Over the last 15 years, the field of education has become considerably more evidence focused, including a growing number of high-quality studies about how to help students succeed in school. An important catalyst has been the Institute of Education Sciences (IES). It is the independent, non-partisan statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education. Created in 2002 during the George W. Bush Administration, it has continued to flourish under the Obama Administration and today has a budget of about $670 million and a staff of 180.
To learn more, including lessons for other public agencies, we’re joined by Russ Whitehurst. He was the first director of IES and served in that role from 2002 to 2008. Today he is a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution, including serving as editor of the Evidence Speaks series.
Web extra: Russ Whitehurst describes the origins of IES, including some of the key people involved in its creation and launch. [click here]