Mining NCES Data to Answer QuestionsNCES in 2026: What’s still available, what’s gone, and how to find what you needLive Webinar – 12 noon ET, April 30th The federal education data landscape has changed significantly. Data collections have been discontinued. Staff who answered your questions are gone. Websites have been reorganized. If you depend on NC...

We’re launching the Agora Education Research Academy, built by former federal researchers to help people work confidently and responsibly with NCES data. First webinar is April 30 with Tom Snyder on navigating NCES tools. Join us:
edevaluator.org/courses/mini...

Trump Again Proposes Major Education Cuts in New Budget Proposal The president again wants lawmakers to consider billions in K-12 spending cuts and program eliminations.

Education Week reports that the White House FY2027 proposal includes major reductions that could weaken federal education data systems. When capacity shrinks, states carry the burden. Decisions should start with research evidence. www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

The April issue of Data Currents is out. It is Agora’s newsletter on federal education data, and this month we look at the future of federal education research. Read and subscribe: us2.campaign-archive.com?u=f813e150e5...

New data from The 74 show that children who were babies during COVID are entering school with lower reading and math skills. The causes are systemic. Losing ECLS K 2024 means losing the data needed to understand what young learners are experiencing. www.the74million.org/zero2eight/k...

Proud to see Agora associate Maura Spiegelman contribute to this AEFP conversation on the future of federal education statistics. Her expertise reflects our commitment to building stronger data systems for researchers, educators, and communities. #AEFP2026

Proud to share that Agora’s Maura Spiegelman will join colleagues at AEFP on March 19. Our work pushes for evidence, equity, and systems change that strengthens opportunities for every learner. virtual.oxfordabstracts.com/event/public...

Nurturing What We Invest In: Listening, Learning, and Evaluating During Universal Pre‑K and Child Care Expansion In Part 2 of our series on universal child care and PreK expansion, we look at how real‑time feedback from staff and families strengthens quality and keeps programs aligned with community needs.

Part 2 of our series on universal child care and PreK expansion is out. Jodi Jacobson Chernoff highlights why listening to staff and families during implementation is essential for protecting quality as programs grow.
edevaluator.org/nurturing-wh...

One year ago, federal RIFs reshaped the Department of Education. We honor the public servants and contractors whose work built the nation’s education data systems. Agora remains committed to carrying that legacy forward with transparency, equity, and care.

Are you smarter than an eighth grader in digital literacy and computational thinking? Test yourself with a real ICILS 2018 task and see how students reason through digital challenges. Read Linda’s new blog: edevaluator.org/explore-a-co...

Agora welcomes ED’s plans to strengthen IES. The Northern report reflects several recommendations we submitted last fall, from harmonized APIs to CEDS‑aligned research and coordinated TA, encouraging alignment for the field. www.ed.gov/about/news/p...

OPRE is being significantly reduced under the new ACF restructuring. Independent research on programs like Head Start and child welfare is at risk. Read the joint statement from Data Foundation and Results for America. datafoundation.org/news/press-r...

Congress Has Passed an Education Budget. See How Key Programs Are Affected Federal funding for low-income students and special education will remain level year over year.

Good news in the FY2026 education budget. Despite proposed cuts, Congress kept most ED programs funded at prior levels. This stability gives educators and researchers room to plan, innovate, and strengthen systems for kids and families. www.edweek.org/policy-polit...

You are invited to join a webinar: Innovating For Whom We Measure in the AI Era. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email about joining the webinar. In an era of multi-modal AI, the opportunity exists to center the needs of learners, educators, families, and the wider community in ways unthought of previously. In addition to addressing how the sci...

Also, from the Study Group on Innovating for Whom We Measure in the AI Era, there's a February 24 webinar exploring how AI can support more equitable and useful measurement and improvement systems.

Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...

Accelerate Edtech Impact Summit • Stanford Accelerator for Learning How can educational technology better leverage learning science? This half-day summit draws together leaders in research, education, and technology to discuss, learn, and advance equitable and effecti...

Stanford’s 2026 AI and Education Summit is today, Wednesday, February 11. A strong lineup exploring how AI can support human relationships, trustworthy design, and evidence informed practice:
acceleratelearning.stanford.edu/conference/a...

#AIinEducation #ResponsibleAI #HumanCenteredAI

What lies beneath? Why data disaggregation matters In today's data-driven world, the way we analyze and interpret data can significantly impact decision-making and policy development. Disaggregating data allows us to uncover hidden trends and disparit...

Averages can mask meaningful differences in school systems.

In our latest blog, we look at how national vs. international datasets (NTPS & TALIS) describe the educator workforce & how disaggregation helps us understand and address equity: tinyurl.com/y55c9fu6

#EduSky #EdData #TALIS #NTPS

Testing Student AI Literacy Around the Globe: ICILS 2028 In Agora Education Research’s recent blog on the International Computer and Information Literacy Study (ICILS), Linda Hamilton wrote about the study’s role in measuring digital literacy among 8th grad...

How do students around the world understand and interact with AI? 🤖📚

Read more about plans for ICILS 2028 and AI usage in schools from ICILS 2023 in our latest blog: tinyurl.com/2wkj5vh2

#AI #DigitalLiteracy #ICILS2028

Why ending the Education Department might be bad news for charter schools Leaked emails show the National Alliance for Public Charter Schools landed a meeting with the Labor Secretary, who assuaged short-term concerns. Long-run worries remain though.

