The U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) has announced that the research, development, and dissemination programs at IES have received an effective rating, the highest score on OMB's Program Assessment Rating Tool (PART).

OMB concludes that, "IES has transformed the quality and rigor of education research within the Department of Education and increased the demand for scientifically based evidence of effectiveness in the education field as a whole."

OMB's PART was developed to assess and improve program performance so that the Federal government can achieve better results. The PART looks at all factors that affect and reflect program performance including program purpose and design; performance measurement, evaluations, and strategic planning; program management; and program results.

The U.S. Department of Education has five programs rated effective, three of which are within IES (research, statistics, and the National Assessment of Educational Progress). OMB has assessed over 1,000 programs across the Federal government, only 18 percent of which have been scored effective.

For more information about the IES ratings, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/expectmore/summary/10009008.2007.html.

For more information about PART, visit http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/expectmore/index.html.