The National Center for Education Research (NCER) and the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER) support rigorous research that aims to solve significant education problems in the U.S. and research on infants, toddlers, children, and youth with and at risk for disabilities.
Through its research initiatives and the national research and development centers, NCER engages in research activities that will result in the provision of high-quality education for all children, improvement in student academic achievement, reduction in the achievement gap between high-performing and low-performing students, and increased access to and opportunity for postsecondary education. NCSER aims to advance the understanding of and practices for teaching, learning, and organizing education systems for infants, toddlers, children, and youth with and at risk for disabilities. Support is provided through multiple programs.
Improving Education through Research
IES seeks to improve the quality of education for all students—prekindergarten through postsecondary and adult education—by supporting education research and the development of tools that education scientists need to conduct rigorous, applied research. Such research aims to advance our understanding of and practices for teaching, learning, and organizing education systems, and it helps to identify what works, what doesn't, and why. The goal is to improve education programs and, hence, outcomes for all learners, particularly those at a heightened risk of failure.
Education Research Grants
Career and Technical Education (CTE)
Career and technical education (CTE) provides students with the skills, knowledge, and experiences necessary to enter the labor market or continue with further occupational education or training.
Civics Education and Social Studies
Civics Education and Social Studies supports research to improve learners' knowledge, skills, and attitudes to understand complex social and economic issues.
Cognition and Student Learning
The Cognition and Student Learning (CASL) topic supports research that capitalizes on our understanding of how the mind works to inform and improve education practice in reading, writing, mathematics, and science, and study skills
Early Learning Programs and Policies
The Early Learning Programs and Policies (Early Learning) topic supports research on the improvement of school-readiness skills (e.g., pre-reading, language, vocabulary, early science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, and social and behavioral competencies) of prekindergarten children (i.e., 3- to 5-year-olds).
Education Leadership
The Education Leadership (Leadership) topic supports research on programs, policies, and practices to support leaders in K-12 education systems at the school, district, or state level in order to improve leadership in ways that can lead to beneficial student education outcomes
Education Technology
Education technology offers new and promising ways to expand access to educational opportunities for all learners. Yet, when selecting and implementing new technologies, administrators and educators need clear and accurate information to make educated decisions about appropriate technologies for their schools.
English Learners Policies, Programs, and Practices
The English Learners Policies, Programs, and Practices topic supports research that considers how policies, practices, programs, and other resources can be leveraged to improve education outcomes, reduce the academic achievement gap, and address inequities in education for English Learners (ELs).
Improving Education Systems
The Improving Education Systems: Policies, Finance, Organization, Management, and Leadership (Systems) topic supports research on system-level education improvements at the school, district, state, or national level.
Literacy
The Literacy topic supports research on the range of English language-based skills required for learning. U.S. students must develop fluency not only in reading and writing in English but also in speaking and listening in English, and they must be able to apply these skills across multiple contexts, including classrooms and online.
Postsecondary and Adult Education
The Postsecondary and Adult Education (PSAE) topic area supports research that will lead to improved access to, persistence in, progress through, and completion of postsecondary and adult education programs.
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education
The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Education topic supports research on the improvement of students' STEM knowledge and skills.
Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Context for Teaching and Learning
The Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Context for Teaching and Learning (Social/Emotional/Behavioral) topic supports research on social and emotional skills and behaviors
Teaching, Teachers, and the Education Workforce
The Teaching, Teachers, and the Education Workforce topic (formerly called Effective Teachers and Effective Teaching) supports research on strategies for improving the performance of classroom teachers
Research Grants Focused on Systematic Replication
Research Grants Focused on Systematic Replication
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) provides scientific evidence to improve education practice and policy and shares that evidence in a way that can be used by educators, parents, policymakers, researchers, and the public.
Transformative Research in Education Sciences
Transformative Research in the Education Sciences
Through the Transformative Research in the Education Sciences Grants Program, IES seeks to support innovative research that has the potential to make dramatic advances towards solving seemingly intractable problems and challenges in the education field and/or to accelerate the pace of conducting education research to facilitate major breakthroughs.
Field Initiated Evaluations of Education Innovations
Field Initiated Evaluations of Education Innovations
Under a single competition held in FY 2005, the Field Initiated Evaluations of Education Innovations Research Grant Program supported research to evaluate the impact of education interventions that were not being used in the field, that appeared promising based on student performance or filled an unmet need, but that had not been rigorously evaluated at the time of application.
Statistical and Research Methodology in Education
Core
Core grants last a maximum of 3 years, with a maximum award amount of $900,000 to support the development of new and improved statistical and research methods and their dissemination to education researchers.
