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Robert Lerner was appointed on Dec. 26, 2003 by President George W. Bush to be the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). As commissioner, he will serve a six-year term. NCES is the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the United States and other nations. It fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze and report statistics on the condition of education in the United States; conduct and publish reports and specialized analyses of the meaning and significance of such statistics; assist state and local education agencies in improving their statistical systems; and review and report on education activities in foreign countries.

As commissioner, Lerner sets NCES policy and goals and manages its operations, ensuring that statistical quality and confidentiality are maintained. In performing NCES's responsibilities, Lerner's office ensures that the operations of the Center are consistent with Institute of Education Sciences, Department, and federal standards, policies and procedures, that they are carried out in an effective and efficient manner and that they are customer-oriented.

Since 1993, Lerner has been a partner in Lerner and Nagai Quantitative Consulting, a statistical research firm in Rockville, Md. The firm has conducted research or provided consultation for a wide variety of clients, including the Ethics and Public Policy Center, Montgomery County Public Schools and the U.S. Census Congressional Monitoring Board. He also has been a statistical expert witness in several legal cases.

During his career, Lerner has conducted research and been an instructor at several colleges and universities. As a faculty associate at The Johns Hopkins University, he taught advanced research methods to doctoral candidates with responsibility for teaching statistics. At Smith College, he was the assistant director of the Center for the Study of Social and Political Change and the chief methodologist for several projects resulting in a number of books and articles. He also has been an instructor at Syracuse University, Towson State University, Villa Julie College and DePaul University.

Lerner has co-authored three academic books: Giving for Social Change (Praeger), Molding the Good Citizen (Praeger) and American Elites (Yale) and numerous articles and reports, both academic and popular, for such publications as Public Opinion Quarterly, Society and the Wall Street Journal. He has been an article and book reviewer for several publications, including Political Psychology and the American Journal of Sociology.

Lerner received his bachelor's degree in economics and sociology from Oberlin College and obtained his master's and doctorate in sociology from the University of Chicago. He is married with one child.