National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance

What National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance does

The National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance (NCEE) is one of four centers within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), the statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education, established by the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002. Headquartered at 400 Maryland Avenue SW, Washington, D.C., NCEE conducts large-scale evaluations of federal education programs and policies, operates the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) as an independent evidence-review portal for what works in education, and administers a network of 10 Regional Educational Laboratories (RELs) that deliver applied research and technical assistance to all 50 states plus U.S. territories. The center also supports auxiliary data infrastructure including the NAEP Data Explorer, IPEDS Data Explorer, Data Lab (30+ federal datasets), and institutional locators for schools, districts, and postsecondary institutions. In 2025, NCEE expanded its portfolio by absorbing the Comprehensive Centers Program and Equity Assistance Centers Program from the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.

NCEE serves federal and state policymakers, educators, school administrators, education researchers, and parents/communities; named downstream beneficiaries include the Louisiana Department of Education, Puerto Rico Department of Education, Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Kenai Peninsula Borough School District, and St. Helena Parish School District. The center employs 51-100 staff and is led through the IES Director's office; Dr. Matthew Soldner served as Acting Commissioner of NCEE from July 2018 until his 2025 transition to Acting Director of IES and Acting Commissioner of NCES.

NCEE operates as a federally funded agency with no commercial revenue model: all research, evaluation, and data services are provided free of charge through the IES website and REL network. Funding flows from U.S. congressional appropriations via the Department of Education, and the center has no shareholders, private investors, or equity instruments. Distribution is direct-to-public through government-owned digital platforms (ies.ed.gov) and the geographically segmented REL network, with no third-party resellers or channel partners.

Name

National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance

Legal name

National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance

Website

https://ies.ed.gov

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

NCEE is a U.S. federal agency within the Institute of Education Sciences that conducts large-scale evaluations of federal education programs, operates the What Works Clearinghouse, and runs 10 Regional Educational Laboratories serving all 50 states and U.S. territories.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Education Research and Evaluation Services

NAICS

Educational Services (611), Educational Services (61), Educational Support Services (61171), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200), Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Testing Laboratories (8734)

akta.pro primary industry

Educational Research, Measurement & Evaluation Programs (EDAHAFAL)

akta.pro secondary industry

Curriculum-Based Measurement (CBM) & Progress Monitoring Services (EDAKADAI)

Keywords

• Education evaluation services
• Education research
• Federal education programs
• Evidence-based practices
• Education statistics

Headquarters

HQ city

Washington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Others

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

NCEE conducts large-scale evaluations of federal education programs and policies, supports evidence-based practice through the What Works Clearinghouse, and operates a network of Regional Educational Laboratories providing technical assistance, training, and research support to state and local education agencies. It also funds development and rigorous testing of new education approaches and provides data tools for education decision-making.

Product overview

NCEE offers a portfolio of evidence-based products and tools focused on education evaluation and regional assistance. The core offerings include the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) for systematic research reviews and the Regional Educational Laboratories (REL) network for applied research and technical assistance. These are supported by data tools including the Data Lab, NAEP Data Explorer, IPEDS Data Explorer, school and district locators, and postsecondary institution locator. Together, these products form an integrated system providing data, research synthesis, and technical support to educators, policymakers, and researchers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) An independent review of research on what works in education, providing systematic reviews, practice guides, and intervention reports to help educators, policymakers, and researchers identify effective practices.
• Regional Educational Laboratories (REL) Ten regional laboratories that conduct applied research and provide technical assistance to state education agencies, districts, and schools, supporting evidence-based decision making in education across all U.S. states and territories.
• Federal Education Program Evaluations Large-scale evaluations of federal education programs and policies, producing rigorous evidence to inform education policy and program design.
• Data Lab Online table and regression maker tools providing access to 30+ federal education datasets for researchers and policymakers.
• NAEP Data Explorer Tool providing national and state results for all main subject areas assessed under the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
• IPEDS Data Explorer Access to Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System data submitted to NCES through data tools or downloadable datasets.
• Comprehensive Centers Program Program transferred from OESE to NCEE in 2025 that provides technical assistance and capacity-building support to state education agencies.
• Equity Assistance Centers Program Program transferred from OESE to NCEE in 2025 that addresses equity issues in education through technical assistance to districts.