Early Career
Early Career researchers interested in conducting statistical and methodological research are invited to apply to the Early Career Development and Mentoring Program for Education Research (ALN 84.305B) or the Core and Toolkit topics within the Statistical and Research Methodology in Education (Stats/Methods) grant program (ALN 84.305B).
Statistical and Research Methodology in Education: Toolkits, Guidelines, Compendia, and Review Papers
See request for applications, awards, and contracts for this program.
The National Education Research and Development Centers (R&D Centers) are funded through the National Center for Education Research (NCER). The mission of the R&D Centers is to contribute to the production and dissemination of rigorous evidence and products that provide practical solutions to important education problems in the United States. The R&D Centers develop, test, and disseminate new approaches to improve education outcomes. Each of the R&D Centers conducts a focused program of education research in its topic area. In addition, each R&D Center works cooperatively with NCER, conducts supplemental research within its broad topic area, and provides national leadership in defining research and development directions within its topic area. Currently, there are 16 active R&D Centers and 25 completed R&D Centers.
AmplifyGAIN: Generative AI for Transformative Learning
Generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) has great potential to augment teachers' effectiveness and personalize learning opportunities to enhance both the quality and equity of student learning outcomes.
Center for Advancing Elementary Science through Assessment, Research, and Technology (CAESART)
CAESART will directly respond to the vision of the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) by addressing the nationwide gap in the availability of high-quality science instruction and assessment for young students (grades K–2).
Center for Early Literacy and Responsible AI (CELaRAI): Innovating Beginning Reading Instruction for Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Learners
CELaRAI aims to harness the transformative power of generative artificial intelligence (AI) to innovate K–2 beginning reading materials and support for independent reading.
Center for Longitudinal Data in Education Research – Teacher Recruitment & Retention (CALDER-R&R)
CALDER-R&R examines policies addressing teacher shortages and their impact on teachers, student learning, and equity.
The CREATE Adult Skills Network (funded through the Research Networks program to fulfill IES's R&D goals in adult education)
The goal of this network is to meet the needs of millions of U.S. adults with low foundational skills through exploring, developing, and piloting technology-supported innovation and facilitating the adoption of technology for adult learners.
The National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice
The National Center for Research on Education Access and Choice (REACH Center) will develop and carry out the next generation of research on how states and school districts may implement or revise their school choice programs and policies in ways that improve outcomes for disadvantaged students
National Center for Research on Gifted Education
The Center will serve as a reputable source for research and best practices in the field of gifted education and will create an interactive digital clearinghouse to collate and distribute these resources.
The National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN)
The National Center for Rural Education Research Networks (NCRERN) will establish a continuous improvement network to build the capacity of rural school districts and supporting state agencies to use their own data to improve the education of their students.
The National Center for Rural School Mental Health (NCRSMH): Enhancing the Capacity of Rural Schools to Identify, Prevent, and Intervene in Youth Mental Health Concerns
A consortium of researchers and rural school districts across Missouri, Virginia, and Montana are establishing the National Center for Rural School Mental Health (NCRSMH) to enhance the capacity of rural schools to identify, prevent, and intervene in youth mental health concerns.
National Center on Generative AI for Uplifting STEM+C Education (GENIUS Center)
The development of a competent science, technology, engineering, mathematics, and computing (STEM+C) workforce in the era of generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) is crucial for the nation's economic growth, security, and global competitiveness.
National Research and Development Center to Improve Education for Secondary English Learners
To understand policies and systems-level practices that are related to the school experiences of ELs in secondary schools, the National Research and Development Center to Improve Education for Secondary English Learners (the center) will carry out two lines of inquiry.
National Education Research and Development Center for Improving Rural Postsecondary Education
This Education Research and Development Center will assess strategies for improving rates of postsecondary enrollment and success for students from rural communities across the United States.
Postsecondary Teaching with Technology Collaborative
Postsecondary Teaching with Technology Collaborative (the Collaborative) will conduct a series of studies and lead national conversations about technology in postsecondary education.
Transdisciplinary Approaches to Improving Opportunities and Outcomes for English Learners: Using Engagement, Team-Based Learning, and Formative Assessment to Develop Content and Language Proficiency
The Transdisciplinary Approaches to Improving Opportunities and Outcomes for English Learners (the center) will undertake a focused program of research aimed at identifying and removing barriers related to school tracking.
