguistically responsive for 

elementary and secondary students and offer equitable access to mental health 

professionals and other integrated services and supports. 

• Fund early intervention services and special education services that provide 

social and emotional developmental resources for infants, toddlers, and 

preschool children with disabilities to prepare them for academic success.
46U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3.1

• Provide funding to programs, such as literacy programs, community support, 

and mental health support, designed to advance equity and excellence for Native 

American students. 

Desired Outcomes

• A wide range of community-based resources are available to support students 

and their families.

• States and school districts adopt effective, multitiered systems of supports, with 

a focus on underserved students.

• Students and families in communities with high rates of poverty receive 

comprehensive social, emotional, and mental health services to support 

improved academic outcomes.
47STRATEGIC GOAL 3

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE3.2

Foster supportive, inclusive, and identity-safe learning 

environments and ensure the individual needs of 

underserved students are met through appropriately 

designed instruction, evidence-based practices, and 

related supports and services .

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADERS

Assistant Secretary, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education 

and Assistant Secretary, Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services

The National Center on Safe and Supportive Learning Environments reports that 

a positive school climate is critically related to school success, impacting students 

beyond academic achievement in the classroom. It further states that students’ 

academic achievement improves when they are in environments in which they 

feel safe, supported, and accepted. These types of environments also help students 

feel better about themselves, their peers, and their community. In healthy learning 

environments, students are more motivated to perform better and enhance their 

social skills by building friendships and working with others. The Department 

supports the education community in creating and maintaining healthy school 

environments that can contribute to lifelong benefits.

Educators and administrators require a knowledge base and tools that support up-todate, evidence-based instructional activities to improve outcomes for all students and 

particularly for disadvantaged students and students with disabilities.

Offices across the Department that support this strategic objective include the Office 

of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE), the Office of Special Education 
48U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3.2

and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS), the Office of Postsecondary Education, and the 

Institute of Education Sciences.

OESE oversees funding for several areas in support of this strategic objective, 

including Innovation and Improvement, School Improvement Programs, Safe 

and Supportive Schools, and Arts Education. American Rescue Plan Elementary 

Secondary School Emergency Relief funds set aside to address learning loss are 

also required to respond to students’ social, emotional, and mental health needs 

and address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students disproportionately 

impacted. OSERS supports this strategic objective by providing grants, such as 

projects that the Department uses to continually improve current practices and 

technical assistance to states, local educational agencies, and families to support 

students with disabilities.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate 

with external stakeholders in the education community to promote and implement 

strategies such as: 

• Support the investment of federal pandemic recovery funds in evidence-based 

interventions, including tailored acceleration, personalized learning, highquality tutoring, afterschool and summer learning, and enrichment to address 

the social, emotional, mental health, and academic impact of lost instructional 

time due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

• Provide guidance and technical assistance to early intervention service 

providers, schools, school districts, and states on how to create positive, 

inclusive, and identity-safe school climates that keep students in school 

and engaged in learning by adopting proven school- and communitybased programs, such as social and emotional learning, positive behavioral 

interventions and supports, and trauma-informed and restorative practices.

• Fund programs and services that focus on identifying and disseminating 

promising practices and evidence-based strategies for improving student 

opportunities and outcomes, with a particular focus on underserved students.

• Offer enhanced tools and resources to develop educators’ capacities to 

implement equitable school policies and identity safety plans and that create 

inclusive and identity-safe learning environments.
49STRATEGIC GOAL 3 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3.2

Desired Outcomes

• Underserved students receive equitable access to supportive, inclusive, and 

identity-safe environments.

• School districts, schools, early intervention systems, educators, and other 

providers support students of different cultural and language backgrounds 

as well as students with disabilities, among others, and help them overcome 

adversity and build their social, emotional, motivational, and academic 

resilience.

• Improved academic outcomes for all students, particularly students most 

impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
50U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE3.3

Strengthen learning environments, support professional 

development, and improve educator credentialing for 

emergent bilingual students and multilingual learners .

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADER

Assistant Deputy Secretary, Office of English Language Acquisition

With the increasing diversity of the U.S. population, ethnically and racially diverse 

students represent 53 percent of the U.S. student population, and multilingual 

learners are a growing part of the kindergarten through grade 12 student population. 

Between the 2009–2010 and 2014–2015 school years, the percentage of English learner 

or multilingual students increased in more than half of the 50 states, comprising a 

tremendously diverse group representing numerous languages, cultures, ethnicities, 

and nationalities. There are many benefits that students who are bilingual and 

multilingual bring to education and learning, including facilitating cross-cultural 

communication, creating cultural awareness, and adding academic and educational 

value. Designing and providing culturally and linguistically responsive learning 

environments allows students to apply their learning in authentic and real-world 

settings; communicate and collaborate effectively; and develop academic mindsets, 

including through project-based, work-based, or other experiential learning 

opportunities.

Several offices across the Department support this strategic objective, including 

the Office of English Language Acquisition (OELA), the Office of Elementary and 

Secondary Education (OESE), and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).

OELA oversees funding areas to support multilingual learners and immigrant 

students in attaining English proficiency and supports all students in obtaining 

multiliteracy skills. OESE and IES also support this strategic objective by providing 
51STRATEGIC GOAL 3 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 3.3

grants, technical assistance, and research for education stakeholders to support 

academic success for multilingual learners.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate 

with external stakeholders in the education community to promote and implement 

strategies such as: 

• Administer Title III, Part A of the Every Student Succeeds Act English Language 

Acquisition, Language Enhancement, and Academic Achievement Act and National 

Professional Development grants to support eligible entities in preparing and 

training educators toward becoming state certified, licensed, or endorsed in 

English language instruction.

• Support programs and services that enhance the practice, maintenance, and 

revitalization of native languages for American Indian/Alaskan Native students.

• Support programs and services that enhance English language acquisition for 

multilingual learners, including awarding grants to eligible entities to develop 

and enhance capacity to provide effective instruction and support to Native 

American students who identify as multilingual learners. 

• Increase supports and funding to states and school districts to provide effective 

language assistance to parents such as translated materials and competent 

language interpreters for students and families with limited English proficiency.

• Provide guidance and information on how school districts and schools can foster 

inclusive environments by ensuring that schools meet the needs of multilingual 

learners through the provision of appropriate language services and supports.

• Support programs that provide integrated approaches to English language 

acquisition and occupationally focused services to immigrants and refugees, 

including individuals who have professional credentials in their native countries.

Desired Outcomes

• There is increased support, communication, services, programs, and resources 

that enhance learning environments and outcomes for multilingual learners.
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STRATEGIC GOAL

Increase postsecondary value by focusing on 

equity-conscious strategies to address access 

to high-quality institutions, affordability, 

completion, post-enrollment success, and 

support for inclusive institutions. 4
54

4

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC GOAL

Increase postsecondary value by focusing on 

equity-conscious strategies to address access 

to high-quality institutions, affordability, 

completion, post-enrollment success, and 

support for inclusive institutions .

STRATEGIC GOAL LEADER

Under Secretary, Office of the Under Secretary

GOAL OBJECTIVES

4.1

Support educational institutions 

and state systems in efforts to 

raise academic quality and college 

completion for all students, especially 

for underserved students, such as firstgeneration students, students from 

low-income backgrounds, students of 

color, and students with disabilities.

4.2

Improve the administration of student 

aid programs to help eligible students 

receive aid; support borrowers in 

successfully repaying their loans, 

claiming loan forgiveness benefits, 

and mitigating student loan default; 

and hold contractors accountable.

4.3

Increase equitable access to secondary 

and postsecondary programs 

that have clear on-ramps to both 

high-quality jobs and additional highquality postsecondary educational 

opportunities.

4.4

Improve the alignment across 

secondary, postsecondary, and career 

and technical education programs, 

including through transparent and 

effective transition processes, inclusive 

pathways, and clear credentialing 

requirements. 
55STRATEGIC GOAL 4

Between 2000 and 2019, educational attainment rates among 25- to 29-year-olds 

increased at every education level. The attainment rate for an associate degree or 

higher increased from 38 to 49 percent; the attainment rate for a bachelor’s degree or 

higher increased from 29 to 39 percent; and the attainment rate for a master’s degree 

or higher increased from 5 to 9 percent. Because completing education and training 

beyond high school is increasingly important for success across a wide range of life 

outcomes, significant concerns about access and success in postsecondary education 

remain. Once enrolled, graduation is far from guaranteed; in fact, for the majority of 

students, it does not lead to a credential. Black and Hispanic students graduate at a 

far lower rate than White students at two-year postsecondary institutions and 

four-year postsecondary institutions.

Affordability remains a major reason for these challenges. The average net price 

of a college education has risen for many undergraduates, particularly full-time 

students in traditional associate and bachelor’s degree programs from low-income 

backgrounds. Analysis from the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study shows 

that, from 2012 to 2016, the net price of postsecondary education increased by 

12 percent for students attending public two-year institutions and by more than 

20 percent for students attending four-year public colleges and universities, widening 

the affordability gap. Black students also borrow federal student loans at a much 

higher rate than White students, contributing to the costs of staying enrolled.

Building Evidence

The Department’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda includes a series of 

priority learning questions focused on postsecondary, adult, and continuing education 

designed to ensure students’ equitable access to and success within education and 

training after high school. In service of the Department’s Strategic Goals and strategic 

objectives, evidence building is expected to proceed along two primary lines. First, the 

Department is exploring policies, programs, practices, and services associated with 

getting students to (and through) postsecondary education. Emphases include making 

postsecondary education more affordable and better meeting the needs of students 

who have been traditionally underserved by postsecondary education. Notably, 

some work in this area has already begun, such as ongoing work by the Institute of 

Education Sciences (IES) to improve college enrollment rates among disadvantaged 

adults. IES is also planning a randomized, controlled trial of professional development 

for career navigators in adult education. Second, the Department seeks to better 

understand how to support postsecondary institutions, particularly MinorityServing Institutions, Tribal colleges or universities, Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities, community colleges, rural institutions, and other institutions that are 

under-resourced as they strive to meet their academic missions.
56U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE4.1

Support educational institutions and state systems 

in efforts to raise academic quality, global awareness, 

and college completion for all students, especially for 

underserved students such as first-generation students, 

students from low-income backgrounds, students of color, 

and students with disabilities .

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADER

Assistant Secretary, Office of Postsecondary Education

Postsecondary education—a necessity to compete in a global economy—is one of the 

most important investments that individuals can make in themselves. The nation 

must increase quality and completion rates of all levels of postsecondary education, 

including providers and institutions offering certificates, two-year credentials, and 

four-year credentials. This strategic objective will help the Department support 

efforts to diversify, prepare, and enroll underserved students in postsecondary 

education and help them succeed.

Offices across the Department that support this strategic objective include the 

Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE); the Office of Elementary and Secondary 

Education; the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education; and the Office of 

Special Education and Rehabilitative Services (OSERS).

Programs within OPE’s funding area of Higher Education will support the 

implementation strategies of this strategic objective. They are designed to support 

underserved students, including low-income, first-generation students, and 

individuals with disabilities, as they progress through the academic pipeline from 

middle school to graduate school. The programs also focus on college readiness, 
57STRATEGIC GOAL 4 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4.1

campus-based childcare, and graduate fellowships. OSERS’ Rehabilitation Services 

Administration supports pre-employment transition services for youth with 

disabilities as well as education and training services for individuals who have 

completed high school.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate 

with external stakeholders in the education community to promote and implement 

strategies such as: 

• Provide Title III, Part A English Language Acquisition, Language Enhancement, 

and Academic Achievement Act grants to institutions of higher education (IHEs) 

to expand their capacity to serve low-income students by strengthening their 

academic quality and institutional management.

• Coordinate with government offices, agencies, and philanthropic organizations 

to leverage public and private informational resources and supports, that will 

increase postsecondary students’ access to quality educational offerings.

• Support state educational agencies, local educational agencies, and IHEs in 

preparing students for postsecondary success through rigorous and relevant 

coursework, access to advanced study materials, academic options (i.e., dual 

enrollment), and college and career counseling with a focus on underserved 

students.

• Create partnerships with states and IHEs to address systemic problems, such 

as replicating strategies that have worked at other IHEs to increase degree 

attainment for transfer students.

• Provide technical assistance to state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies 

through monitoring and Rehabilitation Services Administration-funded 

resources.

• Improve the quality of research available to and conducted by IHE grantees 

through increased support of data collection, research strategies, and 

dissemination of knowledge on access, affordability, completion, and postenrollment success.

• Enhance the College Financing Plan to provide increased transparency and 

simplified language to students so they better understand and can compare 

financial aid offers.

• Increase the number and diversity of institutional applicants from community 

colleges, Historically Black Colleges and Universities, Tribally Controlled 

Colleges and Universities, Minority-Serving Institutions, and public four-year 

colleges in higher education grants.
58U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4.1

Desired Outcomes

• There is increased enrollment and program completion by students, especially 

those who are underserved, across high-quality, affordable postsecondary 

institutions.

• There is an increased number of VR program participants who are enrolled in 

and completing postsecondary education and training programs.

• There is improved quality, connectivity, and accessibility of postsecondary data 

systems to facilitate the use of analytics and the measuring of equity gaps in 

support of postsecondary outcomes.
59STRATEGIC GOAL 4

Improve the administration of student aid programs to 

help eligible students receive aid; support borrowers in 

successfully repaying their loans, claiming loan forgiveness 

benefits, and mitigating student loan default; and hold 

contractors accountable .

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE4.2

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADER

Chief Operating Officer, Federal Student Aid

Through Federal Student Aid (FSA), the Department administers student loans for 

approximately 45 million borrowers, which equates to 1 in 6 adult Americans, and 

awards more than $120 billion per year in grants, work-study funds, and low-interest 

loans to approximately 10.1 million students.

By increasing both access to diverse postsecondary pathways as well as awareness 

and accessibility of student aid programs, the Department can help students enroll 

in and graduate from institutions of higher education with the skills and expertise 

necessary for in-demand occupations, high-growth industries, and 21st-century 

careers. Additionally, enhancing communication, supports, and student aid 

processes can help equalize academic opportunity in postsecondary education and 

increase enrollment and completion for diverse, underserved student populations.

In March 2020, the Department announced COVID-19 emergency relief measures for 

eligible student loans, which included suspending of loan payments, freezing interest 

accrual, and suspending collections activities. The Department will proactively 

support borrowers during the transition to restart student loan repayments by 

providing online tools, personalized communications about repayment options, 

information about loan forgiveness options, and resources to help borrowers choose 

an affordable repayment plan.

FSA will support this strategic objective.
60U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4.2

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate 

with external stakeholders in the education community to promote and implement 

strategies such as: 

• Increase awareness of the cost of postsecondary education, the impact of student

loan debt, median earnings, funding options, and financial aid toolkits through

platforms such as the College Scorecard and the Department’s StudentAid.gov

website.

• Increase coordination and outreach efforts with other agencies and state

partners to help students and families learn about financial pathways available

to meet educational goals and lessen long-term debt.

• Promote institutional awareness of opportunities to support Pell Grant recipients

and other underserved groups by collecting and publicizing evidence-based

practices and strategies.

• Streamline processes associated with applying for student aid, borrower

repayment, and loan forgiveness programs.

• Enhance the services provided by FSA servicers and partners to ensure that

student loan borrowers receive timely counsel and are directed toward loan

repayment and relief options that meet their circumstances and needs.

• Continue developing a long-term servicing solution that will improve outcomes

for student loan borrowers, including increased oversight and accountability of

loan servicers.

Desired Outcomes

• An increased number of students will have access to postsecondary education

due to greater awareness of student financial assistance.

• Applicants have a simpler and more streamlined process for completing the Free

Application for Federal Student Aid® (FAFSA®) form and other federal student aid

forms or tools. 

• An increased number of eligible borrowers, including civil servants and

active-duty service members, are able to apply for loan forgiveness programs

(including the Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF) Program) with less

paperwork and receive decisions in a timely manner.

• An increased number of borrowers have affordable payments.

• Student loan delinquency and default rates are limited.

• Customer satisfaction with federal student aid communications, processes, and

services is improved.
61STRATEGIC GOAL 4

Increase equitable access to secondary and postsecondary 

programs that have clear on-ramps to both high-quality 

jobs and additional high-quality postsecondary educational 

opportunities .

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE4.3

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADER

Assistant Secretary, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education

All students should have access to educational programs that prepare them for 

postsecondary success and high-quality job opportunities. The Department supports 

providing streamlined and structured guidance to students and families as they 

explore and plan postsecondary pathways leading to opportunities for employment 

in high-growth industries upon completion. Providing students with clear pathways 

to access postsecondary education will improve the opportunities for success 

available to them upon completion. 

The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education and the Office of Postsecondary 

Education will support this strategic objective. 

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate 

with external stakeholders in the education community to promote and implement 

strategies such as: 

• Support secondary programs in coordinated workplace experiences related 

to students’ career goals and interests that are integrated with instruction and 

performed in partnership with local businesses and organizations.
62U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4.3

• Expand and enhance partnerships between the education community and 

employers to equitably scale work-based learning opportunities for underserved 

high school students and adult education students. 

• Strengthen connections between the secondary and postsecondary programs 

offered and high-quality jobs.

• Support the funding of innovative models that support transitions to future 

educational opportunities and career pathways by connecting youth and young 

adults with limited or no work experience to summer and year-round jobs and 

educational opportunities that embed partnerships among employers, workforce 

investment boards, local educational agencies, and reengagement centers.

• Support states and institutions of higher education in expanding the stackability 

and portability of postsecondary programs.

• Increase access to programs that provide for the basic needs of adult learners 

as they pursue educational opportunities and enroll in workforce training 

programs. 

Desired Outcomes

• There is increased enrollment in and completion rates for programs that lead to 

in-demand occupations, high-growth industries, and high-quality jobs. 

• Educational institutions work in conjunction with employers and high-growth 

industries to increase students’ job-ready skills.
63STRATEGIC GOAL 4

Improve the alignment across secondary, postsecondary, 

and career and technical education programs, including 

through transparent and effective transition processes, 

inclusive pathways, and clear credentialing requirements . 

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE4.4

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADER

Assistant Secretary, Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education

The workforce and its requirements are rapidly shifting, and the preexisting equity 

gaps in access to high-quality postsecondary and career and technical education 

(CTE) need to be addressed. Effective design, delivery, and diffusion of appropriately 

aligned CTE programs of study along with integrated strategies can provide strong 

systems of supports for both long-term career pathways and financial security. 

Creating more equitable systems of high-quality, flexible college and career pathways 

that align education with the demands of the 21st-century economy will help 

narrow disparities in postsecondary completion for underserved communities. The 

Department will continue to encourage the postsecondary education community to 

identify and promote degrees and credentials that will meet the economic needs of 

individuals and the country.

Many college students, particularly those in underserved groups, have struggled 

to manage or be supported in navigating the complexities of the transfer process

between postsecondary programs. Black and Latino students are significantly less 

likely than their Asian and White peers to transfer from a two-year to a four-year 

college. Additionally, students from lower-income backgrounds who begin their 

postsecondary education at community colleges generally transfer programs at lower 

rates than students from higher-income backgrounds. Providing students with clear 

pathways to transition between and within institutions will improve the choices 

available to students and make postsecondary education and CTE more accessible.
64U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4.4

Offices across the Department that support this strategic objective include the 

Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE); the Office of Postsecondary 

Education (OPE); and the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services 

(OSERS).