Quantifiable outcome

• 25 Promise Neighborhoods grantees evaluated across first decade of program
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Regional Educational Laboratory Southwest (REL Southwest)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerREL Southwest is one of ten Regional Educational Laboratories that provide technical assistance, training, and research support to states and local education agencies. REL Southwest serves Arizona, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas.
• Regional Educational Laboratory Northeast & Islands (REL Northeast & Islands)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerREL Northeast & Islands serves Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont, and the U.S. territories of American Samoa, Guam, Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and U.S. Virgin Islands.
• Regional Educational Laboratory Central (REL Central)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerREL Central serves Colorado, Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, South Dakota, and Wyoming. Partners with state education agencies on research and data use.
• Regional Educational Laboratory Northwest (REL Northwest)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerREL Northwest serves Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, and Washington. Conducts research on early literacy, teacher quality, and student outcomes.
• Regional Educational Laboratory Appalachia (REL Appalachia)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerREL Appalachia serves Kentucky, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. Partners on college and career readiness initiatives.
• Puerto Rico Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCEE/REL Northeast & Islands partnership to improve student outcomes by building educators' capacity to design and implement data-driven communication with families about students' academic progress.
• Puerto Rico Education FoundationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in the Puerto Rico Partnership to Engage Families in Data Use.
• Puerto Rico Community FoundationsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner organization in the Puerto Rico Partnership to Engage Families in Data Use.
• Niswonger FoundationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with REL Appalachia and ten school districts in northeastern Tennessee to support students' preparation for college and careers through the Data-to-Improve project.
• Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerREL Central partnership to build Missouri's capacity to monitor student reading growth and communicate progress on literacy initiatives to stakeholders.
• Alaska Department of Education and Early DevelopmentcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerREL Northwest partnership to examine how schools use literacy screening data under Alaska's early literacy policy.
• St. Helena Parish School DistrictsupportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerRural Louisiana district partnering with REL Southwest and Louisiana Department of Education on teacher recruitment and retention network.
• U.S. Department of EducationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNCEE is the statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education, created under the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002.
• Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFour programs from OESE have moved to IES: Education Innovation and Research (EIR) Program and Javits Gifted and Talented Students Education Program to NCER; Comprehensive Centers Program and Equity Assistance Centers Program to NCEE.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Abt Associates: Research and consulting firm that conducts social policy and education program evaluations, often as a federal contractor. Comparable to NCEE on the program-evaluation and applied-research axis.
• SRI International: Independent nonprofit research institute with a significant education division conducting program evaluation, technology research, and large-scale studies for federal and state clients — overlapping directly with NCEE's evaluation work.
• American Institutes for Research (AIR): Large nonprofit behavioral and social science research organization with one of the most extensive U.S. education evaluation portfolios, including work for ED and state agencies. Operates in the same evaluation and technical-assistance space as NCEE.
• Mathematica Policy Research: Major U.S. policy research and evaluation firm that conducts large-scale education program evaluations, randomized controlled trials, and implementation studies — frequently under contract to NCEE/IES and ED. Directly comparable as an education evaluation contractor.
• WestEd: Nonprofit research, development, and service agency focused on education and human development. Operates regional technical-assistance functions and conducts applied education research analogous to the REL network and NCEE's evaluation mission.

Emerging players

• Education Trust: Advocacy and policy research nonprofit focused on educational equity and closing achievement gaps. Operates as a research-and-advocacy peer shaping federal and state education policy, particularly on equity topics overlapping with NCEE's portfolio.

Broad incumbents

• Brookings Institution (Brown Center on Education Policy): Think tank with the Brown Center on Education Policy producing influential research and policy commentary. Comparable in role shaping national education policy debate, though broader in scope than NCEE.
• RAND Corporation: Global policy research organization with a substantial education policy and workforce research division. Performs rigorous education evaluations and analyses comparable to NCEE's work, though across a much broader research portfolio.
• Urban Institute: Major policy research organization with an active education policy program producing research on equity, postsecondary access, and evidence use. Comparable as a research producer feeding into federal and state education policy.

Others

• Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO): Nonpartisan national association of state education chiefs that partners with NCEE/IES on state-level evidence use and policy work. Functions as both a peer and a frequent collaborator in the same policy-research ecosystem.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/ies_ncee

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance