At the Subcommittee's request, we examined the condition of information on education in the
United States. As was agreed with your office, we focused on three features of information
stemming from federally supported educational research, statistics, and evaluation. First, we
examined the production of selected types of educational information from the early 1970's
to 1986. Specifically, we looked at the changes in information activities, priorities, and
participants. Second, we reviewed three statistical programs—the National Assessment of
Educational Progress, Common Core of Data for elementary and secondary education, and
Fast Response Survey System—to determine how the quality of these programs has
changed. Third, we identified key factors influencing information production and quality.
As arranged with your office, unless you publicly announce the contents of this report
earlier, we plan no further distribution of it until 30 days from the date of the report. At that
time, we will send copies to the Department of Education and others who are interested and
make copies available to others upon request.

Executive Summary

Purpose

Background

Although education in this country is a responsibility of the states, the federal government spends nearly $20 billion annually to support all levels of education. Further, since the Congress first authorized a noncabinet department of education in 1867, the federal government has maintained a strong interest in who is getting educated and what they are learning. The Congress and the education community have, however, expressed concern about how well the department is carrying out its information-gathering function. In light of these concerns, the House Subcommittee on Select Education asked GAO to study the condition of information on education in the United States. This report addresses three questions: (1) What federally sponsored information on education is being produced and how has it changed? (2) What is the quality of the information and how has the quality changed? (3) What factors influence the production and quality of information?

GAO examined information production by reviewing the information-
gathering activities of the three principal units in the Department of
Education responsible for education information during the time of our
review: the National Institute of Education (NIE), the National Center for
Education Statistics (NCES), and the Office of Planning, Budget, and
Evaluation (OPBE). GAO examined the quality of information through
analyses of three statistical programs: the National Assessment of Edu-
cational Progress, the Common Core of Data for elementary and second-
ary education, and the Fast Response Survey System. GAO assessed
performance in terms of four indicators of quality: relevance, timeliness,
technical adequacy, and impact. From the results of these reviews,
together with an examination of relevant documents and interviews,
GAO identified factors influencing information production and quality.
GAO's review covers selected years between 1973 and 1986.

Results in Brief

During the past decade, the production of federally sponsored research, statistical, and evaluative information on education has declined notably. Research and evaluation activities were hardest hit in terms of reductions in number of awards between 1980 and 1985. Research activities shifted away from the collection of new data to service-oriented activities such as dissemination, so much so that the availability of upto-date information to disseminate to teachers and other practitioners may be threatened. Further, the new data collection efforts that were undertaken during the period of this review increasingly became more narrowly focused and the scope of investigation was also restricted by increased use of contracts awarded to institutions rather than field-initi