OCTAE oversees the Career, Technical, and Adult Education Institute funding area 

supporting the implementation strategies of this strategic objective. This funding 

area includes programs that help students acquire academic and technical skills 

and prepare students for high-skill, high-wage, and high-demand occupations 

in the 21st-century global economy. OPE’s Higher Education Programs also help 

strengthen the capacity of colleges and universities to promote reform, innovation, 

and improvement in postsecondary education. Additionally, OSERS’ Rehabilitation 

Services programs provide services for individuals with disabilities consistent 

with their strengths, resources, priorities, concerns, abilities, capabilities, interests, 

and informed choices so they can prepare for and engage in competitive integrated 

employment or supported employment and achieve economic self-sufficiency.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate 

with external stakeholders in the education community to promote and implement 

strategies such as: 

• Support states and localities in expanding the opportunity for students to access 

dual enrollment opportunities, particularly those from communities less likely 

to have access to those opportunities. 

• Establish seamless and transparent transfers of course credits between 

institutions and from certificate to two-year and four-year degree programs.

• Develop greater understanding of the ongoing challenges preventing more 

seamless transitions along these educational pathways and the negative impacts 

caused by these barriers.

• Support states in developing and designing high-quality integrated education 

and training programs aligned with high-demand career fields.

Desired Outcomes

• Transparent and diverse pathways in high-quality secondary and postsecondary 

education prepare students for college, career, and post-enrollment success.
65STRATEGIC GOAL 4 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 4.4

• States and localities increasingly offer the opportunity for adults without a high 

school diploma or its equivalent to simultaneously pursue basic education and 

job training programs.

• Processes for students to enroll in and transfer between and within programs 

and institutions are transparent, widely known, and seamless and allow 

students—to the maximum extent possible—to earn college academic credits that 

count toward degrees and certificates.

• Institutions of higher education support students in pursuing multiple pathways 

to affordable postsecondary credentials and degrees that provide skills that 

benefit students and have labor market value.
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STRATEGIC GOAL

Enhance the Department’s internal 

capacity to optimize the delivery of 

its mission. 5
68

5

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Enhance the Department’s internal 

capacity to optimize the delivery of 

its mission .

STRATEGIC GOAL LEADER

Assistant Secretary, Office of Finance and Operations

STRATEGIC GOAL

GOAL OBJECTIVES

5.1

Manage information technology as 

a strategic resource and driver to 

promote the advancement of the 

missions executed by the Department’s 

21st-century workforce.

5.2

Strengthen agency-wide data 

governance and build capacity 

to improve data access, data 

management, and enterprise data 

analytics in support of agency goals. 

5.3

Recruit, retain, and develop the 

workforce needed to meet the 

Department’s mission now and into 

the future.

5.4

Deliver mission outcomes and value for 

taxpayers through efficient acquisition 

management and proactive industry 

partnerships while promoting small 

businesses. 
69STRATEGIC GOAL 5

Effective business management practices are essential to meeting the mission, 

goals, and objectives of the Department. This Strategic Goal seeks to continuously 

improve agency operations as the Department manages, engages, and empowers 

the workforce; purchases products and services; enhances and secures 

information technology resources; and leverages data to support evidence-based 

decision-making.
70U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE5.1

Manage information technology as a strategic resource 

and driver to promote the advancement of the missions 

executed by the Department’s 21st-century workforce . 

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADER

Chief Information Officer, Office of the Chief Information Officer

The Department aims to evolve its programs and practices by embracing continual 

improvement of information technology (IT) solutions that advance mission 

capabilities and positively impact the nation’s citizens. The Department’s ability 

to provide world-class technology services to its employees and stakeholders 

nationwide is necessary in achieving the Department’s mission. For this reason, 

utilizing IT as a strategic resource is critical to ensuring that the Department has the 

tools necessary to meet the needs of an increasingly mobile workforce and customer 

base while balancing sophisticated cybersecurity threats. In addition, this strategic 

objective highlights the strategies the Department will use to provide IT service 

and engage in continuous improvement to offer solutions to address the real-time 

requirements of its customers. Over the course of this plan, the Department will work 

to improve IT governance; deliver reliable, mission-focused IT solutions; strengthen 

cybersecurity capabilities; and engage, train, and communicate with staff about IT 

across the Department.

The Office of the Chief Information Officer will support this strategic objective.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will implement strategies such as:

• Strengthen the Department’s efficient and effective management of value-added 

technologies.
71STRATEGIC GOAL 5 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 5.1

• Prioritize the selection of IT modernization initiatives to achieve cost avoidance 

and cost savings while providing reliable, secure, and mission-focused IT solutions.

• Evolve the Department’s cybersecurity capabilities.

• Improve the capacity of the Department’s workforce to employ IT resources for 

greater mission impact.

• Fully execute the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act to improve 

customer experience for educational services available to the public.

Desired Outcomes

• Department stakeholders will be provided with IT resources that can be 

leveraged as a strategic asset while ensuring technology systems and services 

acquired are safe, secure, customer-focused, and accessible.

• Cybersecurity is strengthened by mitigation efforts to lower risks, provide 

effective responses to tangible threats and breaches, and protect vital 

information and data that ensure mission cyber-risk viability of the Department.

• There is an enhanced ability to support various digital service platforms that 

provide end-users with evolving emerging technology needs using best-in-class 

user interfaces and standards that can be made available to the public via online, 

mobile-friendly services that improve the customer experience and reduce costs. 

• An infrastructure platform is implemented that enables the delivery of an 

enterprise website that is modernized and compliant with the mandates of 

the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act, including the accessibility 

requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. 
72U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE5.2

Strengthen agency-wide data governance and build 

capacity to improve data access, data management, and 

enterprise data analytics in support of agency goals . 

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADER

Chief Data Officer, Office of Planning, Evaluation, 

and Policy Development

The Department’s Data Strategy addresses new and emerging mandates, such as open 

data by default, interagency data sharing, data standardization, and other principles 

found in the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 and the Federal 

Data Strategy. Recent statutory authorities, advancements in technology, and 

heightened expectations of government performance are charting a course for longterm data maturity. The Department’s Data Strategy goals are interdependent with 

cross-cutting objectives requiring a collaborative effort across Department offices. 

The evolving nature of the Department’s data tasks necessitates a focus on developing 

a workforce with skills commensurate with a modern data culture in a digital age and 

that safely and securely provides access for researchers.

All Department offices support this strategic objective. 

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will implement strategies such as:

• Strengthen agency-wide data governance to better connect data management 

with broader organizational governance.

• Develop and launch an enterprise data repository and analytics platform to 

empower Department analysts to develop new, actionable insights from data to 

improve policies, programs, and operations.
73STRATEGIC GOAL 5 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 5.2

• Develop and implement a data management investment and capital planning 

process to ensure that data-related projects align with Department-wide data 

priorities and increase efficiencies.

• Improve the completeness, accuracy, and other dimensions of data quality 

from the Department’s grantees and subrecipients and ensure that the grants 

management system supports strategic data use. 

• Increase states’ access to data that highlights gaps in participation and 

outcomes for career and technical students by gender, race/ethnicity, and 

special population status (e.g., economically disadvantaged individuals, English 

learners, and individuals with disabilities).

• Build capacity to leverage education data throughout the Department’s workforce 

by operationalizing a data workforce plan, growing its Data Professionals 

Community of Practice, expanding its Data Literacy Program, and developing 

professional pathways and training curricula for staff.

Desired Outcomes

• Data governance and human capacity are strengthened.

• Data management and enterprise data analytics are improved.

• There is improved data access, transparency, and privacy, expanding the 

Department’s ability to generate evidence to inform policy and influence 

program decisions.

• There is increased efficiency through Department-led, privacy-protective, 

mutually advantageous interagency data-sharing initiatives.

• A comprehensive Department Open Data plan is implemented and released.
74U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE5.3

Recruit, retain, and develop the workforce needed to meet 

the Department’s mission now and into the future .

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADER

Chief Human Capital Officer, Office of Finance and Operations

Implementation of workforce planning will allow the Department to align workforce 

requirements with its mission and Strategic Goals, develop a comprehensive picture 

of where gaps exist, implement strategies to close workforce staffing and competency 

gaps, and increase workforce diversity. The Department will use meaningful human 

resources data and analysis as part of a data-driven human capital strategy to support 

informed business decisions and to ensure the Department has a mission-ready, 

high-performing, and engaged workforce.

All Department offices support this strategic objective.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate with 

stakeholders to promote and implement strategies such as:

• Implement workforce planning to strategically and systematically close 

workforce gaps.

• Optimize hiring practices to achieve effective staffing levels.

• Address competency gaps within the Department’s workforce by implementing 

competency models, conducting competency assessments, and aligning training 

plans to competency gap closures.

• Improve employee engagement through implementation of the Department’s 

National Engagement Strategy and Principal Operating Component engagement 

action plans.
75STRATEGIC GOAL 5 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 5.3

Desired Outcomes

• Improved workforce planning maturity moves the Department from planning 

headcount and capacity toward integrated talent management.

• There is a decrease in the time it takes to hire an employee, which helps achieve 

effective staffing levels.

• Competency gaps are closed, with a focus on mission-critical occupations, which 

improves workforce proficiency and performance.

• There is increased employee engagement, which supports improved retention, 

productivity, and morale.
76U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE5.4

Deliver mission outcomes and value for taxpayers through 

efficient acquisition management and proactive industry 

partnerships while promoting small businesses .

STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE LEADER

Deputy Chief Acquisition Officer, Office of Finance and Operations 

The Department engages industry as a strategic partner to support the delivery 

of mission outcomes. By leveraging industry capabilities and innovations, the 

Department achieves better results for taxpayers while promoting the health of 

the economy. The Department strives to ensure procurement opportunities are 

available on an equal basis to all eligible small businesses (especially those that 

are disadvantaged and in underserved communities) to maximize small business 

participation in Department contracts. The Department also aims to set the standard 

for acquisition management to ensure efficient and effective operations.

All Department offices support this strategic objective.

Implementation Strategies 

To achieve this strategic objective, the Department will support and collaborate with 

stakeholders to promote and implement strategies such as:

• Improve the acquisition management program by implementing a formal 

governance structure and strengthening strategic decision-making throughout 

the acquisition life cycle, including long-term small business growth strategies.

• Modernize acquisition systems to inform decisions and improve the efficiency 

of operations.

• Continuously improve the Department’s acquisition processes through the use of 

data to reduce transaction costs and improve customer outcomes.
77STRATEGIC GOAL 5 STRATEGIC OBJECTIVE 5.4

• Promote equitable access to contracting opportunities and reduce barriers for 

small businesses to partner with the Department in the delivery of core mission 

services.

• Increase opportunities for new small businesses to exceed the Department’s 

small business and small disadvantaged business contracting goals.

• Expand training and outreach efforts to increase small business set aside 

baseline spending each fiscal year to promote more set aside opportunities for 

small and disadvantage businesses.

• Attract and educate small businesses on Department contracting opportunities 

and its mission through outreach and industry days. Engage large businesses to 

increase partnerships with small businesses to encourage procurement equity.

• Strengthen training and engagement of contracting officers and specialists, 

contracting officer representatives, and program managers to implement the 

Department’s acquisition strategies and achieve mission outcomes.

Desired Outcomes

• The Department’s prime contracting and subcontracting goals are met 

or exceeded by reducing potential procurement barriers and increasing 

procurement opportunities for small, underserved, and disadvantaged 

businesses.

• Spend Under Management contracting goals are met or exceeded by increasing 

small business utilization in strategic business functions and leveraging 

Department- and government-wide contract vehicles through category 

management. 

• Procurement Action Lead Times are overall reduced while sustaining a highly 

engaged acquisition workforce through innovative contracting approaches, 

technology enhancements, and process improvements that reduce burden and 

increase value for Department programs.
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CAPACITY 

ASSESSMENT 

SUMMARY
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81CAPACITY ASSESSMENT SUMMARY

CAPACITY ASSESSMENT 

SUMMARY

Section 101 of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 amends 

U.S.C. Title V to require agency Evaluation Officers to “continually assess the 

coverage, quality, methods, consistency, effectiveness, independence, and balance 

of the portfolio of evaluations, policy research, and ongoing evaluation activities of 

the agency” and requires that assessments be reported in each agency’s Strategic 

Plan. The most recent version of that assessment appears in Appendix B of this 

Strategic Plan.

The assessment covers the following six elements:

1. List of activities and operations currently being evaluated and analyzed by the 

Department. 

2. Extent to which these activities meet the needs of the Department’s operating 

components.

3. Extent to which these activities meet the Department’s learning, management, 

and accountability needs.

4. Extent to which these activities use appropriate analytic methods. 

5. Extent to which these activities are supported by agency capacity for effective 

planning, execution, and dissemination.

6. Extent to which these activities are supported by agency capacity for effective 

use of evaluation evidence and data for analysis.
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APPENDICES
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85APPENDIX A. FY 2022 AND FY 2023 AGENCY PRIORITY GOALS

APPENDIX A

FY 2022 and FY 2023 Agency Priority Goals

Agency Priority Goals (APGs) state results to be achieved in a 24-month period. The 

successful achievement of the Department’s APGs depends predominantly on agency 

execution. Demonstrating performance relies, in part, on the effective use of highquality and timely data, including appropriate design of performance indicators and 

evaluations and the appropriate use of allocated resources. Quarterly updates for 

APGs are available at Performance.Gov.

The Department identified three APGs for fiscal year (FY) 2022 and FY 2023 that 

reflect the top implementation-focused performance improvement priorities 

of Department leadership and the Administration and are consistent with this 

Strategic Plan. The APGs, which are aligned to the national priority to advance 

educational equity, focus on addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, 

effectively managing federal student loans, and managing disparities in attainment of 

high-quality degrees and credentials.

These APGs and their related strategic objectives are provided in the following 

table. A detailed discussion of each, including evidence building, is presented in the 

following sections.
86U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

APG Related Strategic Objective

APG 1: Address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic 

on students, educators, and faculty.

Impact Statement:

The Department will be a leader and partner in addressing the 

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in educational areas.

Achievement Statement:

By September 30, 2023, the Department will respond to the 

impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to continuously 

provide for high-quality educational environments and 

capabilities by supporting state educational agencies, local 

educational agencies, and institutions of higher education to:

• Continue to support schools in maintaining safe, fully 

in-person instructions for students.

• Utilize COVID-19 relief funds on appropriate, effective, and 

evidence-based activities to reengage students, address lost 

instructional time, and improve educational opportunities 

by offering 300+ Department-led technical assistance 

engagements.

Strategic Objective 1.1: 

Prioritize the equitable and 

adequate distribution of resources 

to communities of concentrated 

poverty in an effort to provide 

underserved students with highquality educational opportunities.

Strategic Objective 1.2: 

Ensure all students have access to 

well-rounded, rigorous, engaging, 

and diverse learning opportunities 

and environments to support their 

success in school.

Strategic Objective 3.1: 

Support the development and 

implementation of multitiered 

systems of supports to increase 

students’ engagement; social, 

emotional, and mental health; wellbeing; and academic success.

Strategic Objective 3.2: 

Foster supportive, inclusive, and 

identity-safe learning environments 

and ensure the individual needs 

of underserved students are met 

through appropriately designed 

instruction, evidence-based 

practices, and related supports and 

services.

APG 2: Effectively manage federal student loans.

Impact Statement:

The Department will provide effective customer service for 

borrowers to simplify the student loan repayment process.

Achievement Statement:

By September 30, 2023, Federal Student Aid will improve loan 

servicer quality and accuracy to levels at or above 95 percent, as 

defined in student loan servicer agreements.

Strategic Objective 4.2: 

Improve the administration of 

student aid programs to help 

eligible students receive aid; 

support borrowers in successfully 

repaying their loans, claiming loan 

forgiveness benefits, and mitigating 

student loan default; and hold 

contractors accountable.
87APPENDIX A. FY 2022 AND FY 2023 AGENCY PRIORITY GOALS

APG Related Strategic Objective

APG 3: Reduce disparities in attainment of high-quality 

degrees and credentials. 

Impact Statement:

The Department will support institutions and states to assist 

low-income students and students of color to enroll in and 

complete high-quality postsecondary education programs, 

including at community colleges and through career and 

technical training. 

Achievement Statement:

By September 30, 2023, the Department will increase the 

number and diversity of higher education grant applicants 

from community colleges, Historically Black Colleges and 

Universities, Tribally Controlled Colleges or Universities, 

Minority-Serving Institutions, and public four-year colleges by 5 

percent to support and assist low-income students and students 

of color in attaining improved educational outcomes.

Strategic Objective 4.1: 

Support educational institutions 

and state systems in efforts to 

raise academic quality and college 

completion for all students, 

especially for underserved 

students, such as first-generation 

students, students from low-income 

backgrounds, students of color, and 

students with disabilities.

Strategic Objective 4.2:

Improve the administration of 

student aid programs to help 

eligible students receive aid; 

support borrowers in successfully 

repaying their loans, claiming loan 

forgiveness benefits, and mitigating 

student loan default; and hold 

contractors accountable.

Agency Priority Goal 1: Address the Impact of the COVID 19 

Pandemic on Students, Educators, and Faculty

The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to continue to deepen divides in educational 

opportunity across the nation’s classrooms and campuses if its disparate impacts are 

not adequately addressed. Studies show that, for many students, the educational gaps 

that existed before the pandemic (e.g., opportunities, access, supports, achievement, 

and other outcomes) are widening. These impacts are falling disproportionately 

on underserved students with the fewest opportunities. In FY 2022 and FY 2023, 

the Department will focus on addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on 

students, educators, and faculty.

Building Evidence

As detailed further in its FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda, the Department is 

building evidence related to the COVID-19 pandemic across two primary focuses. 

First, the Department seeks to better understand the current impact of the pandemic 

on students, educators, and communities and the response of the education system. 

Examples of work in this area include the Institute of Education Sciences’ (IES’) 

National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) 2021 School Survey and School 

Pulse Survey, pre- and post-pandemic data that will be coming out of NAEP in 2022, 
88U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

along with ongoing data collection and dissemination by the Department’s Office 

of the Chief Data Officer on the distribution and use of federal recovery funds. 

Additional examples include data from IES’ National Center for Education Statistics 

on changes within regular system measures as well as findings from the National 

Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance’s Implementation of Key 

Federal Education Policies in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic. 

Second, the Department seeks to understand what policies, programs, practices, 

and services are effective in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact. Offices 

across the Department are invested in research and development aimed at generating 

knowledge about meeting students’ social, emotional, mental health, and academic 

needs. Notable examples include investments by IES focused on identifying effective 

local practices in recovery, leveraging the power of artificial intelligence, and 

supporting students with disabilities and other underserved students.

Agency Priority Goal 2: Effectively Manage Federal 

Student Loans

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security 

Act and subsequent actions temporarily suspended payments on millions of student 

loans until May 1, 2022. Federal Student Aid is implementing a comprehensive plan 

to seamlessly return millions of borrowers back to active repayment status. As the 

Department conducts outreach to borrowers, there is an opportunity to assist them in 

choosing an affordable repayment plan, rehabilitate their student loans if previously 

in default, and provide information on how to apply for student loan forgiveness 

programs. In FY 2022 and FY 2023, the Department will focus on improving the 

management of the federal student loan program. 

Building Evidence 

To support this APG, the Department is focused on building evidence to demonstrate 

tangible improvements to the design and delivery of federal student aid programs. 

Work is expected to center on tangible improvements to the customer experience 

and gaining a better understanding of how best to support borrowers in successfully 

managing their student loan debt.
89APPENDIX A. FY 2022 AND FY 2023 AGENCY PRIORITY GOALS

Agency Priority Goal 3: Reduce Disparities in Attainment of 

High-Quality Degrees and Credentials

The nation must boost completion and attainment rates across all levels of 

postsecondary education, especially for underserved students. Preexisting equity 

gaps in access to high-quality postsecondary education, including career and 

technical education, dual enrollment, and work-based learning, have been further 

exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. In FY 2022 and FY 2023, the Department will 

focus on reducing disparities in attainment of high-quality degrees and credentials.

