Skip to page content.
FY 2006 Budget Summary
Summary of the 2006 Budget
Elementary and Secondary Education
Special Education and Rehabilitative Services
Vocational and Adult Education
Student Financial Assistance
Higher Education Programs
Current Page Institute of Education Sciences
Programs Proposed for Elimination
Departmental Management
Appendices

Fiscal Year 2006 Budget Summary — February 7, 2005

Archived  Information

Section II. F.  Institute of Education Sciences

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). A cornerstone of the Administration's No Child Left Behind initiative is investment in research to 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 IES ensure that the Federal investment in education research is well-managed and relevant to the needs of educators and policymakers.

For 2006, the Administration is seeking $479.1 million for IES activities. 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, including State-level 12th grade assessments in reading and mathematics under the National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Research, Development, and Dissemination

  2004 2005 2006
Request
 
B.A. in millions $165.5 $164.2 $164.2

The request would support education research, development, and dissemination sponsored by the Institute, including a new program of field-initiated evaluations of promising education products and approaches. The request also would fund 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 NCLB 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 the Education Research Information Clearinghouse (ERIC).

Statistics

  2004 2005 2006
Request
 
B.A. in millions $91.7 $90.9 $90.9

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.

The Statistics program received an Effective rating under the PART process, thanks primarily to customer survey data showing that customers are satisfied overall with NCES products and services. In response to the PART recommendation that it focus on the timeliness of its products and services, NCES has undertaken a number of initiatives, including on-line data collection and release of products and data on the Internet.

Assessment

  2004 2005 2006
Request
 
B.A. in millions $94.8 $94.1 $116.6

The request would fund the on-going National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) and the National Assessment Governing Board, including the implementation of State-level assessments in reading and mathematics at the 12th grade in 2007, as called for by the President. The $22.5 million increase proposed for 2006 would pay for the costs of administering the 12th grade State assessments. 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.

The Assessment program received an Effective PART rating, primarily because of overall customer satisfaction. In response to a PART recommendation, NCES is working toward releasing NAEP results in support of NCLB within 6 months of data collection.

Statewide Data Systems

  2004 2005 2006
Request
 
B.A. in millions $24.8 $24.8

This program supports competitive awards to State educational agencies to foster the design, development, and implementation of longitudinal data systems that would enable States to use data on individual students to enhance the provision of education and close achievement gaps. The request would support the second year of funding for grants awarded in 2005.

Research in Special Education

  2004 2005 2006
Request
 
B.A. in millions $78.1 $83.1 $72.6

This program supports research to address gaps in scientific knowledge in order to improve special education and early intervention services and results for infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities. The request would support investments in special education research to advance our understanding of early intervention and assessment for young children with disabilities, language and vocabulary development, assessment for accountability, secondary and postsecondary outcomes, and serious behavior disorders. The decrease is equivalent to the amount of funds earmarked by Congress in 2005 for one-time projects.

This program, which received a Results Not Demonstrated rating following a PART analysis completed during the 2005 budget process, was recently moved to IES as part of IDEA reauthorization. The new Center for Special Education Research within IES will develop priorities for future research, as well as a plan for carrying out research programs with measurable indicators of progress and results.

Special Education Studies and Evaluations

  2004 2005 2006
Request
 
B.A. in millions $10.0

This program, which was transferred to IES as part of the IDEA reauthorization completed in December 2004, supports competitive grants, contracts, and cooperative agreements to assess the implementation of IDEA and the effectiveness of State and local efforts to provide special education and early intervention programs and services to infants, toddlers, and children with disabilities. The request would support the required national assessment of activities supported with Federal special education funds and a study of alternate achievement standards, as well as ongoing studies.

Higher Education Programs  Table of contents  Programs Proposed for Elimination

For further information contact the ED Budget Service.

This page last modified—February 7, 2005 (mjj).