Fordham Institute: Rebuild federal education research

Chalkbeat Ideas is a new section featuring reported columns on the big ideas and debates shaping American schools. Sign up for the Ideas newsletter to follow our work.It was a move that stunned many in the world of education research. Nearly a year ago, the sleepy, wonky, somewhat obscure research arm of the Education Department was rapidly decimated by Elon Musk’s DOGE. The Institute of Education Sciences, or IES, saw a slew of research contracts canceled and most of its staff laid off.IES had for two decades funded research, collected basic data on schools, produced guides on “what works” in education, and run the national testing program. You may not know much about IES, but you’ve likely encountered its data. In the year since the DOGE decimation, parts of IES have been restored and recently the administration released a report with recommendations on “reimagining” its work. The report was authored by Amber Northern, who took on a temporary role with the Education Department and wh