Institute of Education Sciences

What Institute of Education Sciences does

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education, created by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 and headquartered in Washington, D.C. It is organized into four national centers: the National Center for Education Research (NCER), the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE), and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER). Its core products include the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), the What Works Clearinghouse, the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS), the Data Lab, school and postsecondary institution locators, a network of ten Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs), and research training programs such as DS4EDU and the Summer RCT Institute. IES does not develop proprietary commercial technology; its underlying "platform" is a combination of statistical survey infrastructure, peer-reviewed evaluation pipelines, grant-making systems, and web-accessible data tools.

IES is funded entirely through congressional appropriations administered via the Department of Education. In FY2025, Congress appropriated $768 million; however, the White House Office of Management and Budget is reportedly refusing to release an estimated $289 million of those funds, a practice the GAO has flagged as a violation of the Impoundment Control Act. IES charges no fees for its research, data, or resources; its go-to-market is not commercial but rather statutory, distributing outputs free of charge to educators, policymakers, researchers, state and local education agencies, parents, and the public through ies.ed.gov and a network of ten Regional Educational Laboratories. In 2025, the Trump administration reduced IES staffing from hundreds to fewer than 20 employees, NCES to three staff, and stalled multiple programs including the What Works Clearinghouse, the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, and REL operations. The agency simultaneously absorbed four programs from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, and its Acting Director, Dr. Matthew Soldner, oversees a substantially diminished operational footprint relative to its statutory mandate.

Name

Institute of Education Sciences

Legal name

Institute of Education Sciences

Website

https://ies.ed.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IES is the U.S. Department of Education's research, evaluation, and statistics agency, operating four national centers to produce NAEP, IPEDS, the What Works Clearinghouse, and Regional Educational Laboratories serving educators, policymakers, and researchers. It is funded entirely by congressional appropriations and currently operates with a sharply reduced workforce.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Government Education Research and Statistics

NAICS

Public Administration (92), Educational Support Services (611710), Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Educational Services (611)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

National/State Examination Boards & Testing Agencies (EDADAFAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

IEP Goals, Accommodations & Modifications Design (EDAKACAE), Integrated Education & Training (IET) / Contextualized ABE (Workforce-Linked) (EDAAAAAK)

Keywords

• Education research services
• Education statistics
• Program evaluation
• Evidence-based policy
• Federal grant funding

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Others

Revenue model

1. Federal Appropriations: IES operates as a federal government agency funded by congressional appropriations through the U.S. Department of Education. In fiscal 2025, Congress appropriated $768 million for IES. The agency does not generate revenue from commercial activities.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

IES conducts and funds rigorous, independent education research, evaluation, and statistics through its four national centers (NCER, NCES, NCEE, NCSER). It administers the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), operates the What Works Clearinghouse for evidence synthesis, runs a network of 10 Regional Educational Laboratories, and provides data tools, training programs, and grants to state and local education agencies. All outputs are provided free of charge and funded by federal congressional appropriations.

Product overview

The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) operates as a platform of interconnected research centers, data tools, and training programs rather than a single product. The core offering includes the What Works Clearinghouse for evidence synthesis, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for student achievement assessment, and Regional Educational Laboratories for practitioner support. These are complemented by data tools including Data Lab, IPEDS Data Explorer, NAEP Data Explorer, and locators for schools and postsecondary institutions. IES also funds research training programs including the Summer RCT Institute and DS4EDU program, alongside grant programs for state longitudinal data systems.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• What Works Clearinghouse: Independent reviews of research on what works in education
• Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs)
• NAEP (National Assessment of Educational Progress)

Products and services

• What Works Clearinghouse Independent review portal that synthesizes and evaluates research on educational interventions, providing practitioners and policymakers with evidence-based recommendations on what works in education.
• National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Nationally representative assessment of student achievement in various subjects at grades 4, 8, and 12, providing continuous reporting of academic progress through the NAEP Data Explorer.
• Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) Network of 10 regional laboratories providing research-informed technical assistance, coaching, and training to states and districts to improve student outcomes.
• Data Lab Online table and regression maker tools featuring 30+ federal education datasets for researchers and policymakers to analyze education statistics.
• IPEDS Data Explorer Data access tool for Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System (IPEDS) data submitted to NCES, allowing users to search and download postsecondary institution statistics.
• NAEP Data Explorer Interactive tool providing national and state results for all main subject areas assessed under the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).
• Elementary and Secondary School and School District Locator