Building Evidence

To support this APG, the Department is building evidence about policies, programs, 

practices, and services that fall in two broad domains: (1) equitable access to 

education and training after high school and (2) equitable completion of those 

programs. Special emphasis is being placed on meeting the needs of students who 

have been historically underserved by postsecondary education. Relevant activities 

may include building evidence about the efficacy of strategies that can be deployed 

within existing college access programs (e.g., Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness 

for Undergraduate Programs and Federal TRIO Programs) or the outcomes of those 

programs themselves; institutional capacity-building efforts to support underresourced colleges and universities in meeting their academic missions; innovative 

approaches to supporting college completion, including evaluating promising 

practices at scale; and systemic approaches to institutional transformation designed 

to yield dramatic improvements in student outcomes.
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91APPENDIX B. FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA

APPENDIX B

FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda

Introduction

If ever there has been a time when high-quality evidence about how to strengthen the 

nation’s education system was needed, it is now. The COVID-19 pandemic has drawn 

attention to long-standing inequities in the resources communities have to address 

the public health crisis; pivot effectively to hybrid or remote learning; and support the 

well-being of students, educators, and families as the pandemic threw into disarray all 

aspects of life and work. Although additional data are needed to understand the full 

impact of the pandemic, several reports suggest students belonging to populations that 

were already underserved have borne the brunt of its effects.

Recovery—and then building a better education system that more equitably, efficiently, 

and effectively meets the needs of every student—is a critical challenge for educators 

and education policymakers alike. It requires better, more granular, and more timely 

evidence about what is happening in schools and communities; new insights into what 

works to improve student outcomes; an increased awareness of how to scale what 

works and to support states and districts in using effective practices; and an increased 

use of evidence to continuously improve the Department’s programs.

Importantly, evidence, promising innovation, and exploration must be a central 

focus of the Department’s work. Taken together, they are the initial stages of a larger 

evidence-building pipeline. That pipeline encourages the development of novel 

evidence-based strategies, adaptations of those strategies in response to emerging 

evidence of promise, and the application of successively more rigorous evidencebuilding techniques to evaluate the capacity to improve student outcomes. Several 

Department offices and programs, including the Grants Policy Office, the Office of 

Elementary and Secondary Education’s (OESE’s) Education Innovation and Research 

(EIR) Program, and the Institute of Education Sciences’ (IES’) field-initiated grants 

and data collections (e.g., the National Assessment of Education Progress’ (NAEP’s) 

2021 School Survey and School Pulse Study), already incorporate elements of this 

pipeline into their approaches to evidence building.

The Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 encourages all federal 

agencies to build and use evidence in support of fulfilling their missions and 

improving agency operations. In this Fiscal Year (FY) 2022–FY 2026 Learning 
92U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Agenda, the Department proposes six focus areas for evidence building that are critical 

to strengthening the nation’s education system. By building evidence in these areas, 

the Department will be better able to ensure every student has access to high-quality 

learning opportunities that meet their unique needs. Consistent with the Department’s 

Strategic Goals and Agency Priority Goals (APGs), the Department’s six focus areas 

include: 

Focus Area 1: Address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students, educators, and faculty.

Focus Area 2: Promote equity in student access to educational resources, opportunities, and 

inclusive environments.

Focus Area 3: Support a diverse and talented educator workforce and professional growth to 

strengthen student learning.

Focus Area 4: Meet students’ social, emotional, and academic needs.

Focus Area 5: Increase postsecondary value by focusing on equity-conscious strategies to address 

affordability, completion, post-enrollment success, and support for inclusive 

institutions.

Focus Area 6: Effectively manage federal student aid programs.

Stakeholder Engagement

Portions of this FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda that relate to reopening, 

recovery, and renewal in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic have been informed 

by substantial Department outreach to stakeholders in the early days of the Biden–

Harris Administration, including educators, education policymakers, state and 

local leaders, education researchers and related organizations, and advocacy 

organizations. Components specifically related to federal student aid are informed by 

outreach to academic researchers, federal student aid advocates, and staff across the 

executive branch.

Contemporaneously with the development of the Department’s Strategic Plan, the 

Department published a Request for Information in the Federal Register to solicit 

feedback on the Learning Agenda’s six focus areas. The Department received more than 

30 comments, including from individuals, universities, university-based researchers, 

philanthropies, advocates, and advocacy organizations. 

Although a substantial portion of that feedback was consistent with the Department’s 

proposed areas of emphasis—most notably supporting an equitable recovery from the 

COVID-19 pandemic that supports the learning and development of all students—some 
93APPENDIX B. FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA

stakeholders raised themes that are not pronounced in this version of the Learning 

Agenda (e.g., early childhood education). Importantly, the Department considers this 

Learning Agenda a “living document.” Following its initial publication, the Department 

will continue its stakeholder outreach efforts and internal discussions to further refine 

it. The most up-to-date version of this Learning Agenda will be available at 

https://www.ed.gov/data. 

Finally, needs-sensing activities revealed that several national associations and 

advocacy organizations had developed—or had plans to develop—learning agendas 

specific to their area of interest. To the extent that those learning agendas are broadly 

consistent with Department’s interests and goals (e.g., tutoring and summer learning), 

the Department looks forward to exploring opportunities for collaboration.
94U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Focus Area 1:

Address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on 

students, educators, and faculty .

Alignment to Agency Strategy 

APG 1: Address the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on students, educators, and faculty.

Background

Although the full extent of COVID-19’s impact on the nation’s education system and its 

students has yet to be fully understood, the breadth and depth of its effects are coming 

into view. At the elementary and secondary education levels, evidence from formative 

assessment providers suggests that achievement in the wake of the pandemic lags that 

which would have otherwise been expected. Worryingly, the net effect appears to be 

an exacerbation of existing gaps in equity, disadvantaging student groups that were 

already underserved. At the nation’s colleges and universities, an analysis of year-onyear enrollment trends suggests many students delayed or paused their studies. Here 

too, there are signs of the pandemic’s differential impact, where some of the greatest 

enrollment declines were noted among college students who were Black or Brown or 

who attended community colleges. 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic’s impact, Congress made historic investments in 

elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education. Describing how states, districts, 

and institutions of higher education (IHEs) used those funds in service of reopening and 

recovery is of interest to policymakers and taxpayers alike.

Priority Learning Questions

The Department proposes a series of priority learning questions (PLQs) related to this 

focus area, which align with APG 1. Given the differential impact of the pandemic on 

underserved students and the schools and institutions that serve them, findings from 

these PLQs should be disaggregated when possible and appropriate. These PLQs are: 

1.1 To what extent has the COVID-19 pandemic been associated with changes in 

students’ opportunities to learn and achievement at all levels of education, 
95APPENDIX B. FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA

particularly for the most underserved students, and how have those conditions 

changed as the nation shifts to recovery? (APG 1)

1.2 How have states, school districts, and IHEs used federal funds administered by 

the Department to support reopening and recovery, and what is the relationship 

between those uses and important student outcomes of interest (e.g., student 

engagement, student achievement, retention, and attainment), particularly for 

the most underserved students? (APG 1)

1.3 What policies, programs, services, and practices effectively engage students with 

their schools in their learning in efforts to support their social and emotional 

well-being and mental health and in other services those schools provide, both 

generally and in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic? (APG 1)

1.4 What policies, programs, services, and practices effectively accelerate student 

learning in core academic subjects in elementary and secondary education, 

including reading, mathematics, science, and English language arts in the wake 

of the COVID-19 pandemic? (APG 1; also see PLQ 4.3, which deals more generally 

with supporting student achievement)

1.5 What policies, programs, services, and practices effectively support the 

professional practice and general well-being of educators, faculty, and other 

instructional leaders in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic? (APG 1)

Short-Term Activities

The Department began a series of data collections to address PLQ 1.1 and portions 

of PLQ 1.2. This includes new survey research conducted by IES’ National Center 

for Education Statistics (NCES) and its National Center for Education Evaluation and 

Regional Assistance (NCEE) and both new and existing annual reporting requirements 

coordinated by the Office of the Chief Data Officer (OCDO) and NCES. Specifically, this 

work includes NAEP’s The Nation’s Report Card, NCEE’s forthcoming Implementation 

of Key Federal Education Policies in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic and 

Study of District and School Uses of Federal Education Funds, and OCDO’s Education 

Stabilization Fund Public Transparency Portal. 

IES’ National Center for Education Research (NCER) has funded several field-initiated 

grants that are also related to PLQ 1.1. They include Understanding Pennsylvania’s 

Educational Inequities in the time of COVID-19, Equity in Virginia’s Public Education 

System: A Longitudinal Examination Spanning the COVID-19 Shutdown, and Children’s 

Longitudinal Development from Pre-K through High School as Disrupted by COVID-19. 
96U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Work related to PLQ 1.3—in particular, the role of families in student engagement—

is underway as part of NCEE’s Evaluating Implementation of the Statewide Family 

Engagement Centers Program study.

Finally, NCES has awarded supplemental funding to 10 Statewide Longitudinal Data 

System grantee states to support efforts to respond to data and data system needs 

resulting from the pandemic. Projects funded through these supplemental awards 

include exploring impacts on family literacy and college access, identifying the status 

of students’ internet access and digital devices, and understanding the school-level 

capacity to support online learning.

Long-Term Activities

PLQs related to the potential impact of federal education funds on student or 

institutional outcomes (PLQ 1.2); policies, programs, services, and practices associated 

with successfully reengaging students (PLQ 1.3); and the accelerating of their learning 

in core academic subjects (PLQ 1.4) are addressable primarily in the long term. This is 

due, in part, to the lag in relevant student outcome data (see the Anticipated Challenges 

and Proposed Solutions section for this focus area). It is also because rigorous evidencebuilding activities take time to design, procure, implement, and evaluate.

To that end, IES has already began work on a series of long-term research and 

development activities related to pandemic recovery. Exemplar activities include a 

collaboration with the National Science Foundation to fund research on the use of 

cutting-edge artificial intelligence technologies to improve services for students with 

disabilities; NCER’s Research Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Education 

Policy and Practice and Improving Pandemic Recovery Efforts in Education Agencies; 

two IES Learning Acceleration Challenges focused on improving upper elementary 

mathematics performance for student with disabilities and middle school science 

performance among the lowest-performing students; the National Center for Special 

Education Research’s (NCSER’s) Research to Accelerate Pandemic Recovery in Special 

Education grants program; NCER’s Using Longitudinal Data to Support State Education 

Recovery Policymaking competition; an anticipated NCEE Impact Study of Using 

Technology to Accelerate Math Learning; and the forthcoming School Pulse Panel, which 

will replace the 2021 NAEP School Survey described previously. 
97APPENDIX B. FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA

The Department continues to consider evidence-building activities related to educator 

well-being, as described in PLQ 1.5.

Finally, when appropriate, the Department will consider the use of the Secretary’s 

Supplemental Priorities in grant competitions relevant to this focus area. This includes 

the use of evidence in project design and grantee evidence building. 

Anticipated Challenges and Proposed Solutions

The greatest challenge facing evidence-building activities in this area concerns the 

availability of student outcome data. These data are not systematically available to the 

Department, largely due to pandemic-related assessment waivers. When assessment 

data are available, there is often substantial lag between the assessment’s administration 

and its availability for analysis at the Department level. As a result, some questions may 

not be able to be answered at the national level, in a timely manner, or both, which may 

hamper some policy considerations.

Grant and contract-funded research conducted at state and local educational agencies 

that have continued to collect and store formative (interim) or summative assessment 

data provide one window into pandemic recovery. More information about students’ 

performance in the wake of the COVID pandemic will be generated by upcoming 

analyses of data recently collected by NAEP or an inability of existing district and state 

data systems to collect and store information that could complement student summative 

assessments (e.g., diagnostic assessment data).
98U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Focus Area 2:

Promote equity in student access to educational 

resources, opportunities, and inclusive environments .

Alignment to Agency Strategy

Strategic Objective 1.1 Prioritize the equitable and adequate distribution of resources 

to communities of concentrated poverty in an effort to provide 

underserved students with high-quality educational opportunities.

Strategic Objective 1.3 Support states, school districts, and institutions of higher education to promote 

and protect students’ nondiscriminatory and equal access to education, as 

provided by Federal civil rights laws. 

Background

Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, a growing body of evidence has suggested that 

certain student populations have been underserved by the nation’s education system. 

There is evidence that this includes, but extends well beyond, disparities in student 

achievement on federal or state assessments. Evidence from the Department’s Civil 

Rights Data Collection (CRDC), for example, suggests that:

• Black, Latino, and American Indian/Alaska Native students are more likely to 

attend schools with concentrations of inexperienced teachers than their White 

and Asian peers. 

• Black students and students with disabilities are disproportionately subjected to 

seclusion, restraint, and exclusionary discipline. 

• Black and Latino students as well as students with disabilities often have less 

access to and participate less frequently in rigorous courses that prepare 

students for college and careers.

• Students of color, students with disabilities, and English learners (ELs) are 

disproportionately held back in high school, which may decrease their odds for 

subsequent postsecondary success.

Similarly, research has highlighted additional disparities—like funding between districts 

within a single state—that tend to systematically disadvantage students of color and 

students from low-income backgrounds. Newly available data on school-level per-pupil 
99APPENDIX B. FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA

spending makes it possible to explore the extent to which those patterns hold true 

within districts.

Priority Learning Questions

The Department proposes to prioritize a series of PLQs related to this focus area, which 

are in alignment with strategic objectives 1.1 and 1.3. These PLQs are:

2.1 To what extent, and for what reasons, do the nation’s learners experience 

inequities in access to, participation in, or the outcomes of education programs 

and services supported by the Department? (strategic objective 1.1)

2.2 What policies, programs, services, and practices are effective in ensuring all 

students have equitable access to resources and resulting opportunities to 

learn supporting academic achievement and readiness for college and careers? 

(strategic objective 1.1)

2.3 What policies, programs, services, and practices are effective in building 

safe, well-disciplined, and supportive learning environments that protect the 

emotional and physical well-being of all learners and are free of discrimination? 

(strategic objective 1.3)

Short-Term Activities

Several short-term activities support the Department’s efforts to address PLQ 2.1. 

The Department collected 2021–2022 CRDC data in winter 2021–2022. These data will 

provide a critical update to a wide range of measures that will help the Department 

better characterize the state of equity in the nation’s schools, districts, and states. 

Simultaneously, a Department working group focused on the implementation of 

President Biden’s Executive Order on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for 

Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government is currently cataloging 

available resources to build a public-facing equity dashboard based on the National 

Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s 2019 Developing Indicators of 

Educational Equity project. Other notable data collections, including those related 

to states’, districts’, and IHEs’ use of recovery and other federal education funds, also 

include one or more items specifically related to equity and maintenance of equity. 

Assessing and understanding equity in student access to educational resources and 

opportunities to learn is a focus of multiple research studies funded by IES. For 

example, with NCER funding, the Oregon Department of Education is examining 
100U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

whether their On-Track to Graduation initiative, established in 2016–2017, is 

linked to more equitable outcomes for their high school students. NCER’s longstanding investment in research focused on ELs has contributed to the Department’s 

understanding of equal access for this population of students, including how policies 

and practices affect academic outcomes. A meta-analytic study due to be completed 

by summer 2022 will provide information on the degree to which the timing of 

reclassification of ELs affects student education outcomes. 

NCSER has both completed and ongoing research to address disparities in special 

education. This includes the development and testing of interventions to reduce racial/

ethnic disproportionality in school discipline and special education referrals and a 

study examining whether and to what extent disparities in disability identification have 

changed over time in the United States. The latter explores disabilities generally and 

for specific conditions; the school-, district-, and state-level characteristics that relate to 

these disparities; and whether receipt of special education services is associated with 

increased academic achievement, behavior, and socio-emotional functioning.

Long-Term Activities

The Department has several evidence-building activities underway related to better 

understanding how to ensure all students have access to the resources they need 

to achieve their full potential (PLQ 2.2) and safe, supportive, and inclusive learning 

environments (PLQ 2.3). 

In FY 2019, NCEE launched The Effects of a Systematic Approach to Improving Quality 

in Afterschool Programs: An Impact Evaluation to Inform the 21st Century Community 

Learning Centers Program, designed to provide safe and supportive learning 

environments that promote social and emotional skills, particularly among students 

who have been underserved.

NCER has made a series of investments focused on ELs’ access to high-quality 

instruction (PLQ 2.2). It is supporting two national research and development centers 

that were launched in FY 2020, are located at WestEd and the University of Houston, 

and are addressing the needs of ELs in secondary settings. These centers are examining 

the degree to which course-taking patterns and systems-level policies support or 

impede ELs’ access to the general curriculum and advanced course-taking in secondary 

school. The centers are examining policies in Michigan, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, 
101APPENDIX B. FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA

Massachusetts, New York, and Texas. By FY 2025, the two centers will have developed 

and tested curricular materials and professional development models for English 

language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science designed to ensure ELs are 

simultaneously learning critical content and English. 

IES has recently awarded a series of research grants through both NCER and NCSER that 

are responsive to building evidence related to PLQ 2.3. Of particular note is an NCSERfunded network of projects studying multitiered systems of supports that integrate both 

academic and behavioral supports to address the needs of children with, or at risk for, 

disabilities. This work complements existing impact studies that identify students who 

need additional supports to be successful in general education classroom, including 

NCEE’s Evaluation of Preschool Special Education Practices and Impact Evaluation of 

Training in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Reading in Early Elementary School. As 

noted in the Department’s forthcoming Annual Evaluation Plan, the Department also 

anticipates developing a new Impact Evaluation of Training and Assistance for Staff 

Supporting Students with Disabilities in the General Education Classroom.

Finally, when appropriate, the Department will consider the use of the Secretary’s 

Supplemental Priorities in grant competitions relevant to this focus area. This includes 

the use of evidence in project design and grantee evidence building.

Anticipated Challenges and Proposed Solutions

The Department’s preliminary scan of data available to fully implement its planned 

Equity Dashboard suggests that several elements may not currently be available through 

the Department’s existing data collections, most notably those related to equitable 

access to high-quality early learning programs and readiness for kindergarten. As 

the project moves forward, the Department will explore the extent to which it has the 

authority needed to collect those and other equity-related data or whether they may 

be available from other federal or nonfederal sources so that they do not represent 

persistent gaps in the Department’s understanding of education equity.
102U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Focus Area 3:

Support a diverse and talented educator workforce and 

professional growth to strengthen student learning .

Alignment to Agency Strategy

Strategic Objective 2.1 Strengthen and diversify the educator pipeline and workforce.

Strategic Objective 2.2 Identify and promote evidence-based practices or strategies that support diverse 

districts (including rural districts) with high rates of poverty in recruiting, 

selecting, preparing, and retaining well-qualified (including in-field fully 

certified) and effective teachers, principals, paraprofessionals, and specialized 

instructional support personnel.

Strategic Objective 2.3 Support the professional growth, retention, and advancement of talented, 

experienced educators and other school personnel and their capacity to meet 

the social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs of underserved 

students.

Background

Teachers are essential to the learning and development of the students they serve. 

However, mounting evidence suggests that the educator workforce faces a number 

of challenges that place the success of students—particularly those who have been 

underserved by education systems—at risk. First, evidence from states suggests that 

many are experiencing significant teacher shortages, particularly in mathematics, 

science, career and technical education (CTE), and special education. Problems 

arising from teacher shortages are exacerbated by a second concern: inequities in the 

distribution of well-qualified teachers within and across school districts and schools. 

Evidence suggests schools in communities experiencing poverty and those that enroll 

higher proportions of students of color are more likely to employ teachers with fewer 

years’ experience, who are not fully certified, or who are not certified in the subject area 

in which they are currently teaching. Finally, the teacher workforce does not reflect the 

racial and ethnic diversity of the nation’s student body, though we know that educator 

diversity benefits all students.

