National Center for Education Statistics NCES

When Congress created the first federal Department of Education on March 2, 1867, its main job was to collect statistics on the condition of schools, making education data one of the oldest federal statistical functions. The National Center for Education Statistics was established in its modern form in the 1960s and became part of the Institute of Education Sciences in 2002. It is one of the principal federal statistical agencies and is led by a Commissioner.

NCES gathers data on every public school and district through the Common Core of Data, and on colleges through the Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System, which covers enrollment, graduation rates, and costs. It runs the National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation's Report Card, which has tested representative samples of students since 1969, with policy set by the independent National Assessment Governing Board. It also conducts international comparisons and publishes the annual Condition of Education report to Congress.

NAEP results released in January 2025 showed reading scores falling further and many students not recovering from pandemic-era losses. Later in 2025, contract cancellations and layoffs reduced NCES to a small fraction of its former staff, and some reports were delayed or scaled back while NAEP testing continued under contract. Officials said essential data would be preserved, while statisticians and education groups of all political leanings warned that the nation could lose its ability to track student achievement reliably.