Quantifiable outcome

• Provides data describing how well the United States is educating its students through official statistics, longitudinal surveys, and NAEP assessments.
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Eight partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Vietnam Institute of Educational SciencesminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 October 2025Co-organized a national conference on innovating language education in Vietnam with the University of Economics Ho Chi Minh City and the College of Economics, Law and Government. The conference gathered nearly 150 delegates from universities, research institutes, and educational organizations to discuss sustainability, internationalization, and digital transformation in language education.
• Louisiana Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerREL Southwest partnered with the Louisiana Department of Education and St. Helena Parish School District to support rural school districts through a network focused on evidence-based strategies to improve teacher recruitment and retention. The network includes superintendents, HR directors, principals, and key decision-makers.
• Puerto Rico Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerREL Northeast & Islands partnered with Puerto Rico Department of Education to pilot the Academic Parent-Teacher Teams (APTT) model. This approach engages families in discussions about children's academic progress through data review, goal-setting, and home strategy practice.
• Niswonger FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerREL Appalachia partnered with the Niswonger Foundation and ten school districts in northeastern Tennessee to support students' college and career readiness through the Data-to-Improve project. The partnership resulted in co-designed training materials on data-informed decision-making.
• States, universities, and school districts in Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and WyomingcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerREL Central supports teacher apprenticeship programs across four states, helping paraprofessionals and school staff earn teaching credentials while working in schools. States, universities, and districts collaborate to develop and strengthen apprenticeship pathways.
• Carnegie Mellon UniversitycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCarnegie Mellon University hosts the Data Science for Education (DS4EDU) training program, a one-year training that prepares education practitioners to use data science methods. The program includes online instruction, in-person workshops, and mentoring.
• Northwestern UniversitycoreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerNorthwestern University hosts the Summer Research Training Institute on Cluster-Randomized Trials, which prepares education researchers to plan, design, conduct, and interpret cluster-randomized trials through a 2-week in-person workshop.
• Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFour programs from OESE moved to IES: Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program and Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program joined NCER; Comprehensive Centers Program and Equity Assistance Centers Program joined NCEE. These programs emphasize evidence building and data-driven school improvement.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Mathematica Policy Research: Mathematica conducts rigorous education and social policy research using randomized controlled trials and quasi-experimental designs. It frequently partners with IES on evaluations and shares IES's commitment to evidence-based policy research in education.
• RAND Corporation: RAND conducts independent education research and policy analysis for federal, state, and private-sector clients. While RAND is a nonprofit research organization rather than a federal agency, it is one of the largest producers of rigorous education research outside IES and frequently competes for the same federal contracts and grants.
• U.S. Census Bureau: The Census Bureau collects and publishes demographic and economic data that complements IES's education statistics. Both are federal statistical agencies operating under similar statutory mandates for independent data collection and public dissemination.
• American Institutes for Research: AIR is a major nonprofit behavioral and social science research organization that conducts large-scale education evaluations for federal agencies, including contracts from IES. AIR's evaluation, assessment, and technical assistance work is closely comparable to IES's evaluation and REL functions.
• Council of Chief State School Officers: CCSSO represents state education chiefs and works closely with IES on data standards, assessment policy, and state longitudinal data systems. Its role as a convener of state education agencies parallels IES's REL network as an intermediary between federal research and state practice.

Direct peers

• National Assessment Governing Board: NAGB oversees the development of NAEP, the same assessment administered by IES. The two organizations share a close operational relationship in setting policy for the nation's report card, making NAGB a direct functional peer in education assessment governance.
• National Science Foundation: NSF is the federal agency that funds fundamental scientific research and training, comparable to IES in its role as a major federal research funder. Both operate under a statutory mandate to advance scientific knowledge through competitive grants, peer review, and workforce development programs.
• WestEd: WestEd is a nonprofit research, development, and service agency that operates one of IES's Regional Educational Laboratories and conducts applied education research. Its REL operating role and practitioner-focused technical assistance work directly mirror IES's REL network function.

Emerging players

• Brookings Institution - Brown Center on Education Policy: The Brown Center conducts independent analysis of education policy using federal data sources and produces widely cited research on K-12 and postsecondary education. It functions as a thought-leadership peer to IES in shaping evidence-based policy debate.
• Education Trust: Education Trust is a nonprofit advocacy and research organization focused on closing achievement gaps, producing policy analysis using federal education data including NAEP. While narrower in scope than IES, it operates as an external voice that uses IES data products to drive policy change.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/IESResearch

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments7 records

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Frequently asked questions about Institute of Education Sciences