Priority Learning Questions

The Department proposes a series of PLQs related to this focus area, which align with 

strategic objectives 2.1, 2.2, and 2.3. These PLQs are:
103APPENDIX B. FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA

3.1 What policies, programs, services, and practices are effective in preparing, 

recruiting, and retaining a well-qualified educator workforce that is (1) equitably 

distributed within and across school districts and schools, particularly with 

respect to educators working in districts with high rates of poverty and rural 

districts, in high-demand fields (strategic objective 2.2) and (2) prepared to 

provide underserved students the social, emotional, academic, and other 

supports they need to be successful in work and life? (strategic objective 2.3)

3.2 How can the education workforce come to reflect the diversity of the nation’s 

learners? (strategic objective 2.1)

Short-Term Activities

Activities within NCEE and OESE’s Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) 

Program are building (and will continue to build) evidence related to PLQ 3.1. Notably, 

NCEE is nearing completion of its Impact Study of Feedback for Teachers Based on 

Classroom Videos. This randomized control trial focuses on the efficacy of virtual 

coaching to improve classroom management, instructional practice, and student 

achievement. The ongoing work of the SEED Program is notable because, unlike some 

Department grant programs, SEED grantees are required to develop project evaluations 

that are consistent with What Works Clearinghouse standards, which are capable of 

generating “moderate” or “strong” evidence per the Every Student Succeeds Act. Relevant 

SEED Program projects include those focusing on the teacher pipeline (PLQ 3.2) as 

well as improved instructional approaches, including developing culturally responsive 

learning environments; strengthening social and emotional learning; and supporting 

science, technology, engineering, and mathematics instruction. 

NCSER grantees are investigating the preservice experience of special educators and how 

it relates to teacher workforce entry and retention as well as the academic outcomes of 

the students with disabilities they teach. The findings will help determine how teacher 

education programs can better support special education teacher candidates and prevent 

the high level of turnover experienced among these professionals.

NCER has recently funded several new research projects explicitly addressing PLQ 3.1. 

One new award to the Massachusetts Department of Education is examining the extent 

to which Massachusetts’ preparation and licensing systems prepare teachers to be 

effective in improving outcomes for students of color. Another project is exploring the 

characteristics of cooperating teachers to the later outcomes of the student teachers 
104U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

they supervise. Another is seeking to understand how to get the most useful information 

from professional references for teacher applicants at the time of hiring. Two other new 

projects are explicitly examining what teachers need to learn and do to adequately teach 

students of color.

NCES is currently processing pandemic-specific information collected within the 2020–

2021 National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) and collecting additional data from 

teachers, which include a sample of public and private school principals and teachers 

and, importantly for PLQ 3.2, detailed demographic information about building leaders 

and classroom educators. NTPS is the Department’s only source of information about 

the demographic characteristics of teachers. The absence of district- or school-level data 

complicates making strong conclusions about the extent to which there are differences 

in the racial/ethnic composition of school communities and the educators who are a 

part of them. 

Long-Term Activities

Work is ongoing at NCEE to build evidence related to PLQ 3.1 through its Impact 

Evaluation of Teacher Residency Programs. In this randomized control trial, students 

will be randomly assigned to instructors prepared in residency or nonresidency 

programs. Student outcomes (including achievement) and educator outcomes 

(including retention) will be studied. 

NCEE is also building evidence related to PLQ 3.1 through a larger Impact Evaluation to 

Inform the Teacher and Student Leader (TSL) Incentive Program. Using data from 2017 

TSL grantees, this study will explore the program’s implementation with an emphasis 

on the use of teacher leaders. Separately, a group of districts and schools have been 

recruited to implement a specific teacher leader model similar to the one used by 2017 

TSL grantees. This randomized control trial will allow the Department to estimate the 

impacts of a popular educator development strategy on both student and educator 

outcomes, including retention.

NCSER has funded two grants focused on the prevention of burnout and improvement 

of instructional quality among special educators. One grant is adapting and testing 

an existing burnout intervention for special educators and another is evaluating an 

evidence-based and commercially available program to determine whether it has 

beneficial effects for special educators and their students with disabilities. NCSER is also 
105APPENDIX B. FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA

supporting grants focused on professional development for paraprofessionals. One such 

project involves developing and testing a professional development package to train 

supervising teachers to utilize coaching to improve paraprofessionals’ instruction for 

students with developmental disabilities. Another involves evaluating the efficacy of a 

coaching intervention to determine whether it improves paraprofessionals’ behavioral 

intervention practices and the behavioral and academic outcomes of students with or at 

risk for externalizing behavior disorders. 

Notably, the education workforce includes individuals within the education sciences who 

are engaged daily in the generation of evidence to support education practice. NCER has 

been systematically attempting to diversify the workforce within the education sciences 

through its research training investments. In addition to requiring that IES pre- and postdoctoral training programs include a plan for recruiting diverse fellows, NCER supports 

two programs specifically focused on diversifying the education science community. 

The Pathways to the Education Sciences Research Training Program grants are awarded 

to Minority-Serving Institutions and their partners to create education research training 

programs that prepare fellows for doctoral study. As of fall 2020, about 70 percent of 

the participating fellows identified as non-White. Since the program was launched in 

FY 2016, about 60 percent of the program’s alumni have gone on to graduate study. 

In addition, NCER recently invited applications to its newest training program, Early 

Career Mentoring Program for Faculty at Minority Serving Institutions.

Finally, when appropriate, the Department will consider the use of the Secretary’s 

Supplemental Priorities in grant competitions relevant to this focus area. This includes 

the use of evidence in project design and grantee evidence building.

Anticipated Challenges and Proposed Solutions

The primary challenge facing generating evidence on the diversity of the teacher 

pipeline (PLQ 3.2) is the lack of data at the federal level on educators’ race/ethnicity. 

Although the Departments’ EDFacts system currently collects the number and 

qualification of teachers—and the number of various support staff—race/ethnicity is 

not collected for any school staff. As a result, it is impossible to align data on the race/

ethnicity of students in a school or district with the educators who serve them. This is an 

area of exploration for the Department in the coming year. For example, NCES has other 

collections with data important to PLQ 3.2 and is exploring partnerships that could 

improve the school- or district-level data.
106U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Focus Area 4:

Meet students’ social, emotional, and academic needs .

Alignment to Agency Strategy

Strategic Objective 3.1 Support the development and implementation of multitiered systems of 

supports to increase students’ engagement; social, emotional, and mental 

health; well-being; and academic success.

Strategic Objective 3.2 Foster supportive, inclusive, and identity-safe learning environments and ensure 

the individual needs of underserved students are met through appropriately 

designed instruction, evidence-based practices, and related supports and 

services.

Strategic Objective 3.3 Strengthen learning environments, support professional development, 

and improve educator credentialing for emergent bilingual students and 

multilingual learners.

Strategic Objective 4.4 Improve the alignment across secondary, postsecondary, and career and 

technical education programs, including through transparent and effective 

transition processes, inclusive pathways, and clear credentialing requirements.

Background

Learning and development across students’ life spans include several deeply 

interrelated factors, including each individual’s social, emotional, academic, and career 

development. Prior research suggests that attending to each, in particular those related 

to social and emotional learning (SEL), may be a promising strategy for improving a 

wide range of outcomes for all students. For groups that have been underserved by 

education systems, prioritizing access to programs and services shown to bolster SEL, 

academic achievement, and career development may be particularly important. 

Priority Learning Questions

The Department proposes to prioritize a series of PLQs related to this focus area, which 

are in alignment with strategic objectives 3.1, 3.2, 3.3, and 4.4. These PLQs are:

4.1 What policies, programs, services, and practices are effective in promoting 

students’ SEL and development so that every student can reach their fullest 

academic potential? (strategic objectives 3.1 and 3.2)

4.2 What policies, programs, services, and practices associated with secondary CTE 

programs are effective in promoting student success in secondary education, 
107APPENDIX B. FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA

postsecondary education, and the workforce, including that of underserved 

students? (strategic objective 4.4)

4.3 What policies, programs, services, and practices support the design of learning 

environments and educational experiences that are effective in reducing gaps 

in student opportunity and achievement, including those that are responsive 

to the assets and needs of underserved students? (strategic objectives 3.1 and 

3.2; see also PLQ 1.4, which addresses this question within the specific context of the 

COVID-19 pandemic)

4.4 What policies, programs, services, and practices best support the learning 

and development needs of multilingual learners, including Native language 

acquisition? (strategic objective 3.3)

Short-Term Activities

IES’ research centers have a long history of supporting rigorous evidence building 

related to policies, programs, services, and practices that support SEL and development. 

NCER and NCSER have made more than 240 research awards in their Social and 

Behavioral Context for Academic Learning and Social, Emotional, and Behavioral 

Competence grant programs. Building on this program of research, the National 

Center for Rural School Mental Health has created an Early Identification System (EIS) 

intervention hub that matches prevention strategies and interventions for students in 

elementary, middle, and high schools. In FY 2023 and FY 2024, the project team will 

test the efficacy of the fully developed EIS model. While the hub and model are being 

tested in rural areas, the intervention strategies included in the hub are likely valuable 

for educators in multiple settings. IES has also invested in developing reliable and valid 

measures of SEL. An example includes SELweb, which directly assesses kindergarten 

through grade 6 students’ understanding of others’ emotions and perspectives, their 

social problem-solving skills, and their self-control. A new IES project will extend and 

validate the use of SELweb with middle schoolers. Grants like these and the others 

supported by IES research centers provide actionable evidence relevant to PLQ 4.1.

NCER is also actively investing in supporting students’ career development, including 

through rigorous research on CTE programs and program evaluations of relevant 

federal policies (PLQ 4.2). The Career & Technical Education Research Network, jointly 

funded by NCER and the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE), is 

conducting and sharing information about the impact of CTE on student success in 
108U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

secondary education, postsecondary education, and the workforce. Teams are already 

generating evidence that meets What Works Clearinghouse standards and indicates 

positive impacts of participation in CTE. In addition, the network provides training for 

CTE practitioners and state agency staff. This training is designed to strengthen their 

capacity to access, understand, and use CTE data and research as well as conduct their 

own research, including causal research.

NCEE and OCTAE are collaborating to build evidence related to career preparation 

and success (PLQ 4.2) as part of NCEE’s National Evaluation of Career and Technical 

Education under Perkins V. This includes the potential to conduct one or more impact 

studies of interventions designed to promote career development and the knowledge, 

skills, and abilities required to succeed in 21st-century careers. The specific strategies 

to be tested will be finalized in FY 2022 in a collaboration between OCTAE and NCEE. 

Additionally, at least one impact study is under consideration of interventions that meet 

the specific career and academic needs of students participating in adult education 

programs. Evidence arising from these projects is expected in FY 2026 and beyond. 

Ongoing work in NCEE supports both academic and SEL in ELs. In FY 2022, the 

Department will begin to release publications and products related to an ongoing 

evaluation of a strategy designed to improve the academic achievement of ELs (PLQs 4.3 

and 4.4). This randomized control trial, NCEE’s Academic Language Impact Evaluation, 

contrasts student achievement outcomes of third and fourth graders who participated in 

the program versus their peers who did not. 

Long-Term Activities

Elsewhere in the Department, programs like EIR have leveraged their grantmaking 

activities to build evidence related to SEL (PLQ 4.1) and academic learning (PLQ 4.3). For 

example, as part of OESE’s FY 2020 EIR Program, the Department awarded $46 million to 

support mid-phase grants that include an emphasis on SEL. As part of the FY 2021 EIR 

competition, the Department sought evidence-building activities that promote SEL skills 

that prepare students to be informed, thoughtful, and productive individuals. Evidence 

arising from these projects is expected in FY 2026 and beyond. 

Several notable IES activities will yield new evidence related to reducing gaps in student 

achievement between FY 2024 and FY 2026 (PLQ 4.3). In late FY 2024, the Department 

anticipates releasing evidence of the implementation and effectiveness of two programs 
109APPENDIX B. FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA

focused supporting literacy among students in underserved populations as part of its 

National Evaluation of the Comprehensive Literacy State Development and Striving 

Readers Comprehensive Literacy Programs. By FY 2026, NCEE anticipates releasing 

evidence from its anticipated Impact Study Using Technology to Accelerate Math 

Learning. This study will test the effectiveness of promising improvement strategies 

designed to accelerate student learning in Title I schools—such as those that use 

innovative education technologies to supplement mathematics instruction. 

Between FY 2024 and FY 2026, NCEE will continue to build and share new evidence 

related to supporting ELs (PLQ 4.4). These activities build on NCEE’s ongoing 

descriptive Study of Educational Policies, Supports, and Practices for English Learners: 

Implementation of Title III and Social and Emotional Learning. During this time, NCEE 

anticipates sharing early learnings from its new Impact Study of Strategies to Improve 

English Learner Achievement, as described in the Department’s forthcoming FY 2023 

Annual Evaluation Plan.

Finally, when appropriate, the Department will consider the use of the Secretary’s 

Supplemental Priorities in grant competitions relevant to this focus area. This includes 

the use of evidence in project design and grantee evidence building.

Anticipated Challenges and Proposed Solutions

Many evidence-building activities have been negatively affected by the COVID-19 

pandemic and the resulting impacts of the pandemic on states, schools, and districts. 

Studies that rely on student achievement data to measure interventions’ efficacy have 

been particularly affected due to changes in state testing plans. However, a wide 

swath of research that depends on the collection of data—including data on social and 

emotional outcomes—from students and educators has been placed at risk. As a result, 

several studies have been delayed by one or more calendar years. As the nation’s schools 

move toward reopening and recovery, student, educator, and other critical data should 

become increasingly available and allow work to resume.
110U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Focus Area 5:

Increase postsecondary value by focusing on equityconscious strategies to address affordability, completion, 

post-enrollment success, and support for inclusive 

institutions .

Alignment to Agency Strategy

Strategic Objective 1.4 Promote greater access and supports for youth and adults to engage in learning, 

succeed in postsecondary education, and increase their employability in highdemand occupations.

Strategic Objective 4.1 Support educational institutions and state systems in efforts to raise academic 

quality and college completion for all students, especially for underserved 

students, such as first-generation students, students from low-income 

backgrounds, students of color, and students with disabilities.

Strategic Objective 4.3 Increase equitable access to secondary and postsecondary programs that 

have clear on-ramps to both high-quality jobs and additional high-quality 

postsecondary educational opportunities.

Strategic Objective 4.4 Improve the alignment across secondary, postsecondary, and career and 

technical education programs, including through transparent and effective 

transition processes, inclusive pathways, and clear credentialing requirements.

APG 3 Reduce disparities in attainment of high-quality degrees and credentials.

Background

Earning a postsecondary credential, on average, benefits both students and society. 

Decades of research (e.g., Learn more, earn more: Education leads to higher wages, lower 

unemployment and It’s Not Just the Money: The Benefits of College Education to Individuals 

and to Society) have documented that earning a college degree is associated with a 

meaningful wage premium when compared to a high school diploma, less frequent use 

of public benefits, and increased rates of civic participation. Although many barriers 

can hinder students’ abilities to access postsecondary education, the Higher Education 

Act of 1965 (HEA) (Pub. L. 89-329) sought to remove one in particular: poverty. HEA’s 

Title IV section on student assistance established the basic framework of today’s 

financial aid system, comprising federal grants and loans as well as campus-based 

aid programs. Reauthorizations of HEA and related legislation have also created a set 

of programs meant to support students’ successful transition to and completion of a 

postsecondary credential (e.g., TRIO programs). In addition, to help understand the 
111APPENDIX B. FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA

use of Title IV funds, HEA requires conduct of a survey of students about how they are 

financing their postsecondary education and problems they may be facing in doing so. 

NCES conducts the National Postsecondary Student Aid Study (NPSAS) at least every four 

years to address this requirement.

In the more than 50 years since HEA’s passage, at least some of its promise has been 

realized: the percentage of adults ages 25 to 29 who have earned a bachelor’s degree or 

higher has, for example, more than tripled. Also, information from NPSAS shows the 

use of Pell Grants authorized under Title IV have become more pervasive over time 

and across different types of students, supporting access to postsecondary education 

for millions of people. However, significant concerns about students’ access to and 

success in postsecondary education remain. By 2016, only 7 percent of high-income 

students who were in grade 9 in 2009 had never enrolled in some form of postsecondary 

education compared to 44 percent of their lowest-income peers. Once admitted, 

graduation is far from guaranteed. Fewer than two out of three (63 percent) of all 

beginning students who entered a four-year college in 2013 planning to earn a bachelor’s 

degree had done so within six years, and up to 41 percent of all beginning students who 

entered a two-year college in 2016 were no longer enrolled after three years with no 

education credential to show for their attendance. In addition, the amount borrowed 

for postsecondary students who completed or expected to complete their postsecondary 

degree programs increased from the mid-1990s to 2015–2016, illustrating that 

postsecondary degrees are increasingly accompanied with increased student loan debt.

Priority Learning Questions

The Department proposes to prioritize a series of PLQs related to this focus area, 

which are in alignment with strategic objectives 1.4, 4.1, 4.3, and 4.4, and APG 3. These 

PLQs are:

5.1 How can equitable readiness for and access to postsecondary education best be 

improved for underserved students, including through federal college access 

programs? (strategic objective 4.3 and APG 3)

5.2 What policies, programs, services, and practices support engaging adult learners 

in postsecondary education that can increase their employability in highdemand and high-wage careers? (strategic objective 1.4) 
112U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

5.3 What policies, programs, services, and practices support students’ seamless 

and cost-effective transition both between secondary and postsecondary 

education and training as well as between postsecondary institutions? 

(strategic objective 4.4)

5.4 What resources, supports, and services do students, including those at the greatest 

disadvantage, receive to support their successful completion of a postsecondary 

credential? Additionally, which policies, programs, services, and practices are 

effective in achieving that goal? (strategic objective 4.1; see also focus area 6 for the 

role of federal financial aid programs in the success of postsecondary students)

5.5 What resources, supports, and services do postsecondary institutions—including 

Minority-Serving Institutions, Tribal colleges or universities, Historically 

Black Colleges and Universities, and institutions that are under-resourced—

receive to enable them to achieve their academic mission? Additionally, which 

policies, programs, services, and practices are effective in achieving that goal? 

(strategic objective 4.1)

Short-Term Activities

The Department is currently addressing PLQ 5.1 by building evidence in two college 

access programs. Most immediately, NCEE anticipates releasing the results of its 

Text Ed: A Study of Text Messaging to Improve College Enrollment Rates Among 

Disadvantaged Adults impact study in early FY 2023. Deployed within the Department’s 

Educational Opportunity Centers Program, this randomized control trial explores 

the extent to which texting is effective in encouraging disadvantaged adults to file a 

Free Application for Federal Student Aid® (FAFSA®) filing and enroll in postsecondary 

institutions. A second study, the results of which are expected to be released in late 

FY 2023, focuses on the Department’s Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for 

Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP). Uniquely, GEAR UP provides scholarships 

in support of college access. More information on grantees’ use of the scholarship 

component, including both challenges and successes associated with its administration, 

has the potential to improve outcomes associated with the program. 

NCER’s work bridges PLQs 5.1, 5.3, and 5.4. It supports the Center for the Analysis 

of Postsecondary Readiness, which has been focused on understanding the national 

landscape of developmental education as well as research on mathematics pathways, 

multiple measures placement, summer bridge programs, and computerized 
113APPENDIX B. FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA

mathematics remediation. Within the center, NCER is currently supporting a long-term 

follow-up study of students who participated in the Dana Center Math Pathways project 

while enrolled in developmental education on a host of postsecondary outcomes, 

including year-to-year persistence, credit attainment, completion of a degree or 

certificate, and transfer to a four-year institution. NCER’s College Completion Network

is refining and evaluating interventions for increasing the number of students who earn 

degrees in open- and broad-access institutions. The network’s lead will be preparing a 

synthesis of findings from NCER-funded projects focusing on college completion that 

can support the Department’s understanding of what policies, programs, services, and 

practices best support the successful completion of a postsecondary credential. The 

network’s website includes a set of resources with information about individual projects.