New—

Emails I obtained show that a top charter school advocacy group is concerned about moving education programs to the Department of Labor.

cbnewsletters.chalkbeat.org/p/charter-sc...

Seeds of Opportunity: Growing Universal Pre-K and Child Care Wisely Early childhood is the time to ensure that children are on the road to success. Investing in early childhood works, but only if done right.

The smartest investment isn’t on Wall Street - it’s in early childhood.

Universal PreK and child care fuel the economy by freeing parents to work & setting children for lifelong success. @jodichernoff33.bsky.social breaks down how to invest strategically: tinyurl.com/cyja57br

#EarlyChildhood

Subscribe Subscribe to Data Currents Get the latest updates on education data and research. Subscribe to Data Currents, Agora's monthly newsletter, and stay informed about developments in the education data wor...

✨ CEDS & education data standardization
✨ Teacher pipeline: what the data shows
✨ State-to-state collaborative benchmarking
Read & subscribe: edevaluator.org/subscribe
State education folks - would love to connect with you about your data needs.

Using NAEP for Academic Benchmarking Education agencies face different choices when determining achievement levels on new and existing assessment systems: What should students know and be able to do to meet the proficiency standard?

🚨New blog: Early reading is key to unlocking future opportunities, and smart investments in literacy paid off big time in Mississippi ($32 for every $1 spent!). NAEP is a reliable benchmark that helps states keep kids cruising toward success. tinyurl.com/3xd5ez6u

#Literacy #NAEP #ReadingMatters

Fast AND good? Comparing preliminary and final survey estimates As researchers, we want data to be timely, relevant, and actionable without sacrificing quality. That is, we want data to be both fast and good. For parents, teachers, and researchers, understanding h...

Preliminary ≠ provisional? A look at NTPS data shows how early estimates stack up against final - and what that means for timeliness vs. accuracy in survey production.

edevaluator.org/fast-and-goo...

#DataAnalysis #SurveyResearch #EdResearch

The Importance of Measuring Student Digital Literacy As the world continues to evolve technologically, assessing digital literacy, including AI literacy, is essential to ensure students are prepared for the future workforce and to measure the effectiven...

Despite increased tech exposure, ICILS data show a troubling decline in student digital literacy for U.S. students. Read more about international findings and implications for policy, data collection, and preparing our nation's youth:
tinyurl.com/m9dwnuaa

#DigitalLiteracy #ICILS #AIinEducation

Subscribe Subscribe to Data Currents Get the latest updates on education data and research. Subscribe to Data Currents, Agora's monthly newsletter, and stay informed about developments in the education data wor...

Launching Data Currents - Agora's monthly newsletter for the education research community:
📊 Federal data updates
🔍 State system insights
📈 Research & policy connections
💡 Practical guidance

Subscribe here: edevaluator.org/subscribe/

#EdResearch #EducationData #SLDS

How is the US Doing Compared to its International Peers? OECD’s Annual Education at a Glance Reports New Findings How did adult literacy skills in the United States change between 2012 and 2023 according to the 2023 PIAAC assessments? Read our analysis in the latest Agora blog by Tom Snyder.

How is the United States Doing Compared to its International Peers? How did adult literacy skills in the U.S. change between 2012 and 2023?

Read Agora's latest blog by Tom Snyder. #EducationAtAGlance #OECD #USeducation

edevaluator.org/how-is-the-u...

Thanks to the persistence and expertise of researchers like Elise and Sean, we have a clearer view of how early high school students’ aspirations for a bachelor’s degree have declined over time - and what’s at stake if we fail to act.

#HigherEd #EducationResearch #EquityInEducation

These analyses began at NCES, but contracts were cancelled before the work could be completed. Agora Associate Dr. Elise M. Christopher and Dr. Sean Simone recreated and expanded their initial analysis, ensuring this important story wouldn’t disappear.

The Pell Institute Releases Research Brief Showing Sharp Decline in High School Student Aspiration for a Bachelor’s Degree - The Pell Institute A new Pell Institute research brief reveals that the share of U.S. high school students expecting to earn a bachelor’s degree has plummeted from 72% in 2002 to just 44% in 2022—with first-generation s...

The Pell Institute’s latest brief shows worrisome trends:

🎓 In 2002, 72% of high school students expected to earn a bachelor’s degree.

By 2022, that number dropped to 44%.

Among first-generation students, aspirations plunged from 60% to 33%.

tinyurl.com/yn4fz9jx

Agora Associate Elise Christopher discusses the loss of NCES longitudinal studies, including High School and Beyond, which won't be collected next spring as planned.

Natural Disasters in Longitudinal Education Data Without longitudinal education data, it may be harder for researchers to determine the immediate or long-term impacts many of these natural events will have on the persistence and attainment of U.S. p...

Extreme weather is increasingly disrupting the educational progress of students. Longitudinal education studies can account for extreme weather events by incorporating administrative data from public sources, but these solutions require support.

tinyurl.com/22dvdd6j

The cancellation of ECLS-K:2024 leaves educators and families without the data they need - especially in supporting children who were toddlers during the pandemic (and we know had unique early experiences!).

This blog explores what we’ve lost and why it matters: tinyurl.com/48c2kckj #NCES