2011 National Board for Education Sciences Annual Report
Overview of the National Board for Education Sciences

Background

The Institute of Education Sciences, created as part of the Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 (ESRA) (Pub. L. 107-279), is the primary research arm of the U.S. Department of Education (ED). ESRA established the National Board for Education Sciences to advise and consult with the Director of the Institute. The Board is responsible for considering and approving priorities proposed by the Director to guide the work of the Institute; reviewing and approving procedures for technical and scientific peer review of the activities of the Institute; and reviewing and regularly evaluating the work of the Institute to ensure that its research, development, evaluation, and statistical analyses are consistent with the standards set out in ESRA. The Board is also responsible for providing to the Director of IES, the Secretary of Education, and appropriate congressional committees a report that assesses the effectiveness of the Institute in carrying out its priorities and mission, especially as they relate to performing scientifically valid research, conducting unbiased evaluations, collecting and reporting accurate education statistics, and translating research into practice.

The Board consists of 15 voting members appointed by the President of the United States, by and with the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate. Serving as nonvoting ex officio members are the Director of the Institute, each of the four Commissioners of the National Education Centers, the Director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the Director of the Census, the Commissioner of Labor Statistics, and the Director of the National Science Foundation. As shown in Appendix A, the Board is currently operating with 10 appointed members, including three who were nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2011:

Anthony S. Bryk is the president of the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching at Stanford University and the cofounder of the Consortium on Chicago School Research.

Kris D. Gutiérrez is a professor in the School of Education at the University of Colorado at Boulder and the president of the American Educational Research Association.

Robert A. Underwood is the president of the University of Guam and a former delegate from that territory to the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Board met in September 2010 and November 2010 under the leadership of Board chair Eric Hanushek and vice chair Jon Baron. At the November 2010 meeting, the Board elected Jon Baron chair and Bridget Terry Long vice chair. The Board met under their leadership in March 2011. Since the Board's inception in 2004, it has approved 12 resolutions to serve as guidance for Congress, the Secretary of Education, and the Director of IES (see Appendix B).