According to a April 10
Chronicle of Higher Education (
CHE) article, "
Education Researchers Call for More Independence for Federal Agency That Supports Them," a American Educational Research Association (AERA) report urges more independence for the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which is currently part of the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) in the Department of Education.
The AERA report urges changes to a 2002 law creating IES and making NCES part of IES. According to
CHE,
"The report recommends that the law be altered so that the commissioner of education statistics no longer reports to the IES director, but instead reports directly to the secretary of education. It also calls for the re-establishment of a board of statistics experts to advise the work of the center. Such changes, the research association says in a news release accompanying its report, would enable the center 'to be an effective national resource of unquestioned objectivity.'"
The AERA report also makes recommendations regarding IES autonomy and operations.
A
11/2/09 letter from then ASA President Sally Morton to Education Secretary Arne Duncan recommended similar changes to improve NCES professional autonomy, authority and stature. The letter largely speaks for itself, with major excepts pasted here:
"NCES’ autonomy and authority are a requisite for its products and data
to be objective, accurate, and publicly accepted—all essential
requirements to the central purpose of informing national education
policy. For its products and data to be so regarded, NCES should have
explicit final authority over its publications—including press
releases—to avoid perception of any outside influence, including
political. Such authority was previously held by NCES, but was made
ambiguous in the 2002 IES legislation and in the implementation that
followed.
"Bolstering NCES’ stature will help to better inform
policy decisions within the Department of Education. A weak NCES does
not serve this, or any, administration’s purposes. That the NCES
commissioner is a presidential appointee, with approval by the Senate,
who serves for a fixed term, is important in this regard."More direct access by NCES to the secretary’s office, and the resulting participation in policy meetings of senior department officials, would help better inform the department’s education policies. The commissioner of education statistics would contribute greatly to inform department-wide decisionmaking because of his/her command of an extraordinary array of information on education at all levels and on a range of topics—from outcomes to investment of resources for education to characteristics of schooling. Further, by hearing first-hand the senior-level policy discussions, the commissioner would be better equipped to direct NCES resources to provide data to inform any policy.
"Such access would also further strengthen NCES and heighten the credibility of its products, as sufficient stature within the department is necessary for the commissioner to speak for the integrity of NCES products, protect against infringement, and ensure adequate budgeting. Stronger, more credible NCES products as the foundation of department policy decisions would buttress those decisions in reality and perception.
"Bolstered NCES stature could also address leadership continuity because a higher profile commissioner is more likely to be appointed and approved quickly. NCES has had an acting commissioner for nearly a year, and the previous commissioner served only half of a six-year term after three years under acting commissioners."
Morton's letter also pointed out ASA's recommendations are consistent with the National Academies’
Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency.
Legislation to reauthorize IES is expected soon and would be the ideal vehicle to make these changes. ASA will be tracking such legislation and working to make sure these critical changes to help NCES do its job efficiently and effectively.