
The future of the Institute of Education Sciences, the nonpartisan research arm of the Education Department, is suddenly in jeopardy. The Department of Government Efficiency, a Trump administration task force led by Elon Musk, has announced plans to cancel most of the institute’s contracts and training grants.
The institute’s annual budget is less that US$1 billion – or less than 1% of the Department of Education’s budget – but it advances education by supporting rigorous research and sharing data on student progress. It also sets standards for evidence-based practices and formalizes the criteria for evaluating educational research.