NCES is authorized by Congress under the Education Sciences Reform Act (ESRA) of 2002: Section 151 as a statistics center within IES with a mission “to collect and analyze education information and statistics in a manner that meets the highest methodological standards.” The section further states that NCES is to (1) report education information and statistics in a timely manner; (2) ensure these reports are objective, secular, neutral, non ideological, and free of partisan political influence and bias; and (3) ensure that these reports are relevant and useful to practitioners, researchers, policymakers, and the public.
Administrative Data Division
Enumerates districts and schools through the Common Core of Data (CCD). The CCD is the Department of Education’s primary database on public elementary and secondary education in the United States.
Colleges and other Postsecondary: Enumerates institutions (IPEDS). Tracks important statistics such as graduation rates.
Assessment Division
National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP)
Participation in International Studies such as PISA, TIMSS, PIRLS, PIACC.
Annual Reports
Condition of Education (COE) congressionally mandated report on all levels of education and labor force outcomes in the United states, as well as international comparisons.
Sample Surveys Division
Cross-sectional surveys: e.g., Private School Survey (PSS), National Household Education Study (NHES), National Teachers and Principals Survey (NTPS).
Longitudinal Surveys: e.g., Early Childhood Longitudinal Study (ECLS), Middle Grades Longitudinal Study (MGLS), High School Longitudinal Studies (HSLS and HS&B), Beginning Postsecondary Students Longitudinal Study (BPS).
History
NCES’s mission to collect and report education statistics traces back to original legislation establishing a federal agency in 1867 to collect and report information about education for the nation, which called for
Collecting such statistics and facts as shall show the condition and progress of education in the several States and territories, and of diffusing such information respecting the organization and management of schools and school systems, and methods of teaching, as shall aid the people of the United States in the establishment and maintenance of efficient school systems, and otherwise promote the cause of education throughout the United States.
The agency’s name and status, have changed many times: the first change was to a bureau; then to an office; then to a division—initially in the U.S. Department of the Interior, then in the Federal Security Agency, and then in the U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW). Its name was officially recognized in law as the “National Center for Education Statistics” in 1974, when it was a division of HEW. When the current U.S. Department of Education was established in 1979, NCES became part of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement (OERI). The Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002 then placed NCES within the Institute of Education Sciences (IES).
Please see this retrospective report for more information