Long-Term Activities

In the President’s FY 2022 Budget Request, the Department proposed a substantial new 

investment in its Fund for the Improvement of Postsecondary Education Program to 

support evidence-based innovations designed to improve student success (PLQ 5.4). 

Importantly, this new grant program is proposed to follow the tiered evidence approach 

used elsewhere in the Department, including its EIR Program. This program—if 

implemented as hoped—has the potential to build rigorous evidence about “what works” 

to support students’ completion of a postsecondary credential and to scale effective 

practices. The Department is currently evaluating evidence-building approaches that 

would be most relevant to PLQ 5.5, which focuses on institutional support programs 

authorized under Title III and Title V of HEA.

Building evidence for PLQ 5.2, NCEE’s Assessing Evidence of Effectiveness in Adult 

Education: Study of Career Navigator Training leverages prior work that cataloged 

potentially effective practices in adult education. This randomized control trial seeks 

to understand the potential of career navigators to improve adult education outcomes. 

Specifically, it asks whether offering robust training to career navigators can improve 

adult learners’ college enrollment, credential attainment rates, employment rates, and 

earnings. 

Newly funded research investments at NCER are explicitly addressing links between 

postsecondary education and employability in high-demand careers. For example, the 

Department anticipates that the following three projects will have findings of specific 
114U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

relevance to PLQ 5.2: Postsecondary and Labor Market Effects of Career and Technical 

Education in Baltimore City Public Schools; Sub-baccalaureate Career and Technical 

Education: A Study of Institutional Practices, Labor Market Demand, and Student 

Outcomes in Florida; and Evaluating the Longer Term Impact of Early College High 

Schools on Workforce and Life Outcomes. 

In addition, one newly funded project will directly inform PLQ 5.3. The Evaluation of the 

Texas House Bill 3 Financial Aid Application Requirement for High School Graduation

project will provide practical information regarding implementation of a statewide 

financial aid graduation requirement, how implementation of the policy varies across 

schools and districts, the means through which the policy is supported by the state 

education system, and how implementation of the policy is related to students’ high 

school and postsecondary outcomes.

NCSER has recently begun to fund research in postsecondary education for students 

with disabilities, including through its Transition to Postsecondary Education, Career, 

and/or Independent Living Program. When complete, research in this area is intended 

to result in evidence to support access to, persistence in, progress through, and 

completion of postsecondary education or evidence to support learning, achievement, 

and higher order thinking in postsecondary courses.

Finally, when appropriate, the Department will consider the use of the Secretary’s 

Supplemental Priorities in grant competitions relevant to this focus area. This includes 

the use of evidence in project design and grantee evidence building.

Anticipated Challenges and Proposed Solutions

The Department’s evidence-building work in higher education stands to benefit should 

Congress adopt the President’s FY 2022 Budget Request to, through appropriations 

language, create a pooled evaluation authority for programs authorized by HEA. This 

authority would allow the Department to conduct more, and more rigorous, evaluation 

of programs designed to improve college opportunity for students traditionally 

underserved by education systems.

In the meantime, the Department is considering how to best build evidence related 

to PLQs 5.1 and 5.6 in the face of two challenges. First, the Department has identified 

data quality concerns related to performance reporting within some TRIO Programs. 
115APPENDIX B. FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA

Better understanding the extent of those concerns is needed before the best solution (or 

solutions) can be identified. Second, some statutory constraints limit the Department’s 

capacity to build evidence related to TRIO. Specifically, grantees cannot be required to 

induce oversubscription or to deny service to any eligible student. As a result, program 

evaluations that rely upon randomization or delayed implementation are limited. In 

their place, the Department seeks to test effective practices that can be rigorously 

evaluated with the help of TRIO grantees (i.e., grantees are randomly assigned to 

implement, or not, a proposed access or success intervention).
116U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Focus Area 6:

Effectively manage federal student aid programs .

Alignment to Agency Strategy

APG 2: Effectively manage federal student loans.

Background

Research has documented the economic and noneconomic benefits associated with 

earning postsecondary certificates and degrees. Title IV of HEA (Pub. L. 89-329) 

established the fundamental components of today’s federal student aid programs, 

including need-based grants and loans. Subsequent HEA reauthorizations have expanded 

the number and types of student aid programs, who can benefit from those programs and 

by how much, and how students and parents who borrow for postsecondary education 

repay their loans. As of the end of FY 2020, more than 43 million borrowers were 

responsible for more than $1.56 trillion in federal student loan debt, and about 7.5 million 

borrowers whose loans are in the federally managed portfolio were in default.

Today, questions concerning virtually every aspect of federal student aid programs 

abound. Most are concentrated in five areas: (1) who benefits from student aid 

programs; (2) how the Department can support access to programs among those who 

stand to benefit the most; (3) to what extent student aid programs make earning a 

postsecondary credential affordable; (4) how the Department can ensure that students 

and parents who borrow for postsecondary education successfully manage their loans; 

and (5) how the Department works with institutions and vendors, such as student loan 

servicers, to effectively administer federal student aid programs. For many observers, 

including the Department, the latter two questions are particularly critical. 

As part of its own Strategic Plan, the Department’s Federal Student Aid (FSA) has committed 

to “provid[ing] world-class customer experience to the students, parents, and borrowers 

we serve,” acknowledging the critical role of third-party servicers in the success of the 

Department’s student loan programs and the importance of ensuring servicer performance.

Priority Learning Questions

The Department proposes to prioritize a series of PLQs related to this focus area, which 

are in alignment with APGs 2 and 3. These PLQs are:
117APPENDIX B. FY 2022–FY 2026 LEARNING AGENDA

6.1 What policies, programs, and practices are effective in informing students and 

families about, and supporting their access to, federal student aid programs, and 

which are effective in increasing students’ enrollment in, persistence in, and 

completion of postsecondary programs? (APG 3)

6.2 How does awareness of, access to, and use of need-based grants and other forms 

of federal student aid affect students’ enrollment, retention, completion, and 

indebtedness? (APG 3)

6.3 What policies, programs, services, and practices are associated with improving 

students’ and borrowers’ experiences and academic and financial outcomes 

when they engage with FSA and its processes (e.g., income verification) and 

partners (e.g., loan servicers)? (APGs 2 and 3)

6.4 What policies, programs, services, and practices associated with student loan 

administration and effective servicing and servicer oversight effectively improve 

borrower academic and post-completion outcomes, reduce delinquency and 

default, and/or improve borrowers’ satisfaction with the loan repayment 

experience? (APG 2)

6.5 What are the characteristics of borrowers who struggle to repay their loans and 

the institutions they attend, and what are notable features of their repayment 

experience— including the plans they select and the features of those plans—

and their repayment trajectories? How can repayment trajectories and adverse 

outcomes most accurately be predicted? (APG 2)

6.6 How targeted are current federal student aid programs to the students and 

purposes they are meant to serve, and how would changes to current needs 

analysis methods and other aspects of the grant and loan programs alter the 

incidence of student aid? (APG 3)

Short-Term and Long-Term Activities

The Department is actively exploring how to prioritize evidence building within 

this focus area. Evidence building is already underway related to PLQ 6.4, including 

work inspired by the Department’s use of its Experimental Sites Initiatives authority. 

Examples include an extension of NCEE’s Evaluation of the Pell Grant Experiments 

Under the Experimental Sites Initiative to better understand the wage outcomes of 

short-term occupational training; Evaluations of Federal Financial Aid Information and 

Delivery Strategies: An Experiment Requiring Additional Loan Counseling for Student 

Borrowers, designed to understand how to better help borrowers manage their debt; 
118U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

and An Experiment in the Federal Work Study Program to Encourage Student Jobs in the 

Private Sector, which seeks to understand how flexibilities in the use of federal workstudy funds affect students’ work experiences and academic outcomes. 

Further, the Department supports several NCES longitudinal studies of high school and 

postsecondary students that have been used to study factors associated with deciding 

to enroll in postsecondary programs and factors associated with successful completion 

of those programs. The most recent high school study was initiated in 2009 (the High 

School Longitudinal Study of 2009). While funding and staffing limits have prohibited 

recent follow-up collections, information is available about these high school students 

through 2016, including information about their dual enrollment during high school, 

their nondegree postsecondary education enrollment and completion, and factors 

related to accessing and completing postsecondary education more generally. A new 

high school cohort is about to start. The Department also supports a longitudinal 

study of beginning postsecondary students (the Beginning Postsecondary Student 

Longitudinal Study) that provides information about challenges students face staying 

enrolled and completing their programs and how they manage their student loan debt.

Anticipated Challenges and Proposed Solutions

Evidence building related to federal student aid programs has historically been 

complicated by a variety of factors. In some instances, the perception that benefits 

of rigorous evaluation are outweighed by the costs (e.g., burden on institutions or 

Department staff) has prevented evidence building. In others, evidence building has been 

slowed due to a lack of financial resources to support contract research or of federal staff 

resources to conduct research on their own or oversee contractors when available. 

Notably, the recent passage of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022 has begun to 

address some of the financial barriers to evidence-building in this area. Section 312 of 

the general provisions associated with the Department’s FY 2022 appropriation allows 

the Secretary to reserve up to 0.5 percent of funds authorized for many programs 

authorized by HEA to “carry out rigorous and independent evaluations and to collect 

and analyze outcome data for any program authorized by the HEA.” Should this 

authority be continued in the future, it would represent a significant step in more 

consistently generating high quality evidence related to federal student aid programs.
119APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

APPENDIX C

FY 2022–FY 2026 Capacity Assessment

Introduction

Section 101 of the Foundations for Evidence-Based Policymaking Act of 2018 (i.e., the 

Evidence Act) requires agency Evaluation Officers to “continually assess the coverage, 

quality, methods, consistency, effectiveness, independence, and balance of the 

portfolio of evaluations, policy research, and ongoing evaluation activities of the 

agency” and requires assessments be reported in each agency’s Strategic Plan. This 

fiscal year (FY) 2022–FY 2026 Capacity Assessment includes six sections consistent 

with Office of Management and Budget (OMB) guidance on implementing the 

Evidence Act. Section 1 begins with a list of activities and operations currently being 

evaluated and analyzed by the Department. In the five sections that follow it, the 

Department provides a brief assessment of the extent to which those activities and 

operations:

• Meet the needs of the Department’s operating components (section 2).

• Meet the Department’s learning, management, and accountability needs 

(section 3). 

• Use appropriate analytic methods (section 4).

• Are supported by agency capacity for effective planning, execution, and 

dissemination (section 5).

• Are supported by agency capacity for effective use of evaluation evidence and 

data for analysis (section 6).

Readers should keep in mind that this document reflects the agency Evaluation 

Officer’s assessment of the Department’s evidence building and use capacity at the 

time it was written. Importantly, capacity is not fixed; it is the Department’s goal to 

consistently increase its capacity to build and use evidence in service of meeting its 

mission.
120U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Section 1: List of Activities and Operations Currently Being 

Evaluated and Analyzed

Relevant	Law(s): 5 USC § 306(a)(9)(A) and OMB Circular No. A-11 Section 290.13

Relevant	Statutory	

Language:	

“...a list of the activities and operations of the agency that are currently being 

evaluated and analyzed....”

The Department conducts a wide range of analytic and evaluative activities 

every year. Most commonly, this involves individual offices reviewing program 

performance data for improvement purposes. Analyses of program performance data 

are also included in submissions to OMB and Congress as part of the annual budget 

process. Given their number and ubiquity across government, the Department does 

not list routine program performance activities in this Capacity Assessment.

Instead, the Department focuses on two streams of work: (1) novel analytic activities 

conducted in service of developing reports to Congress or publicly facing data and 

data tools and (2) implementation, output, and outcomes evaluations of federal 

education programs. The following table is illustrative of the Department’s work but 

not exhaustive. As noted elsewhere in this Capacity Assessment, the Department does 

not have a comprehensive inventory of analytic activities underway at any given time. 

The following table lists the name of each activity along with the sponsoring office 

within the Department. Where possible, links are provided to explanatory narratives 

or prototypical analytic products developed as part of the evaluation or analysis 

activity. 

Illustrative List of Data, Analytic, and Evaluation Activities

Department 

Component Example Data, Data Tool, Analysis, or Evaluation Activity

FSA Application Volume Reports, including Free Application for Federal Student Aid® 

(FAFSA®) data by demographic characteristics, by postsecondary school and state of 

legal residents, and by high school and public school district

FSA Default Rates, including cohort default rates by school, lender, state, and institution 

type; cumulative default rates; and new direct loan default

FSA Federal Student Loan Portfolio, including portfolio by loan type, age, debt size, 

location, school type, loan status, repayment plan, and delinquency status

FSA Loan Forgiveness Reports, including forgiveness via Borrower Defense, Teacher Loan 

Forgiveness, Public Service Loan Forgiveness (PSLF), and Closed School Discharge

FSA Title IV Program Volume Reports, including loans, grants, and campus-based aid 

programs
121APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

Department 

Component Example Data, Data Tool, Analysis, or Evaluation Activity

IES Condition of Education, including a new interactive web platform; the report includes 

key indicators on important developments and trends on all levels of education, labor 

force outcomes, and international comparisons, and these indicators are updated 

throughout the year as new data become available

IES Digest of Education Statistics, including new machine-readable tables covering the broad 

field of American education from prekindergarten through graduate school and drawing 

on data from many sources, both government and private, but especially on the results 

of surveys and activities carried out by the National Center for Education Statistics

IES The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Monthly School Survey, 

including school information on learning modalities offered by schools (in-person, 

hybrid, or remote) and enrolled in by students, as well as other information on school 

policies associated with the COVID-19 pandemic in spring 2021

IES NAEP’s The Nation’s Report Card, including new visualizations and analyses showing 

what students know and can do in various subjects across the nation, states, and in 

some urban districts

IES EDFacts, including prekindergarten through grade 12 data that supports planning, 

policymaking, and management/budget decision-making; centralizes data provided 

by state educational agencies; and collects data on districts and school demographics, 

program participation, and student performance

IES The Common Core of Data, including a comprehensive, annual, national database and 

tools with information on all public elementary schools and districts in the United States

IES The Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, including a database and tools 

on the condition of postsecondary education in the United States, with information 

on enrollment, admissions, program completions, graduation rates, student financial 

aid, tuition and fees, faculty, staff, library data, and finances from postsecondary 

institutions

IES Data Tools, including interactive online tools with data from national (e.g., NAEP) 

and international (e.g., Program for International Student Assessment and Trends 

in International Mathematics and Science Study) sources on student and adult 

performance and results from noncognitive surveys

IES DataLab, including an online table and regression tool with data from more than 30 federal 

education datasets and recently updated to provide easier use and faster results

IES NAEP’s Mapping State Proficiency Standards studies, including analyses and tools that 

allow comparisons and tracking of proficiency criteria used on state assessments 

IES Evaluation of Title I Pilots That Provide Flexibility Under the Every Student Succeeds Act

IES Evaluation of Transition Supports for Youth with Disabilities

IES Evaluations of Federal Financial Aid Information and Delivery Strategies: An Experiment 

in the Federal Work Study Program to Encourage Student Jobs in the Private Sector

IES Evaluations of Federal Financial Aid Information and Delivery Strategies: An 

Experiment Requiring Additional Loan Counseling for Student Borrowers

IES Impact Evaluation of Teacher Residency Programs

IES Impact Evaluation of Training in Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Reading in Early 

Elementary School
122U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Department 

Component Example Data, Data Tool, Analysis, or Evaluation Activity

IES Impact Evaluation to Inform the Teacher and School Leader Incentive Program

IES Impact Study of Feedback for Teachers Based on Classroom Videos

IES Impact Study of Magnet Schools

IES Implementation Evaluation of the Title III National Professional Development Program

IES Implementation of Key Federal Policies in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic

IES Implementation of Title I/II-A Program Initiatives

IES National Evaluation of Career and Technical Education under Perkins V

IES National Evaluation of the 2019 Comprehensive Centers Program Grantees

IES National Evaluation of the Comprehensive Literacy State Development and Striving 

Readers Comprehensive Literacy Programs

IES National Implementation Study of Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants 

(Title IV, Part A)

IES National Longitudinal Transition Study 2012

IES National Study of the Implementation of Adult Education Under the Workforce 

Innovation and Opportunity Act

IES Study of Charter School Admission Practices and Barriers to Growth

IES Study of Data Disaggregation Initiative

IES Study of District and School Uses of Federal Education Funds

IES Study of Educational Policies, Supports and Practices for English Learners: 

Implementation of Title III and Social and Emotional Learning

IES Study of School Improvement Plans and Their Implementation

IES Study of Title II, Part A Use of Funds

IES Text Ed: A Study of Text Messaging to Improve College Enrollment Rates Among 

Disadvantaged Adults

IES The Effects of a Systematic Approach to Improving Quality in Afterschool Programs: An 

Impact Evaluation to Inform the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program

IES The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act State and Local Implementation Study 2019

OCR Civil Rights Data Collection

OCTAE Adult Education and Family Literacy Act Program

OESE Analysis for the Annual Report of Children in Institutions for Neglected or Delinquent 

Children, Adult Correctional Institutions, and Community Day Programs for Neglected and 

Delinquent Children

OESE Analysis of the National Survey of Charter School Facilities 

OESE Analysis of Title II, Part A Use of Funds Survey

OESE Study of State Policies to Prohibit Aiding and Abetting Sexual Misconduct in Schools

OPE Analysis of Title II Teacher Quality Accountability Data
123APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

Department 

Component Example Data, Data Tool, Analysis, or Evaluation Activity

OPEPD Study of State Implementation of the Unsafe School Choice Option

OPEPD/

OCDO

Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) Public Transparency Portal with COVID-19 

pandemic relief data related to the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act; 

the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021; and the 

American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

OPEPD/

OCDO

College Scorecard, including information on institution-of-higher-education (IHE)-

level data on student characteristics, debt, and outcomes, including repayment rates, 

default rates, and earnings information obtained from the Internal Revenue Service

OPEPD/

OCDO

Open Data Platform serving as a single, searchable inventory of the Department’s data 

assets and associated metadata

OPEPD/

OCDO

Data Maturity Assessment, an annual assessment of each principal operating component 

within the Department that measures maturity across 18 data-related process areas

OPEPD/

OCDO

Data and Evidence Use Survey, conducted in coordination with IES’ National Center 

for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, is a Department-wide annual 

assessment of staff ability to use data and evidence

OPEPD/

OCDO

ESF Annual Performance Reports include critical annual performance reporting for 

the Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund, Elementary and Secondary School 

Emergency Relief Fund, Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund, Emergency 

Assistance to Non-Public Schools, and equivalent Outlying Area funds

OSERS/

OSEP

Annual Reports to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities

Education Act

OSERS/RSA Evaluation and Analysis of Case Service Reports (RSA-911)

OSERS/RSA Evaluation and Analysis of Client Assistance Program Performance Reports (RSA-227)

OSERS/RSA Evaluation and Analysis of Protection and Advocacy of Individual Rights Program 

Performance Reports (RSA-509)

OSERS/RSA Annual Report to Congress on Federal Activities under the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as 

amended

OSERS/RSA Evaluation and Analysis of WIOA Annual Statewide Performance Reports for the Vocational 

Rehabilitation Program (ETA-9169)

OSERS/RSA Evaluation and Analysis of Independent Living Services for Older Individuals who are Blind 

Performance Reports (RSA-7-OB)

OSERS/RSA Evaluation and Analysis of American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services Performance 

Reports (RSA-AIVRS)

OSERS/RSA Evaluation and Analysis of Randolph-Sheppard Performance Reports (RSA-15)

Acronyms	and	Definitions:

FSA = Federal Student Aid; IES = Institute of Education Science; OCR = Office for Civil Rights; 

OCTAE = Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education; OESE = Office of Elementary and Secondary 

Education; OPE = Office of Postsecondary Education; OPEPD = Office of Planning, Evaluation, and 

Policy Development; OCDO = Office of the Chief Data Officer; OSERS = Office of Special Education and 

Rehabilitative Services; OSEP = Office of Special Education Programs; RSA = Rehabilitation Services 

Administration; ETA = Employment and Training Administration; and AIVRS = American Indian 

Vocational Rehabilitation Services.
124U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Section 2: Extent to Which Efforts Support the Needs of 

Various Divisions

Relevant	Law(s): 5 USC § 306(a)(9)(B) and OMB Circular No. A-11 Section 290.13

Relevant	Statutory	

Language:	

“... the extent to which the evaluations, research, and analysis efforts and 

related activities of the agency support the needs of various divisions within 

the agency....”

