Re-Envisioning the National Center
for Education Statistics
With the support of Lumina Foundation and William T. Grant Foundation, the ASA launched a project to define a revitalized National Center for Education Statistics that is more efficient and agile. While our primary audience is policymakers in the administration and Congress, we want broad input and discussion for what could be a once-in-a-lifetime discussion.
Our short-term goal is to publish a vision document in summer 2026 for discussion and consideration. Our longer term goal is to publish in Fall 2027 a revised vision document along with a roadmap to achieve the vision that is informed by a broad swath of NCES stakeholders. To inform the 2026 vision recommendations, we engaged as many stakeholders as we could, analyzing public comments on the future of NCES and its parent organization, accepting invitations to meet with interested groups, and also hosting three roundtables of our own with key audiences:
- Think tanks and data policy groups, October 28, 2025; summary.
- Philanthropic groups, February 27, 2026; summary.
- Visionary education data experts, May 1, 2026; summary.
Engagement with the broader NCES stakeholder community is vital to our project. We have spoken virtually or in-person with groups such as the Friends of IES and at several annual conferences, including those of the American Association of Colleges for Teacher Education (AACTE), American Educational Research Association (AERA), and the National Council on Measurement in Education (NCME). We will expand this outreach and engagement in the second year of the project.
If you have ideas for broadening our engagement, please get in touch. We also invite you to sign up to receive updates and respond to calls for review and input and tell us about your NCES-related project.
Since its founding in 1839 with the goal of improving the 1840 census, the ASA has supported the role of federal statistics in informing decision-makers across government, business, and the public. A non-partisan, scientific professional association, the ASA brings numerous qualities to the discussion on improving federal statistics. Our decades-long relationships with federal statistical system leaders provide an insider perspective on how seemingly small changes can have outsized impacts on statistical integrity. We combine this perspective with regular congressional staff and administration official engagement, not only to inform them of the situations for federal statistical agencies and their needs but to monitor the legislative landscape. Our project on Assessing and Monitoring the Health of the Federal Statistical agencies, begun in 2023, gives us insights and perspective on what statistical agencies need to be effective and efficient. The project’s reports, "The Nation's Data at Risk," and other projects by the ASA over the years serve as trusted benchmarks for policymakers across the political spectrum when making budget and restructuring decisions. Learn more about the ASA and its support of federal statistics.
This project is supported by Lumina Foundation and William T. Grant Foundation and reflects the ASA's ongoing commitment to strengthening the federal statistical system. However, the content of this website and the content of the project’s materials do not represent the opinions of the two foundations.