About - NCES' Role in U.S. Participation

In collaboration with organizations such as the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA), NCES conducts these studies in the United States, coordinating the participation of and data collection from U.S. adults, students, teachers, principals, and schools for international education studies.

NCES's main roles and responsibilities are:

• Representing the United States in the governing bodies of the international education research organizations to (a) ensure the international comparability and quality of education data, and (b) monitor and promote international development efforts to improve best practices in surveys and assessments;
• Being a resource for the Department of Education, other federal agencies, and other U.S. stakeholders on international education data; and
• Conducting international studies in the United States (as shown in detail below).

What Does NCES Do To Conduct Large-Scale International Studies?

Design and development	In collaboration with the OECD, the IEA, and representatives from other nations, NCES works to incorporate the research and policy priorities of the United States into existing and future international assessments.
Data collection and operations	NCES conducts all data collection activities for international studies in the United States, coordinating the participation of U.S. states, districts, schools, students, teachers, and principals, and managing data security.
Analysis, reporting, and dissemination	NCES analyzes and disseminates data from the large-scale assessments by publishing results and information about the studies in many forms, including data tools, data files, reports, tables, charts, questionnaires, released items, and blog posts.