For the purpose of this Capacity Assessment, the Department operationalizes this 

requirement to mean “the extent to which the Department’s focal areas in its FY 

2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda are met by current or planned foundational fact 

finding, policy research, performance measurement, or program evaluation.” Each of 

those areas is addressed here. The full Learning Agenda can be found in Appendix B. 

Focus Area 1: Address the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Students, 

Educators, and Faculty

As noted in the FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda, the Department has a range of 

priority learning questions (PLQs) related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These include 

questions related to how the COVID-19 pandemic has affected student achievement 

and the operations of schools, districts, states, and institutions of higher education 

(IHEs). Perhaps more importantly, they also include questions that seek to identify 

the policies, programs, services, and practices that are effective in supporting a 

robust recovery and the transformation of the nation’s education system to serve all 

students more equitably, particularly those who have been underserved.

The Department is actively building evidence in both domains; however, the urgency 

of the recovery effort, the complexity of the recovery-related questions, and the time 

required to conduct rigorous efficacy research suggest that even its best efforts may, 

to some, seem to fall short of meeting agency needs. 

As described in the FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda, evidence about the former 

set of questions is increasingly available either through the work of formative 

assessment providers or data collection efforts undertaken by the Department 

(e.g., the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Monthly School 

Survey; releases of preliminary Common Core of Data (CCD), National Postsecondary 

Student Aid Study (NPSAS), and National Teacher and Principal Survey (NTPS) 2021 

data related to the COVID-19 pandemic; data from the School Pulse Panel Survey and 
125APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

the NAEP 2021 School and Teacher Questionnaire; the National Center for Education 

Evaluation and Regional Assistance’s (NCEE’s) forthcoming Implementation of Key 

Federal Education Policies in the Wake of the Coronavirus Pandemic and Study of 

District and School Uses of Federal Education Funds; and the Office of the Chief Data 

Officer’s (OCDO’s) Education Stabilization Fund (ESF) Public Transparency Portal). 

The portal serves as a preliminary window on how educational organizations are 

responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. It shows how COVID-19 pandemic relief 

funds were allocated to state educational agencies (SEAs), state governor’s offices, 

and IHEs and how the allocated funds are being used. Data on grant expenditures 

lag considerably, however, so evidence based on that data will take more time to be 

reliable and actionable.

However, evidence on the latter questions—broadly, recovery-focused efficacy 

research—is comparatively scarce. In the recovery’s early phase, the Department’s 

immediate focus was the curation and broad diffusion of existing research to schools, 

states, districts, and IHEs (e.g., ED COVID-19 Handbook Volume 1, Volume 2, and 

Volume 3 as well as Strategies for Using American Rescue Plan Funding to Address the 

Impact of Lost Instructional Time and Frequently Asked Questions Using American Rescue 

Plan Funding to Support Full-Service Community Schools & Related Strategies). Shortly 

thereafter, key components of the Department turned more squarely toward evidence 

building, most notably the Institute of Education Sciences’ (IES’) National Center 

for Education Research (NCER) and National Center for Special Education Research 

(NCSER). IES currently has plans to invest up to $100 million in research and 

development activities focused on the design, testing, and dissemination of practices 

that accelerate learning. Importantly, however, this work will take time to unfold; 

findings from the bulk of this research are expected in FY 2026 and beyond. 

Focus Area 2: Promote Equity in Student Access to Educational 

Resources, Opportunities, and Inclusive Environments

As described in the FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda, the Department seeks to 

build evidence in two broad domains related to equity. First, the Department seeks 

to better understand the extent to which the nation’s students experience inequities 

in the access to or outcomes of educational programs and services the Department 

supports. Second, the Department seeks to identify which policies, programs, 

services, and practices are effective in remedying inequitable access to resources and 
126U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

opportunities to learn and how to best ensure that all students experience education 

environments that are safe, are free from discrimination, and promote learning and 

development.

The Department is actively building evidence about the state of equity in the nation’s 

education system and is placing increasing focus on equitable data activities. Even 

as the Department continues to invest in research, development, and dissemination 

activities related to safe and supportive learning environments, more evidence on 

effective policies and practices related to equitable distribution of resources may be 

needed. As noted in the FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda, the Office for Civil Rights’ 

Civil Rights Data Collection (CRDC) is a critical tool in understanding the state of 

equity in the nation’s kindergarten through grade 12 (i.e., K–12) schools. Other data 

and initiatives, including nearly all of the National Center for Education Statistics’ 

(NCES’) assessments (e.g., NAEP, Program for International Student Assessment, 

Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study, and other international 

assessments), surveys (e.g., NTPS and the many longitudinal studies), and 

administrative data collections (e.g., EDFacts, Integrated Postsecondary Education 

Data System, the CCD Education Finance Center, the Education Demographic and 

Geographic Estimates Program, the Ed Tech Equity Initiative); the Department’s

College Scorecard and Open Data Platform; and information made available at 

Federal Student Aid’s (FSA’s) Data Center, support useful analysis of equity within 

the nation’s primary and secondary schools, colleges, and universities. Finally, 

consistent with the goals of Executive Order 13985, the Department anticipates that 

an increasing number of existing data collections—and most, if not all, new ones—

will lend themselves to useful equity-focused analysis. Annual performance reports 

for the ESF grants, for example, asks grantees to report things such as how they 

supported certain learning recovery for subpopulations disproportionally affected 

by the COVID-19 pandemic and for eligibility and participation student counts in 

underserved subgroups. Recognizing the grantees have not previously tracked 

demographic information to the level of detail requested, however, the more detailed 

data are optional on initial reports, with notice provided that it will be required in 

future reporting periods.

Although work of this type contributes to a more comprehensive description of 

equity in the nation’s education system, it must be paired with high-quality evidence 
127APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

on how to create environments that are, in fact, more equitable, welcoming, and 

supportive for all students. The Department’s efforts in this regard are many, ranging 

from high-quality technical assistance (e.g., Equity Assistance Centers, the National 

Center on Safe and Supportive Learning Environments, the Center on Positive 

Behavioral Interventions and Supports) to support for individual research efforts that 

have the potential to generalize broadly and shed light on classroom practice and 

the organization of education programs (e.g., ECHO: Prosocial and Positive School 

Climate, The Distributional Effects of Secondary Career and Technical Educational 

(CTE) Programs on Postsecondary Educational and Employment Outcomes: An 

Evaluation of Delaware’s CTE Programs of Study, and Shaping Teacher Quality 

and Student of Color Experience in Massachusetts: Alignment of Preparation and 

Licensure Systems with Teacher Effects on Student non-Test Outcomes). 

There has been comparatively less Department-sponsored research, however, on 

the equitable distribution of resources that make high-quality opportunities to 

learn more available to all students. Most research has focused on weighted student 

funding (WSF) approaches (e.g., Districts’ Use of Weighted Student Funding Systems 

to Increase School Autonomy and Equity: Findings From a National Study and How 

do Spending Patterns Change with Weighted Student Funding (WSF), and What’s 

Happening to Equity and Achievement, Particularly for Poor and At-Risk Students?). 

Other promising resource allocation strategies may be as, or more, effective than 

WSF in supporting the needs of all students, particularly those who are most 

underserved. As such, more work may be needed to explore strategies other than 

WSF if the Department hopes to accelerate progress toward its equity goals. 

Focus Area 3: Support a Diverse and Talented Educator Workforce and 

Professional Growth to Strengthen Student Learning

Consistent with priorities outlined in the FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda, the 

Department has identified three ways in which it expects to build evidence that 

can inform its work to support a diverse, well-trained, and well-prepared educator 

workforce. First, it seeks to ensure that educators are prepared to support the full 

range of students’ social, emotional, mental health, academic, and career needs. 

Second, the Department seeks to ensure in-service educators have access to highquality professional development and opportunities for career growth to ensure 

that well-qualified educators remain in the classroom. Third, the Department seeks 
128U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

to understand the extent to which the educator workforce, particularly those who 

are well-qualified in their specific field of instruction, reflect today’s students and is 

equitably distributed among them.

The Department has a long-standing and well-developed portfolio of work on teacher 

professional development and recently began work on specific features of teacher 

preparation. Sample survey data on the teacher workforce are available, but more 

granular data may be required to meet some of the Department’s goals. As is the 

case in other focal areas of the Learning Agenda, evidence building surrounding 

educators and educator preparation takes place in multiple locations across the 

Department; this includes both the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s 

Effective Educator Development (EED) Program and IES. EED’s Supporting Effective 

Educator Development Grant Program focuses on building rigorous evidence on 

grantee activities that focus on either teacher and principal development through 

nontraditional preparation pathways and professional growth through both advanced 

education credentials and high-quality professional development. IES also makes 

substantial investments in evaluation, research, and statistics related to educators 

each year. Over the past decade, IES has sponsored nearly two dozen evaluations

focused on teachers and leaders, including work presently underway to better 

understand the role of teacher residency programs in preparing new teachers, 

improving instruction via feedback, and using teacher leader models. In that 

same time, NCER has supported more than 100 field-initiated grants to its Effective 

Instruction Program, including more than two dozen in the past five years alone. 

NCSER has funded about 35 grants through its Educators and School-Based Service 

Providers portfolio and 20 grants from a 2017 research competition focused solely on 

research on teachers and other instructional personnel.

NCES also collects survey data on the characteristics and experiences of the educator 

workforce, such as through the Teaching and Learning International Survey and 

NTPS. Other NCES data collections, such as the NAEP Survey Questionnaires and 

High School Longitudinal Study of 2009, collect data on both teacher and student 

characteristics and experiences. Examples of how those data are used include a 2017 

NCES study titled Certification Status and Experience of U.S. Public School Teachers: 

Variation Across Student Subgroups, which analyzes the relationships between 

teacher characteristics/experiences and different student populations. To the extent 

the Department needs more detailed information about the alignment between 
129APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

educator and student populations, additional data would need to be collected to 

meet its goals. The ESF Annual Performance Reports, in part, support that need. 

Data on how COVID-19 pandemic relief funds were used to launch new full-service 

community schools and hire or retain positions in several categories (i.e., special 

educators, bilingual or English as a second language educators, school counselors, 

and nurses, among others) are collected at the local educational agency (LEA) level, 

which can be linked with demographic data from other Department studies to inform 

teacher alignment with student populations.

Focus Area 4: Meet Students’ Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs

Promoting growth across a range of important learning and developmental 

outcomes, including social, emotional, academic, and career needs—particularly for 

students belonging to groups that have been underserved by the nation’s education 

system—is a priority in the Department’s FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda. Efficacy 

research on specific strategies is of particular importance.

This area is a particular strength for the Department. Over time, anticipated 

activities that span (and predate) the FY 2022–2026 period are likely to make 

substantial contributions to the evidence base. In addition to field-initiated research 

sponsored by IES, the Department has identified several opportunities to explicitly 

build evidence on effective strategies for supporting students’ academic-, social-, 

emotional-, and career-development needs. As noted in the FY 2022–FY 2026 

Learning Agenda, as part of its FY 2021 Education Innovation and Research Program, 

the Department published a Notice of Inviting Applications that included an absolute 

priority for mid-phase projects that “promote social and emotional learning skills 

that prepare students to be informed, thoughtful, and productive individuals.” The 

Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE), as part of the National 

Evaluation of Career and Technical Education Under Perkins V, is collaborating with 

NCEE to design multiple efficacy trials of interventions explicitly designed to promote 

career development, including the knowledge, skills, and abilities required to 

succeed in high-demand careers. Other activities poised to support the Department’s 

evidence-building need include projects such as NCES’ Early Childhood Longitudinal 

Study Program, which collects data on children’s socio-emotional development 

from birth through elementary school, and NCEE’s National Evaluation of the 

Comprehensive Literacy State Development and Striving Readers Comprehensive 
130U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Literacy Programs and the Study of Educational Policies, Supports and Practices for 

English Learners: Implementation of Title III and Social and Emotional Learning. The 

ESF Annual Performance Reports also collect data on how the COVID-19 pandemic 

relief funds were used to support social, emotional, and other needs as well as 

specific fund usage supporting mental health for students and staff.

Focus Area 5: Increase Postsecondary Value by Focusing on 

Equity-Conscious Strategies to Address Affordability, Completion, PostEnrollment Success, and Support for Inclusive Institutions

The Department’s FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda includes PLQs focused on 

postsecondary, adult, and continuing education that fall in to two broad domains. 

First, the Department hopes to explore the policies, programs, practices, services, 

and practices that are associated with postsecondary access and success, with an 

emphasis on affordability and better meeting the needs of traditionally underserved 

students. Second, the Department seeks to better understand its institutional support 

programs, including those focused on Minority-Serving Institutions, Tribal colleges 

or universities, and Historically Black Colleges and Universities. 

Over time, the Department has used foundational fact finding and program evaluation 

to build evidence about college access, affordability, and completion. In terms of 

foundational fact finding, NCES collects data on the characteristics of students 

in postsecondary education, persistence and degree attainment, transition to 

employment, and school and work experiences through its NPSAS, Baccalaureate and 

Beyond Longitudinal Study, and the Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal 

Study. Research and evaluation activities, including those sponsored by IES and the 

Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE), have sought to build evidence relevant 

to student access and success. Recent examples include IES’ work on enhanced 

college advising programs within Upward Bound (i.e., Effectiveness of Promising 

Strategies in Federal College Access Programs: Study of Enhanced Advising to Improve 

College Fit in Upward Bound), text-based supports for Gaining Early Awareness 

and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEAR UP) students (i.e., Effectiveness 

of Promising Strategies in Federal College Access Programs: Study of College 

Transition Text Messaging in GEAR UP), and efforts to improve enrollment for adult 

students traditionally underserved by higher education (i.e., Text Ed: A Study of Text 

Messaging to Improve College Enrollment Rates Among Disadvantaged Adults). 
131APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

Additional work supporting this focus area is happening elsewhere within the 

Department. For example, OCDO’s College Scorecard provides IHE-level data on 

postsecondary student characteristics, debt, and outcomes, including completion, 

repayment, default, and earnings, among others. OPE has used grant-based 

mechanisms—most notably the First in the World tiered evidence program—to 

develop and test innovative approaches to supporting postsecondary persistence and 

completion. Less research, however, has been conducted on policies and practices 

designed to transform postsecondary institutions themselves (e.g., articulation 

policies, advising reform, curricular redesign, and reforms in the assessment of 

student learning). To be sure, exceptions exist, most notably within the domain 

of developmental education reform (e.g., The Implementation, Impact, and 

Cost-Effectiveness of Developmental Education Curricular Reform in California 

Community Colleges, Exploring Co-Requisite Developmental Education Models, and 

Changing Policy and Practice in Developmental Education: Assessing the Evidence 

and Engaging the Field). However, additional evidence building that assesses 

the feasibility and efficacy of strategies that change systems within and between 

postsecondary institutions in service of student success may be needed to meet the 

Department’s Strategic Goals.

Focus Area 6: Effectively Manage Federal Student Aid Programs

Finally, the Department’s FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda includes a series of 

PLQs related to evidence building in service of improving the design and delivery 

of its federal student aid programs. This includes work on improving the customer 

experience, better understanding how aid programs are associated with and can 

be used to bolster student academic and post-completion success, and supporting 

borrowers in successfully managing their student loan debt.

The Department needs to maintain (or strengthen) its capacity to conduct research 

and analysis critical to the operations of the federal student aid program while 

building capacity related to addressing its PLQs. Notwithstanding the PLQs set 

forth in the Department’s FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda, FSA has wide-ranging 

operational questions and concerns—some stemming from the recent COVID-19 

pandemic, others as a result of its own Strategic Goals and objectives as identified in 

its Fiscal Year 2020 through 2024 Strategic Plan—that must be appropriately resourced 

and addressed. Whereas many of those questions are consistent with the broad goals 
132U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

of the FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda, the challenge facing the Department is 

how, to the extent possible, to build all the evidence that is a priority for internal 

stakeholders. Existing projects have demonstrated the value of strong collaborations 

between FSA and evidence-building partners. Examples include recently completed, 

planned, and ongoing evaluations of FSA experimental sites by NCEE (e.g., Evaluation 

of the Pell Grant Experiments Under the Experimental Sites Initiative and Evaluations 

of Federal Financial Aid Information and Delivery Strategies: An Experiment in 

the Federal Work Study Program to Encourage Student Jobs in the Private Sector); a 

historic collaboration between FSA and NCES in the production of the NPSAS and its 

longitudinal follow-ups; and work between FSA and OCDO on the College Scorecard. 

However, the Department’s FY 2022–FY 2026 Learning Agenda envisions answering 

questions that will require new lines of research, new collaborations, and most likely, 

new resources. Meeting those challenges represents a significant opportunity for 

the Department to benefit the nation’s students, particularly those who have been 

underserved by postsecondary education. Building human, analytic, and resource 

capacity in this space must become a shared priority.

Section 3: Extent to Which Efforts Are Balanced

Relevant	Law(s): 5 USC § 306(a)(9)(C) and OMB Circular No. A-11 (2020) Section 290.13

Relevant	Statutory	

Language:	

“... the extent to which the evaluation, research, and analysis efforts and 

related activities of the agency address an appropriate balance between 

needs related to organizational learning, ongoing program management, 

performance management, strategic management, interagency and private 

sector coordination, internal and external oversight, and accountability....”

For the purposes of this Capacity Assessment, the Department operationalizes this 

requirement as the extent to which Department evidence-building activities support 

organizational learning; performance, program, and strategic management; and 

accountability for results on Agency Priority Goals (APGs). 

The Department focuses its discussion on its APGs for three reasons. First, by 

definition, APGs reflect agency leadership’s top priorities and are meant to include 

only those areas in which significant progress and change are needed most. 

Second, given their time-bound nature (i.e., APGs are meant to be achievable within 

24 months), APGs demand high-quality, current data to support senior leadership’s 

strategic management efforts. Finally, senior leaders are personally—and publicly 
133APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

via Performance.Gov—accountable for achieving APGs. Although not reflecting the 

totality of the Department’s evidence needs, APGs are, by definition, among the 

highest priority. 

The Department has developed three APGs relevant to this Strategic Plan. The 

proposed APGs focus on (1) addressing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic 

on students, educators, and faculty; (2) effectively managing federal student 

loans, including the repayment experience and outcomes of federal student loan 

borrowers; and (3) reducing the disparities in attainment of high-quality degrees and 

credentials. However, the extent to which the Department can successfully leverage 

evidence in support of organizational learning; performance, program, and strategic 

management; and accountability for results in these three areas will be a useful 

barometer in gauging its ability to balance three sometimes competing prerogatives 

across its wider portfolio.