The Using Generative AI for Reading R&D Center
The Using Generative AI for Reading R&D Center (U-GAIN Reading) will investigate how to apply AI innovations, aligned to scientific evidence about reading, to achieve strong, equitable gains for diverse elementary school students, with a specific focus on English learners (ELs).
WRITE Center for Secondary Students: Writing Research to Improve Teaching and Evaluation
In an information society and knowledge economy, writing is a ubiquitous requirement for full civic and workforce participation.
Since 2004, IES has invested in training programs to prepare individuals to conduct rigorous and relevant education research that advances knowledge within the field and addresses issues important to education policymakers and practitioners.
Through these programs, the National Center for Education Research (NCER) seeks to fund new approaches to train and mentor students and researchers from diverse backgrounds in order to encourage their entry into and success within education research careers. These efforts seek to improve the quality of education research and encourage new ideas, approaches, and perspectives.
Training the Next Generation of Education Researchers
Pathways to the Education Sciences Research Training Program
The Pathways to the Education Sciences Research Training program was established by IES to develop a pipeline of talented education researchers who bring fresh ideas, approaches, and perspectives to addressing the issues and challenges faced by the nation's diverse students and schools.
Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Research Training
The Predoctoral Interdisciplinary Research Training Program in the Education Sciences (Predoctoral Training Program) was established by IES to increase the number of well-trained PhD students who are prepared to conduct rigorous and relevant education research.
Postdoctoral Research Training Program in the Education Sciences
This program funds groups of faculty research trainers who recruit, hire, and prepare postdoctoral researchers to conduct high-quality education research.
Early Career Development and Mentoring Program for Education Research
IES has established the Early Career Development and Mentoring Program for Education Research (Early Career Program) in FY 2024 to prepare and support early career researchers at academic and non-academic research institutions and organizations to conduct high-quality education research.
Early Career Development and Mentoring Program for Faculty at Minority-Serving Institutions (MSIs)
The Early Career Development and Mentoring Program for Faculty at Minority Serving Institutions (Early Career MSI Program) supports grants that prepare faculty at minority-serving institutions (MSIs) to conduct high-quality education research that advances knowledge within the field of education sciences and addresses issues important to education policymakers and practitioners.
Methods Training for Education Research
Methods Training for Education Researchers supports training of current education researchers to expand and upgrade their methodological skills.
Training in Education Use and Practice
The Institute's training programs are intended to help ensure that researchers have the skills to produce research that is rigorous in method as well as relevant and accessible to education stakeholders such as practitioners and policymakers
Solving complex problems of education practice often requires intense, purposeful, interdisciplinary research. Through the Research Networks program, IES aims to focus resources and attention on high-priority education problems or issues and create a structure and process for researchers working on these problems or issues to share ideas, build knowledge, and strengthen their research and dissemination capacity. Each research network consists of multiple research teams and a network lead working together to advance the field's understanding beyond what an individual team could do on its own. Combined, these teams are charged with creating a body of knowledge and assisting policymakers and practitioners who need to use such information to strengthen education policies and programs to improve student education outcomes.
Active
Building Adult Skills and Attainment Through Technology
The goal of this network is to meet the needs of millions of U.S. adults with low foundational skills through exploring, developing, and piloting technology-supported innovation and facilitating the adoption of technology for adult learners.
Digital Learning Platforms to Enable Efficient Education Research Network
The Digital Learning Platforms to Enable Efficient Education Research Network, now known as SEERNet, is designed to facilitate the education research field's ability to leverage existing, widely used digital learning platforms (DLPs) for rigorous education research and replication.
Extending the Reach of the Career and Technical Education (CTE) Research Network
As career and technical education (CTE) continues to expand in schools, research is needed to guide policy and practice. The FY 2023 Extending the Reach of CTE Research Network will build off of the momentum initiated under an earlier research network, the Expanding the Evidence Base for Career and Technical Education Network.
Leveraging Evidence to Accelerate Recovery Nationwide Network
IES competed the Leveraging Evidence to Accelerate Recovery Nationwide Network (the LEARN Network) topic which invited applications for research that would focus on adapting and scaling up existing, evidence-based products with the potential to accelerate students' learning for the many learners enrolled in kindergarten through grade 12, postsecondary education, or adult education programs whose learning was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Supporting Early Learning From Preschool Through Early Elementary School Grades Network
Research Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Policy and Practice, to focus resources and attention on education problems or issues that are high priority for the nation, and to create both a structure and process for researchers who are working on these issues to share ideas, build new knowledge, and strengthen their research and dissemination capacity.
