PEER Center Comments: Feedback on Redesigning the Institute of Education Sciences
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) plays a critical role in guiding, supporting, and scaling research across the country to improve education. IES’s longstanding commitment to strong principles for scientific research and promoting quality data is critical not only to the institutions, schools, and states that have long relied on its work, but also to the Department of Education’s broader work across administrations to invest in evidence-based policies.
Unfortunately, IES staffing and contracting cuts earlier this year have substantially harmed those functions, crippled the data infrastructure that existed to support research, and left substantial questions about how IES’s mission will be fulfilled. We propose three broad principles for the redesign and rebuilding of IES:
Focus on Supporting Rigorous Research
Ensure a Strong Data Infrastructure
Restore Staffing to Core IES Functions