Although the Department has already begun to take steps related to its proposed 

APGs, it is too early to assess whether its evidence-building and use activities will be 

put to their best use in achieving them. In the coming months, this assessment will 

be updated to reflect the Department’s assessment of progress in that area. Currently, 

however, the Department notes the following:

• Most of the outcome metrics identified for its APGs are available in existing 

Department data systems, although their timeliness varies. Most lag by one or 

more quarters, rather than being “near real time.” This may result in evidence 

that is suitable for accountability purposes and future organizational learning 

but not sufficient to support more immediate management decisions about 

program administration and/or performance and strategic decision-making. 

• The Department has demonstrated the ability to rapidly augment its data 

collections to build new evidence when existing systems were not originally 

built to provide it. NCES was able to leverage its existing NAEP School Survey 

to rapidly collect and report data about school reopening and learning 

modality, yielding actionable information for decision-makers that lagged 

by only a few weeks rather than multiple quarters or years. Similar work, 

done by OCDO, has given the public rapid and unprecedented insight into 

entities’ use of federal recovery funds. Both demonstrate that the Department 

can—when conditions warrant, infrastructure is in place, and systems 
134U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

are sufficiently flexible—build evidence that decision-makers can use for 

management decisions. The questions facing the Department are how and 

when it should make the extraordinary ordinary and how those efforts will be 

prioritized and resourced. 

• The Department has a structure for regular quarterly performance review 

that involves senior career and political leadership that could, at the 

discretion of the new Deputy Secretary, be used not only to drive internal 

accountability but also to support learning-focused conversations designed to 

support program performance.

As the agency finalizes metrics for monitoring its progress toward achieving its APGs, 

this Capacity Assessment will be updated to reflect the Department’s progress in 

building and using evidence in a balanced fashion.

Section 4: Extent to Which Methods are Appropriate

Relevant	Law(s): 5 USC § 306(a)(9)(D)

Relevant	Statutory	

Language:	

“... the extent to which the agency uses methods and combinations of methods 

that are appropriate to agency divisions and corresponding research questions 

being addressed, including an appropriate combination of formative and 

summative evaluation research and analysis approaches.”

The Department employs a set of interrelated policies, standards, and guidelines to 

ensure that evidence builders use analytic methods appropriate to the questions they 

seek to answer. Generally, the Department’s aim is to use the most rigorous methods 

appropriate to a given question, subject to constraints, including the time horizon in 

which results are needed, return on investment, and the amenability of a question to 

rigorous research and evaluation.

Program Evaluations

Consistent with OMB M-20-12, Phase 4 Implementation of the Foundations for EvidenceBased Policymaking Act of 2018: Program Evaluation Standards and Practices, the 

Department places considerable emphasis on methodological rigor in its program 

evaluations. (Specific practices are detailed in the Department’s Evaluation 

Policy.) Those evaluations are of three types: (1) impact evaluations, which make 

causal claims about interventions’ effects on outcomes; (2) outcome evaluations, 

which make claims of association between interventions and outcomes; and 
135APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

(3) implementation evaluations, which make descriptive claims about program 

operations. Generally, IES and NCEE do not make a sharp distinction between 

formative evaluations (i.e., evaluations primarily oriented toward program 

improvement) and summative evaluations (i.e., evaluations primarily oriented 

toward determining impact). Every well-designed evaluation represents an 

opportunity to improve program performance and support organizational learning 

and, when conditions permit, make statements about the effect of a program on its 

individual beneficiaries and the larger education system. 

At present, IES’ NCEE conducts all Department program evaluations. Only 

randomized control trials are used in NCEE impact evaluations. Outcome 

evaluations can employ a wider range of methods, including matching designs, 

difference-in-difference designs, comparative interrupted time-series designs, and 

regression discontinuity designs. Implementation evaluations use a wide range 

of descriptive quantitative methods, often complemented by qualitative findings 

(e.g., case studies).

Statistical Collections

Consistent with OMB M-15-03, Department Support of Implementation of Statistical 

Policy Directive 1: Fundamental Responsibilities of Federal Statistical Agencies and 

Recognized Statistical Units, the Department is committed to conducting objective, 

credible, and accurate statistical activities that can address its evidence needs and 

those of its stakeholders. 

IES’ NCES is the Department’s principal statistical agency and is responsible for 

the bulk of its statistical collections. Specific practices NCES uses to ensure that its 

procedures and methods are appropriate to the questions official statistics seek to 

answer are detailed in its Statistical Standards. These standards cover all phases 

of a study’s life cycle, including developing concepts and methods, planning and 

designing surveys, collecting data, editing and processing data, analyzing data 

and producing estimates or projections, establishing review procedures, and 

disseminating data. NCES’ Statistical Standards are periodically revised to align 

to new methods, technologies, and federal guidance, all to ensure the quality, 

effectiveness, and efficiency of NCES data collections, statistical analyses, and 

reporting.
136U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

The standards describe the steps NCES takes to protect individually identifiable 

information of its respondents, as required by law. This requirement includes 

protecting the information during the collection, analysis, reporting, and publication 

of the data. NCES’ Statistical Standards and Data Confidentiality staff unit has 

two major functions in the area of information protection. First, the unit directs 

the NCES Disclosure Review Board (DRB) comprised of members from each NCES 

division, representatives from the Statistical Standards and Data Confidentiality staff, 

and a member from each IES center. The NCES DRB works in coordination with the 

Department’s central DRB and reviews disclosure risk analyses conducted by IES and 

NCES staff and contractors to ensure that data released do not disclose the identity 

of any individual respondent. The second major activity in this area is the RestrictedUse Data (RUD) Licensing Program. The licensing program provides external 

researchers with access to individually identifiable IES and NCES data covered under 

federal statutes and regulations by subjecting authorized researchers to the laws, 

regulations, and penalties that apply to use of confidential data held by IES. NCES 

recently partnered with the Coleridge Initiative to provide affordable, remote, and 

secure access to NCES RUD data sets. In 2020, NCES granted approximately 1,200 RUD 

licenses and had approximately 3,800 researchers using these licenses.

Policy and Other Analyses

Charged with carrying out the responsibilities under 44 U.S.C. § 3520, OCDO is 

responsible for managing and improving the Department’s ability to leverage data 

as a strategic asset. Housed within the Department’s principal office responsible for 

policy development (i.e., the Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development 

(OPEPD)), OCDO’s Division of Analytics and Infrastructure serves as the Department’s 

internal consultants for policy analysis and data science. It provides analytical 

support to principal operating components (POCs), supporting the improvement of 

decision-making; optimization of programs for desired outcomes; and the generation 

of efficiencies to reduce burden, improper payments, and other risks. It does this 

through cutting-edge and emerging methods, such as machine learning and artificial 

intelligence for program optimization, predictive analytics, and the development of 

other analytical products. 

Among other responsibilities, OCDO’s Division of Governance and Strategy is 

responsible for evaluating data for value, risk, and quality, including agency policies 
137APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

related to the Information Quality Act. The Department’s Information Quality 

Guidelines outline the ways in which it seeks to ensure the utility, objectivity, 

and integrity of information it disseminates to the public, including information 

stemming from research studies. Central to the Department’s efforts to produce 

objective information is ensuring that the data-collection and -analysis methods 

used in its generation are appropriate to the information’s eventual purpose. This 

includes research questions that are clearly stated and posed in an objective manner, 

well-designed and clearly described methods, and conclusions that are strongly 

supported by the data. Peer review is also required for Department research and 

evaluation activities.

Evaluation Officer’s Commentary on Program Evaluations and Statistical 

Collections

All NCEE evaluations and NCES statistical collections are subject to both internal and 

external peer review. This helps ensure that NCEE and NCES staff and contractors 

have effectively implemented the procedures and methods identified. The external 

review process is managed by the IES Standards and Review Office, which is headed 

by the institute’s Deputy Director of Science and is independent from both NCEE and 

NCES. IES peer reviewers are nationally and internationally known experts in their 

fields and confirm that they have no conflict of interest with the study under review. 

Taken together, these processes offer reasonable confidence that the methods being 

used are appropriate to the questions they seek to address. 

Evaluation Officer’s Commentary on Other Analyses

The Department does not systematically catalog the totality of “administrative and 

support tasks ... that are currently being evaluated and analyzed.” In principle, 

each of these efforts should be undertaken in a manner that comports with existing 

Information Quality Guidelines. However, without a complete roster of other 

analyses and information about how they are conducted, it is not possible to assess 

the extent to which those analyses, and any non-NCES data collections upon which 

they depend, are being conducted in a manner appropriate to the questions they seek 

to address. As a part of the Department’s Data Strategy and response to the Office 

of Inspector General’s (OIG’s) Management Challenges, the Department plans to 

consider updates to its Information Quality Act Guidelines in FY 2022 and establish 

new processes that ensure data quality is fit for its purpose.
138U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

To mitigate the risks associated with data collection and analysis methods that may 

be misaligned to the questions they seek to address, the Department’s Statistical 

Official (SO) proposed the development of agency-wide statistical standards 

development and training in FY 2021. Unfortunately, plans for this activity were put 

on hold as the agency pivoted to its COVID-19 pandemic response. This activity will 

be revisited in FY 2022 under the auspices of the Department’s SO.

Section 5: Extent to Which Evaluation and Research Capacity Is 

Present 

Relevant	Law(s): 5 USC § 306(a)(9)(E) and OMB Circular No. A-11 Section 290.13

Relevant	Statutory	

Language:	

“... the extent to which evaluation and research capacity is present within 

the agency to include personnel and agency processes for planning and 

implementing evaluation activities, disseminating best practices and findings, 

and incorporating employee views and feedback.”

Personnel

Evaluation

IES’ NCEE currently conducts all Department program evaluations. Within NCEE, 

program evaluations are directly overseen by the center’s Associate Commissioner 

for Evaluation. Staffing within NCEE has remained stable. As of September 2021, the 

Evaluation Division employs 14 full-time employees (FTEs). NCEE evaluators include 

General Schedule (GS)-0110 economists and GS-1730 education research analysts. 

Most evaluators have the terminal degree in their field, such as Doctor of Philosophy 

(Ph.D.), Doctor of Education (Ed.D.), or Master of Public Policy (MPP) degrees. 

Each staff member is assigned a specific topical area of responsibility (e.g., adult 

education) that aligns to the function of a specific Department program office 

(e.g., OCTAE’s Adult Education Branch). More NCEE staff members are assigned 

to prekindergarten through grade 12 and special education topics than to topics 

focused on postsecondary, adult, or career education. Currently, one staff member 

is responsible for the entirety of NCEE’s adult education portfolio, and two are 

responsible for its postsecondary portfolio, one of whom also serves as the Associate 

Commissioner for NCEE’s Evaluation Division. 

Statistical Collections

NCES is also responsible for conducting and analyzing the Department’s statistical 

data collections as well as ensuring the confidentiality and privacy of its collections, 
139APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

in coordination with the Department’s Privacy Program. Within NCES, collections, 

analyses, reporting, and confidentiality are directly overseen by the center’s 

Commissioner. 

Staffing within NCES has declined. As of November 2021, NCES employs 92 FTEs. This 

is down from 2020, when there were 106 FTEs. Many NCES staff are in the statistics 

(GS-1530) or mathematical statistics (GS-1529) series. Other staff include GS-1730 

education research analysts, GS-0343 management and program analysts, and 

others. Most staff have the terminal degree in their field, such as the Ph.D., Ed.D., 

or MPP. Each staff member is typically assigned to a division focusing on a specific 

type of data collection (e.g., assessment, sample surveys, or administrative data) or 

on statistical standards and data confidentiality. NCES has well defined and proven 

processes to maintain its high standards, mitigate the risk of data disclosure, and 

ensure confidentiality. However, this work takes significantly longer than desired 

with the current level of staff—five FTE—even with the support of contractors. As 

NCES will not take on more risk with the data we protect as the demand increases 

with the Evidence Act, the alternatives are to either increase the FTE sufficient 

to manage the activities (e.g., the eight FTE requested by NCES) or significantly 

lengthen the already long response times needed to protect data from risk.

Data

Charged with carrying out the responsibilities under 44 U.S.C. § 3520, OCDO is 

responsible for managing and improving the Department’s ability to leverage data 

as a strategic asset. Beyond the team historically overseeing the Department’s 

responsibilities under the Paperwork Reduction Act, OCDO has only two FTEs 

dedicated to supporting development and execution of OCDO and Department 

policies on life cycle data management, data resources, data protection, data quality, 

access, and dissemination, all key components of the Evidence Act.

Despite these limited resources, OCDO has been responsible for drafting the agency’s 

first-ever Data Workforce Plan that maps solutions for identified gaps based on the 

Department’s Data Competency Framework; serving as program managers for the 

Department’s Data Governance Board (DGB), which serves as the agency-wide forum 

for identifying data challenges and strategic solutions; creating the Department’s 

first Data Strategy, which established a multiyear plan to improve the Department’s 

ability to create and use data; administering for each POC its annual Data Maturity 
140U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Assessment to prioritize resources and evaluate return of data investment; helping 

establish the agency’s first Data Professional’s Community of Practice to provide 

training opportunities to Department staff; and creating the agency’s first Data 

Quality Playbook to provide program officers with actionable strategies to improve 

collections.

Other Evidence-Building Partners

Program offices are primarily responsible for the analysis of performance data and 

related policy analyses. They are supported by evidence-building partners including 

OPEPD’s Grants Policy Office (GPO), OCDO, and the Department’s Budget Service (BS). 

Specific staffing models vary widely within and across the Department’s POCs.

Planning and Implementation

The Department’s capacity to plan evidence building and use activities extend beyond 

staff assigned to NCEE. Evidence is a team sport at the Department and includes staff 

from the Department’s program offices, including OPEPD’s GPO, OCDO, NCES, SO, 

BS, and the Office of the General Counsel (OGC).

Evidence-building activities are typically identified and designed via collaboration 

between individual programs and the appropriate Department evidence-building 

partners, including (1) OCDO, GPO, and BS for performance data and policy analysis; 

(2) NCEE and, as needed, BS, OGC, and OPEPD for program evaluations; and (3) NCES 

for statistical collections. Joint planning activities, piloted in FY 2021, yielded mixed 

results. Although evidence-building partners reported a greater understanding of 

each other’s activities, many found the process overly burdensome. The Department 

continues to explore ways to seamlessly introduce opportunities for collaboration 

into the rhythm of the business so they are viewed as a natural extension of existing 

work rather than a new expectation.

The Department’s challenges with planning and managing its own data for evidence 

building have been well-documented. Since 2008, the Department’s OIG has annually 

identified data as its own major management challenge. To help POCs prioritize 

their own data investments, OCDO administered the agency’s first-ever annual 

data maturity assessment in 2020 and did so for each of the 15 POCs across the 

Department. Using standard industry measures, the Department found that nearly 

every POC had opportunities to improve POC-level processes—including those related 
141APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

to data quality and infrastructure—even though POCs generally prioritize, request, 

and manage their own budgetary resources supporting those processes. Although 

successes were noted across the Department, the inability to pool funds across 

programs generally creates, at best, siloed solutions in data infrastructure. Guided 

by the Department’s Data Strategy, in 2021 OCDO launched an effort to identify 

redundancies in data investments and create a target state agency-wide process for 

data investment planning that would promote modernization and efficiency.

Once planned, how evidence-building activities are ultimately implemented 

varies. As described elsewhere, NCES is the Department’s designated principal 

statistical agency and is responsible for foundational fact finding undertaken 

for statistical purposes. NCEE’s staff of professional evaluators design plans for 

rigorous implementation and outcome evaluations and then oversee their successful 

execution by third-party research firms. As noted, evidence building focused on 

the analysis of performance data, and the analysis of those and other data for 

policymaking, is typically the responsibility of program offices and OPEPD evidencebuilding partners. As discussed next, the human, financial, and data resources 

available to these partners to execute evidence-building plans also varies.

Dissemination

Program Evaluations

Even prior to the establishment of the Department’s Evaluation Policy, NCEE’s 

Standards and Practices document (now replaced in its entirety by the Evaluation 

Policy) placed an emphasis on transparency of evaluation findings. That is, all 

evaluations were posted to the NCEE website following approval by the IES Standards 

and Review Office and a two-week notification period afforded the Secretary, during 

which time program leaders were briefed on evaluation findings. 

Statistical Products

The dissemination of NCES statistical products is guided by OMB Statistical Policy 

Directive #1 (Fundamental Responsibilities of Federal Statistical Agencies and Recognized 

Statistical Units), OMB Statistical Policy Directive #4 (Release and Dissemination of 

Statistical Products Produced by Federal Statistical Agencies), and NCES’ Statistical 

Standards. NCES strives to ensure that, among other things, the dissemination of 

public data is timely, that notices of releases are publicly available and that the public 

is notified of schedule changes in the releases, all users have equitable access to the 
142U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

data, a variety of dissemination techniques are utilized, the public is notified about 

any changes to the released data, complete documentation of dissemination policies 

is provided to the public, there is outreach to the media, and that any public access 

to prerelease products remain embargoed and secure. NCES’ statistical products are 

posted to the NCES website following their approval by NCES’ Statistical Standards 

and Data Confidentiality unit, NCES’ Commissioner, and IES’ Director. Before 

products are publicly available, Department staff, including the Secretary, are briefed 

on the main findings. 

Dissemination of evaluation findings and statistical products has typically taken 

three forms. 

First, once posted to the IES website, IES sends “NewsFlashes” for all releases via its 

social media channels. This includes an email listserv, which has 11,000 subscribers 

to the NCEE Evaluation Reports topic; the @IESResearch Twitter account, which has 

20,400 subscribers; Facebook, which includes 2,000 followers; and LinkedIn, which 

has 200 followers. 

Second, IES engages in targeted dissemination to government partners who might 

benefit from research, evaluation, and statistical products and findings. This includes 

staff within the Department, including program staff, colleagues in mission-support 

offices (e.g., OGC, BS, and OPEPD), and other colleagues in IES; staff at OMB or the 

Government Accountability Office (GAO); and staff to authorizing and appropriating 

committees of Congress. 

Third, in some instances, IES engages in targeted dissemination to communities 

of education practitioners, researchers, and policymakers. Examples include a 

presentation to national advocacy associations, the design and dissemination of 

practitioner-facing materials arising from an evaluation (e.g., manuals that describe 

how to implement a tested intervention), and presentations at academic conferences 

or articles in professional journals.

Notably, under the leadership of the IES Director, IES has sought to improve the 

usability of content going into its existing dissemination channels. Upon the 

Director’s arrival in spring 2018, he sought to move IES toward shorter, approachable 

formats. As a result, most new IES products come in three formats: a 15-page primary 
143APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

report with supporting appendices, a 4-page “leave behind” for stakeholders and 

informed audiences that offers high-level detail of the study’s purpose and findings, 

and a 1-page “snapshot” for senior leaders and media that focuses on key takeaways. 

Employee and Stakeholder Feedback

NCEE staff engage program office staff in the initial conceptualization of evaluation 

studies in an effort to ensure they are relevant and timely. Program office staff 

typically are also involved in the design and execution of a study and its resulting 

products by virtue of their participation in Technical Working Group meetings, 

which are held at key points in the study life cycle. Technical Working Groups also 

engage stakeholders outside the Department, including other government partners 

(e.g., OMB and GAO), university-based researchers, experts at social research 

consultancies, educators, and advocates.

NCES regularly engages with its key stakeholders, including SEAs, LEAs, schools, 

IHEs, educators, other respondents, policymakers, researchers, subject matter 

experts, the public, and the other countries with whom the United States participates 

in international studies. NCES convenes standing committees of state representatives 

and subject matter experts; collaborates with SEA and LEA staff dedicated to the 

NAEP program; coordinates with national associations representing states, large city 

schools, educators, and other stakeholders; and convenes topic-specific panels of 

experts to provide the center with guidance in the design, administration, analysis, 

and reporting of its studies. 

