Fiscal Year 2005 Budget Summary — February 2, 2004

Archived  Information

Section II. F.  Institute of Education Sciences

• Overview
• Research, Development, and Dissemination
• Statistics
• Assessment
• Research and Innovation in Special Education

Overview

The Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 reauthorized the Department's educational research, statistics, and assessment activities and placed them in the newly created Institute of Education Sciences (IES). The Administration firmly believes that in order to improve student achievement, the government must invest in research that can identify effective instructional and program practices, as well as in data collection needed to track student achievement and measure educational reform. The new structural and management reforms underway at the Institute ensure that the Federal investment in education research is well-managed and relevant to the needs of educators and policymakers.

For 2005, the Administration is seeking $449.6 million for the Institute of Education Sciences. This request would support new programs of research, development, and dissemination in areas where our knowledge of learning and instruction is inadequate. The request also would maintain the Administration's commitment to supporting high quality statistics and assessment programs.

Research, Development, and Dissemination

The budget would provide $185 million for education research, development, and dissemination sponsored by the Institute, including funds for a new program of field- initiated evaluations of promising education products and approaches. The request also includes support for new awards under ongoing initiatives in reading comprehension, mathematics and science education, teacher quality, and cognition and learning in the classroom. Research in these areas is critical to the successful implementation of the No Child Left Behind Act. IES would continue to support a diverse portfolio of directed and field-initiated research, including eight national research and development centers.

The request for dissemination includes funds for the What Works Clearinghouse, which provides evidence-based information for policymakers, researchers, and educators on promising approaches and interventions, the National Library of Education, and ERIC.

Statistics

This request would support the collection, analysis, and dissemination of education- related statistics in response both to legislative requirements and to the particular needs of data providers, data users, and educational researchers. The Department's statistics programs—administered by the Institute through the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES)—provide general statistics about trends in education, collect data to monitor reform and measure educational progress, and inform the Institute's research agenda. The request also supports NCES efforts to meet the statistical needs of the future through new technologies, training, data development and analysis, and methodological studies that will enable more efficient data collection and produce information that is more useful for parents, teachers, administrators, and policymakers.

Assessment

The request would fund the on-going National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the National Assessment Governing Board. NAEP is the only nationally representative and continuing assessment of what American students know and can do, and has become a key measure of our Nation's educational performance. NAEP measures and reports on the status of and trends in student learning over time, on a subject-by-subject basis, and makes objective information on student performance available to policymakers, educators, parents, and others.

Research and Innovation in Special Education

This program funds research and dissemination activities to improve special education and early intervention services and results for infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities. The request would support directed and field-initiated research, dissemination, and projects that develop the capacity of the research community to conduct high quality research on special education that is relevant to the needs of parents, educators, and policymakers.

Higher Education Programs   Programs Proposed for Elimination

For further information contact the ED Budget Service.

This page last modified—February 2, 2004 (mjj).