Prekindergarten Through Grade 12 Recovery Research Network
IES established the Improving Pandemic Recovery Efforts in Education Agencies (Improving Pandemic Recovery) grant program to support research to counteract academic losses encountered by many learners during the COVID-19 pandemic and to conduct research in partnership with state and local education agencies to improve learner engagement, reengagement, and achievement with a focus on underrepresented student subgroups that were disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
Community College Recovery Research Network
IES established the Improving Pandemic Recovery Efforts in Education Agencies (Improving Pandemic Recovery) grant program to support research to counteract academic losses encountered by many learners during the COVID-19 pandemic and to conduct research in partnership with state and local education agencies to improve learner engagement, reengagement, and achievement with a focus on underrepresented student subgroups that were disproportionately affected by COVID-19.
Completed
Expanding the Evidence Base for Career and Technical Education (CTE) Research Network
This research network, called the Expanding the Evidence Base for Career and Technical Education (CTE) Network, fulfilled the requirement in the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act for a National Research Center [Section 114(d)(4)] to carry out scientifically based research and evaluation for the purpose of developing, improving, and identifying the most successful methods for addressing the education, employment, and training needs of CTE participants in CTE programs.
Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research
The program was created to address the lack of rigorous, systematic evaluations of preschool curricula currently in use by supporting small-scale efficacy evaluations of available preschool curricula that had not been rigorously evaluated.
Reading for Understanding Research Initiative
IES created Reading for Understanding to change the way in which research on reading has been conducted by accelerating the research process and creating a tightly linked network of researchers.
Scalable Strategies to Support College Completion Network
Research Networks Focused on Critical Problems of Policy and Practice, to focus resources and attention on education problems or issues that are high priorities for the nation, and to create both a structure and process for researchers who are working on these issues to share ideas, build new knowledge, and strengthen their research and dissemination capacity.
Social and Character Development
Through the Social and Character Development research program, NCER, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control (NCIPC), Mathematica Policy Research, Inc. (MPR), and seven research institutions funded by Institute grants, are collaborating in a multi-site evaluation of the efficacy of seven school-based programs.
Improving Special Education through Research
IES seeks to improve the quality of education and opportunities for all children and students with disabilities or who are at risk for disabilities. The National Center for Special Education Research has a broad array of research programs that cover support and interventions for children from birth to postsecondary education; families of students with disabilities; and professional development for teachers and other instructional personnel.
Special Education Research Grants
Autism Spectrum Disorders
The Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) topic supports research on the development, implementation, and evaluation of comprehensive school-based interventions (i.e., interventions that directly target, in a coordinated fashion, multiple outcomes) intended to improve outcomes for students identified with or at risk for ASD from kindergarten through Grade 12.
Cognition and Student Learning in Special Education
The Cognition and Student Learning in Special Education (Cognition) topic supports research that utilizes cognitive science to develop, implement, and evaluate approaches that are intended to improve learning and education outcomes for students with or at risk for disabilities in kindergarten through Grade 12.
Early Intervention and Early Learning
The Early Intervention and Early Learning in Special Education (Early Intervention) topic supports research that contributes to the improvement of developmental outcomes and school readiness of infants, toddlers, and young children (from birth through age 5) with or at risk for disabilities.
Families of Children with Disabilities
The Families of Children with Disabilities (Families) topic supports research that contributes to the identification of effective strategies for families and/or school personnel to improve family involvement for children with or at risk for disabilities.
Educators and School-Based Service Providers
The Educators and School-Based Service Providers (Educators) topic supports research that contributes to the identification of effective strategies for improving the performance of teachers and other school-based service providers (e.g., related services) in ways that improve the educational outcomes of students with or at risk for disabilities from kindergarten through Grade 12.
Reading, Writing, and Language
The Reading, Writing, and Language Development (Reading/Language) topic supports research that improves reading, writing, and language skills of students with or at risk for disabilities from kindergarten through Grade 12.
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics
The Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) topic supports research that contributes to improved outcomes in STEM content areas for learners with or at risk for disabilities from kindergarten through postsecondary education.
Social, Emotional, and Behavioral Competence
The Social and Behavioral Outcomes to Support Learning (Social/Behavioral) topic supports research that contributes to the prevention or amelioration of behavior problems in students with or at risk for disabilities in kindergarten through Grade 12.
Systems, Policy, and Finance
The Special Education Policy, Finance, and Systems (Policy/Systems) topic supports research that contributes to the identification of systemic processes, procedures, and programs that improve the education outcomes for students with or at risk for disabilities from kindergarten through Grade 12.