Evaluation Officer’s Commentary on the Presence of Evaluation Capacity 

The Department is widely held across the federal government to be a leader in 

rigorous program evaluation, statistical activities, and evidence building, and that 

reputation is well-deserved. The Department has a strong, centralized evaluation 

service that, compared to some other agencies, is well-staffed with highly trained 

evaluation professionals. Its evaluation function is also autonomous and committed 

to transparency, objectivity, and privacy. The Department’s statistical agency, NCES, 

is also renowned nationally. However, its staffing is low relative to other federal 

statistical agencies. NCES is the third largest of the principal federal statistical 

agencies in terms of program dollars but one of the smallest in terms of full-time 
144U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

staff. To maintain its national leadership, the Department may wish to consider 

several opportunities for improvement in FY 2022 and beyond.

Personnel

Most NCEE program evaluation staff are currently tasked with evaluating the 

Department’s K–12 programs; only three have direct responsibility for evaluating 

postsecondary or adult education programs. Because the amount of evidence needed 

to support K–12-focused programs has continued to grow, reassignment of staff from 

K–12 programs to postsecondary programs has been avoided. The resulting disparity 

diminishes NCEE’s capacity to independently evaluate Higher Education Act of 1965 

(HEA) Title IV federal student aid programs and other critical programs that support 

postsecondary students and institutions. Staffing constraints also limits the extent 

to which NCEE can contribute to a fulsome implementation of the Evidence Act. All 

Evidence Act requirements have been added to the duties of existing staff rather than 

hiring new staff to support Evidence Act implementation.

Similarly, without additional staff, it has been—and will continue to be—challenging for 

NCES to implement the Evidence Act’s key requirements found in Title III. Absent new 

hiring, NCES will need to reduce key statistical activities and possibly eliminate whole 

data-collection programs to fulfill those requirements. Since NCES plays a central role 

in developing foundational fact finding with its data collections for developing evidence 

required in the Evidence Act, it is important that NCES not move staff from those 

data-collection efforts to those activities fulfilling the requirements found in Title 

III. To help ensure that the SO fulfills the relevant requirements in the Evidence Act 

while allowing NCES to perform its regular statistical activities and data collections, 

NCES has proposed the hiring of eight new full-time staff for FY 2022. The proposed 

new staff will assist the SO and NCES in developing greater capacity to fulfill the 

requirements in Title III of the Evidence Act, such as developing and overseeing data 

quality and confidentially standards, sharing and protecting Confidential Information 

Protection and Statistical Efficiency Act data sets, and implementing the standard 

application process for accessing data sets for developing evidence.

Planning and Implementing

The planning process piloted during FY 2021 resulted in some lessons learned. In 

FY 2022, each evidence-building partner will meet separately with program office 
145APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

counterparts for needs sensing in addition to having a cohesive initial conversation. 

This will ensure that needs are surfaced in sufficient detail so as to be actionable and 

so that program office staff have an opportunity to develop a working relationship 

with their GPO, OCDO, and NCEE counterparts. However, this means the results 

of needs-sensing activities must be intentionally shared among evidence-building 

offices to promote coordination, reduce duplication, and identify opportunities for 

synergies and project improvements.

The Department has identified two challenges to getting high-quality evaluation 

findings into the hands of decision-makers quickly: (1) improving procurement 

processes and (2) accelerating data collection. Progress has been made on both 

fronts. First, IES has launched a Project Management Office charged with identifying 

best practices in procurement government-wide and then promoting the use of those 

practices across IES. NCEE stands to benefit from that work and will share findings 

from its work with others in the federal evidence community. Separately, NCEE has 

increased its use of more flexible acquisition vehicles to reduce the time between 

identifying an evaluation requirement and awarding a new task order to begin work. 

Second, NCEE has worked with OCDO and colleagues in OMB’s Office of Information 

and Regulatory Affairs to approve a new “generic” clearance for design studies, field 

tests, and exploratory data collections. This clearance will allow NCEE to begin some 

types of information collection more rapidly, reducing the time between instrument 

development and data analysis.

The Department continues to struggle with uneven resources to execute against its 

full evidence-building agenda. This affects efforts to conduct rigorous evaluations, 

use data for program improvement and policy analysis, and maximize the use of 

statistical data.

Both the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) and the Individuals 

with Disabilities Education Act make substantial resources available to NCEE to 

conduct rigorous program evaluations. In contrast, authorizing legislation for 

many of the Department’s other programs include little or no dedicated evaluation 

funding. In recent budget proposals, the Department has signaled its belief that more 

resources should be dedicated to supporting evidence building in postsecondary 

education. This is consistent with the Department’s proposed FY 2022–FY 2026 

Learning Agenda, in which postsecondary education represents a significant 
146U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

share of the Department’s evidence-building needs. Should additional resources 

for postsecondary evaluation become available, NCEE staffing patterns will most 

certainly need to be adjusted in response. Because NCEE’s K–12 remit is not likely to 

shrink, the Department will be forced to either accept a decreased level of service in 

the K–12 evaluation space or hire additional program evaluators with postsecondary 

expertise, or some combination of both. 

A resource of another type—business process and performance data—hinders the 

Department’s efforts at program improvement and policy analysis. The Department’s 

own Inspector General has consistently challenged it to improve its data, data 

systems, and use of data. Similarly, research conducted by OCDO has demonstrated 

both office-specific and enterprise-wide gaps in data maturity. Filling these gaps is 

likely to require significant and systematic investments in data governance, analytic 

infrastructure, and experts skilled in the collection and use of education data.

The agency would greatly benefit from a single dedicated funding stream to develop, 

prioritize, and finance enterprise-wide data management initiatives—to include 

data accessibility, infrastructure, standards, linkages, and training—in support 

of and on behalf of each of these POCs. Not unlike the dedicated evaluation setaside currently authorized by ESEA and recommended for programs authorized 

by HEA, the Department recommends identifying a dedicated funding stream for 

data governance, infrastructure, and performance and policy analysis. To do so, 

Evidence Act officials have recommended allowing the Department to reserve and 

pool up to 0.25 percent of discretionary program accounts, such as those under Every 

Student Succeeds Act and HEA, to promote modernization and efficiency in enterprise 

data. This recommendation would expand the evidence-building capacity of the 

Department beyond what other existing or proposed set-asides related to evaluation 

can offer alone. Supported by the Department’s DGB (where each Department’s POC 

is represented, along with the Performance Improvement Officer, Evaluation Officer, 

SO, and Senior Agency Official for Privacy) and guided by the long-term goals and 

near-term objectives identified in the Department’s Data Strategy, these funds would 

be stewarded by OCDO to ensure the Department meets the requirements of Title II 

of the Evidence Act.

Finally, to realize the Evidence Act’s vision for improving the quality and 

confidentiality of statistical data, modernizing the Department’s approach to sharing 
147APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

and protecting confidential statistical data, and improving researcher access to 

statistical data, NCES would benefit from targeted investments of both contract and 

staff resources. This could include, but would not be limited to, hiring new staff 

members who could oversee the development of new statistical tools and methods 

for improving data quality and protecting confidential data; hiring staff with 

expertise at the nexus of information technology and statistical practice to liaise with 

the Office of the Chief Information Officer (OCIO), OCDO, and others in the federal 

data and statistical systems to ensure that NCES can better ensure the protection of 

data collected under a pledge of confidentiality; and implementing requirements 

associated with a standard application process for researcher access to confidential 

data and/or the eventual development of a national secure data service. 

Dissemination and Stakeholder Feedback

IES, in particular, has taken steps to make its products more engaging and 

consumable by an informed lay audience. However, work remains to determine 

whether these or other actions by the Department have translated to increased 

dissemination and, more importantly, greater use of research evidence (URE) by 

internal and external stakeholders. URE is a function of several factors, including 

timeliness, relevance, usability, and contextual factors, that can serve as supports or 

barriers to the use of evidence in policymaking and practice. Despite its importance, 

the Department has yet to invest in a systematic investigation of its own URE and how 

it might be improved. Should resources become available, Department evidencebuilding partners should prioritize this work to maximize their impact.

Section 6: Extent to Which Evaluation and Evidence-Use 

Capacity is Present 

Relevant	Law(s): 5 USC § 306(a)(9)(F) and OMB Circular No. A-11 Section 290.13

Relevant	Statutory	

Language:	

“... the extent to which the agency has the capacity to assist agency staff and 

program offices to develop the capacity to use evaluation research and analysis 

approaches and data in the day-to-day operations.”

The Department conducted two Department-wide Data and Evidence Use Surveys—

one in FY 2020 and one in FY 2021. The Evidence Use component of the survey was 

left unchanged between the two iterations to promote longitudinal analysis. Key 

findings across the FY 2020 and FY 2021 surveys include the following:
148U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

• The proportion of grantmaking staff who reported higher levels of agreement 

with items related to the development of performance measures increased by 

5 percentage points. The FY 2021 result is approximately 76 percent.

• There was a slight decline in the proportion of grantmaking staff who reported 

higher levels of agreement with items related to the analysis of performance 

measures, from about 67 percent in FY 2020 to 65 percent in FY 2021.

• There was a very slight decline in the proportion of grantmaking staff who 

reported higher levels of agreement with items related to explaining and 

applying Department evidence standards to grantees, from about 63 percent 

to 62 percent. This result is despite efforts to increase staff awareness of 

evidence standards. In February 2021, IES’ What Works Clearinghouse team 

released a new training video explaining its ratings and how to use the 

clearinghouse to determine whether a listed policy, practice, or program has 

evidence of effectiveness.

• There was a very minor increase in the proportion of grantmaking staff 

who reported higher levels of agreement with items related to supervisor 

support for a culture of evidence use in their unit, from about 80 percent to 

81 percent. 

• There was a decline in the proportion of grantmaking staff who reported 

higher levels of agreement with items related to having a clear understanding 

of the Department’s Strategic Goals, from 70 percent to 60 percent. Although 

more information is needed, a likely explanation for this finding is that at the 

time the FY 2021 survey was being administered, the Department was in the 

process of developing a new set of Strategic Goals and strategic objectives. 

The Department will monitor this estimate in FY 2022 and develop relevant 

learning opportunities for internal and external colleagues. 

Other Capacity-Building Activities

Highlights of FY 2021 Department activities to support staff capacity to more 

effectively build and use evidence are as follows:

• The Department offers “Evidence 101” to all new Department staff, which 

provides a broad overview of the Department’s definition of evidence, how 

evidence is used across the Department’s program, key features of the 

Evidence Act, and concepts related to evidence building.
149APPENDIX C. FY 2022–FY 2026 CAPACITY ASSESSMENT

• Based on emergent evidence observed during the implementation of recent 

recovery legislation (e.g., American Rescue Plan Act of 2021), there may be 

substantial confusion about the Department’s evidence levels as well as 

the statutory and regulatory meaning of “evidence-based.” GPO and NCEE 

are developing resources for internal and external audiences that provide 

additional guidance on the Department’s evidence standards and how they 

are to be used.

• The Department is developing a logic model template with instructions for 

use. To complement the template, a logic model scoring rubric, designed 

to distinguish higher-quality logic models from lower-quality ones, is being 

refined for use across the Department.

• To support Department staff in more effectively monitoring how grantees 

are using evidence in the design and operation of their programs, the 

Department has developed a new section of the standard grantee annual 

performance report. The new reporting elements ask grantees to identify the 

evidence-based components of their projects; document those components’ 

implementation, including challenges and successes; detail changes in 

implementation plans related to evidence-based practices; and report on 

outputs and outcomes specifically associated with those practices. In addition 

to providing an opportunity for grantees to reflect upon their practice and 

document material changes relevant to monitoring the grant, it provides 

a structured protocol for grant monitors to use during conversations with 

grantees about their work, use of evidence, and efforts at continuous 

improvement.

• OCIO and OCDO partnered to begin development of a low-cost, in-depth data 

science training program modeled after the pilot administered by the Federal 

Chief Information Officers Council in 2020.

Addressing Data Literacy

One of the most significant activities undertaken during FY 2021 to advance the 

Department’s capacity to build and use evidence was the inauguration of the 

Department’s Data Literacy Program. This project, led by OCDO, is a collaboration 

between OCDO, IES, and the Office of Human Resources. The program begins 

with Data Literacy 101 and includes multiple courses in four domains—analytical 

foundations, communicating with data, data and evidence foundations (which 
150U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

includes Evidence 101), and decision-making with data—with recommended 

learning paths based on personas that staff members can adopt. As of August 2021, 

the Department had recruited 12 data literacy ambassadors to assist OCDO in 

customizing introductory data literacy trainings for their specific principal offices 

and then co-teach the customized courses with OCDO or IES staff. Over time, it is 

hoped that the program can be augmented with evidence literacy and statistical 

literacy content to further develop staff capacity to build and use evidence to 

improve agency operations. All Data Literacy Program resources are housed on the 

Department’s connectED intranet and are available to all Department staff.
151APPENDIX D. GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

APPENDIX D

Glossary of Acronyms and Abbreviations

Acronym Definition

AIVRS American Indian Vocational Rehabilitation Services

APG Agency Priority Goal

ARP American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

BS Budget Service

CCD Common Core of Data

CRDC Civil Rights Data Collection

CTE Career and Technical Education

DEIA Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility

DGB Data Governance Board

DRB Disclosure Review Board

Ed.D. Doctor of Education

EED Effective Educator Development

EIR Education Innovation and Research

EIS Early Identification System

EL English Learner

EO Executive Order

ESEA Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965

ESF Education Stabilization Fund

ESSER Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief

ETA Employment and Training Administration

FAFSA® Free Application for Federal Student Aid®

FSA Federal Student Aid

FTE Full-Time Employee

FY Fiscal Year

GAO Government Accountability Office

GEAR UP Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs

GPO Grants Policy Office

GPRAMA Government Performance and Results Act and Modernization Act of 2010

GS General Schedule

HEA Higher Education Act of 1965

HEERF Higher Education Emergency Relief Fund
152U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

Acronym Definition

IDEA Individuals with Disabilities Education Act

IES Institute of Education Sciences

IHE Institution of Higher Education

IT Information Technology

K–12 Kindergarten Through Grade 12

LEA Local Educational Agency

MPP Master of Public Policy

NAEP National Assessment of Education Progress

NCEE National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance

NCER National Center for Education Research

NCES National Center for Education Statistics

NCSER National Center for Special Education Research

NPSAS National Postsecondary Student Aid Study

NTPS National Teacher and Principal Survey

OCDO Office of the Chief Data Officer

OCIO Office of the Chief information Officer

OCR Office for Civil Rights

OCTAE Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education

OELA Office of English Language Acquisition

OESE Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

OGC Office of the General Counsel

OIG Office of Inspector General

OMB Office of Management and Budget

OPE Office of Postsecondary Education

OPEPD Office of Planning, Evaluation, and Policy Development

OSERS Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services

OSEP Office of Special Education Programs

P–12 Prekindergarten Through Grade 12

Ph.D. Doctor of Philosophy

PLQ Priority Learning Question

POC Principal Operating Component

PSLF Public Service Loan Forgiveness

RSA Rehabilitation Services Administration
153APPENDIX D. GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS

Acronym Definition

RUD Restricted-Use Data

SEA State Educational Agency

SEED Supporting Effective Educator Development

SEL Social and Emotional Learning

SO Statistical Official

STEM Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics

TEACH Teacher Education Assistance for College and Higher Education

TSL Teacher and Student Leader

URE Use of Research Evidence

VR Vocational Rehabilitation

WSF Weighted Student Funding
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155APPENDIX E. GLOSSARY OF DEFINITIONS

APPENDIX E

Glossary of Definitions

The following definitions are from the Federal Register’s Final Priorities and 

Definitions—Secretary’s Supplemental Priorities and Definitions for Discretionary 

Grants Programs.

Children or students with disabilities: Children with disabilities as defined 

in section 602(3) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) (20 

U.S.C. 1401(3)) and 34 CFR 300.8, or students with disabilities, as defined in the 

Rehabilitation Act of 1973 (29 U.S.C. 705(37)(B)).

Community college: “Junior or community college” as defined in section 312(f) of 

the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended (HEA). 

Culturally and linguistically inclusive: Pedagogical practices that address inequities 

in access to and success in school by recognizing and valuing all students’ identities, 

cultures, and potential.

Early learning: Any (a) state-licensed or state-regulated program or provider, 

regardless of setting or funding source, that provides early care and education for 

children from birth to kindergarten entry, including, but not limited to, any program 

operated by a child care center or in a family child care home; (b) program funded 

by the federal government or state or local educational agencies (including any IDEAfunded program); (c) Early Head Start and Head Start program; (d) nonrelative child 

care provider who is not otherwise regulated by the state and who regularly cares for 

two or more unrelated children for a fee in a provider setting; and (e) other program 

that may deliver early learning and development services in a child’s home, such as 

the Maternal, Infant, and Early Childhood Home Visiting Program; Early Head Start; 

and Part C of IDEA.

Educator: An individual who is an early learning educator, teacher, principal 

or other school leader, specialized instructional support personnel (e.g., school 

psychologist, counselor, school social worker, early intervention service personnel), 

paraprofessional, or faculty.
156U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION FISCAL YEARS 2022–2026 STRATEGIC PLAN

English learner: An individual who is an English learner as defined in section 

8101(20) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as amended, 

or an individual who is an English language learner as defined in section 203(7) of the 

Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act. 

Evidence-based: The meaning is ascribed in 34 CFR 77.1 or ESEA, as applicable. 

Historically Black Colleges and Universities: Colleges and universities that meet the 

criteria set out in 34 CFR 608.2. 

Minority-Serving Institution: An institution that is eligible to receive assistance 

under sections 316 through 320 of Part A of Title III, under Part B of Title III, or under 

Title V of HEA. 

Tribal College or University: The meaning is ascribed in section 316(b)(3) of HEA. 

Underserved student: A student (which may include children in early learning 

environments, students in kindergarten through grade 12 programs, students in 

postsecondary education or career and technical education, and adult learners, as 

appropriate) in one or more of the following subgroups: (a) a student who is living in 

poverty or is served by schools with high concentrations of students living in poverty; 

(b) a student of color; (c) a student who is a member of a federal or state recognized 

Indian Tribe; (d) an English learner; (e) a child or student with a disability; (f) a 

disconnected youth; (g) a technologically unconnected youth; (h) a migrant student; 

(i) a student experiencing homelessness or housing insecurity; (j) a lesbian, gay, 

bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, or intersex (LGBTQ+) student; (k) a 

student who is in foster care; (l) a student without documentation of immigration 

status; (m) a pregnant, parenting, or caregiving student; (n) a student impacted by 

the justice system, including a formerly incarcerated student; (o) a student who is the 

first in their family to attend postsecondary education; (p) a student enrolling in or 

seeking to enroll in postsecondary education for the first time at the age of 20 or older; 

(q) a student who is working full time while enrolled in postsecondary education; (r) 

a student who is enrolled in or is seeking to enroll in postsecondary education who is 

eligible for a Pell Grant; (s) an adult student in need of improving their basic skills or 

an adult student with limited English proficiency; (t) a student performing significantly 

below grade level; or (u) a military- or veteran-connected student.
U.S. Department of Education

Miguel A. Cardona, Ed.D.

Secretary

July 8, 2022

This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is 

granted. While permission to reprint this publication is not necessary, the citation should be:

U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Education Strategic Plan Fiscal Years 2022–

2026: Washington, D.C., 20202.

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If you have difficulty understanding English, you may request language assistance services, 

free of charge, for the Department by calling 1-800-USA-LEARN (1-800-872-5327) or TTY at 

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Please submit your comments and questions regarding this report and any suggestions to 

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Washington, DC 20202