Special Topics
The Institute of Education Sciences funds Special Topics to provide additional encouragement for research in under-studied areas that are important to students, parents, policymakers, and practitioners in improving outcomes for children with or at risk for disabilities
Technology for Special Education
The Technology for Special Education (Technology) topic supports research on education technology tools that are designed to improve outcomes for learners with or at risk for disabilities from kindergarten through postsecondary education.
Transition to Postsecondary Education, Career, and/or Independent Living
The Transition Outcomes for Secondary Students with Disabilities (Transition) topic supports research that contributes to the improvement of transition outcomes (i.e., attainment of – and skills that enable students to obtain – employment, independent living, and further education and training) for secondary students with disabilities in Grades 6 through 12.
Research Grants Focused on Systematic Replication in Special Education
Research Grants Focused on Systematic Replication in Special Education
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) provides scientific evidence to improve education practice and policy and shares that evidence in a way that can be used by educators, parents, policymakers, researchers, and the public.
Research Grants Focused on NAEP Process Data for Learners with Disabilities
Research Grants Focused on NAEP Process Data for Learners with Disabilities
Through the Research Grants Focused on NAEP Process Data for Learners with Disabilities program, the Institute of Education Sciences (IES) intends to support research projects that utilize data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to improve our understanding of the link between test-taking behavior and performance.
Research to Accelerate Pandemic Recovery in Special Education
Research to Accelerate Pandemic Recovery in Special Education
The purpose of the Research to Accelerate Pandemic Recovery in Special Education grants program is to address the urgent challenges faced by districts and schools in supporting students with or at risk for disabilities, their teachers, and their families in the aftermath of the pandemic.
The Special Education Research and Development (R&D) Center Program contributes to the solution of significant special education and early intervention problems in the United States. The R&D Centers engage in research, development, evaluation, and national leadership activities aimed at improving child outcomes through enhancements in the special education and early intervention systems. Each Center conducts a focused program of research in a specific topic area and works cooperatively with the Institute to provide relatively rapid research and scholarship on supplemental questions that emerge within the Center's topic area and that are not being addressed adequately elsewhere. In addition, each Center provides national leadership in advancing evidence-based practice and policy within its topic area. To date, there have been eight National R&D Centers.
The Special Educator Workforce: A Research Collaborative
The purpose of the Special Educator Workforce: A Research Collaborative (SPARC) is to help address long-standing challenges related to the composition, distribution, stability, and effectiveness of the special education teacher workforce.
National Disability Center for Student Success
The purpose of the National Disability Center for Student Success (Center) is to advance the capacity of postsecondary institutions in the United States to support the successful enrollment, persistence, and completion of degrees by postsecondary students with disabilities (PSWD).
Special Education Research and Development Center on Reading Instruction for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Students
The focus of the Center is a program of research to explore underlying factors related to literacy for young students who are deaf or hard of hearing (pre-kindergarten through Grade 3) and to develop innovative approaches to improving reading instruction for these students.
Center on Secondary Education for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders (CSESA)
The Center's primary research will involve (1) developing a comprehensive school- and community-based treatment model for high school students with ASD, and (2) evaluating the efficacy of the intervention.
Center for Response to Intervention in Early Childhood
The Center's primary objectives are (1) to conduct focused research to develop and rigorously evaluate and replicate intensive interventions for preschool language and early literacy skills and (2) to develop and validate an assessment system linked to these interventions.
National Research and Development Center on Improving Mathematics Instruction for Students with Mathematics Difficulties
The purpose of the National Center on Mathematics Instruction for Students with Mathematics Difficulties is to increase knowledge of how children acquire and fail to acquire an understanding of rational numbers (i.e., fractions) and how children with math difficulties can be taught to understand and operate fluently with rational numbers.
National Research and Development Center on Serious Behavior Disorders at the Secondary Level
The primary objective of this project is to develop and evaluate the efficacy of a package of intervention strategies designed to reduce the significant behavioral and academic challenges experienced by high school students with behavior disorders.
National Research and Development Center on Assessment and Accountability for Special Education
The primary objective of this project is to identify academic growth trajectories of students with disabilities and develop and test practical and relevant methods of accurately measuring academic growth for students with disabilities to be used in accountability systems.
Related Publications
National Science Foundation (NSF) Partnerships
IES has partnered with the National Science Foundation (NSF) in a new funding initiative to encourage scientists to focus on research and development of AI-driven innovations to radically improve human learning and education.
AI-Augmented Learning for Individuals with Disabilities
AI-Driven Digital Platforms to Expand and Accelerate STEM Learning in PreK–12 Settings, Theme 6 Track A of the NSF National Artificial Intelligence Institute Competition