CFDA Number: 84.305
Program Type: Discretionary/Competitive Grants, Contracts, Cooperative Agreements

Under this program title, IES supports research to improve education at all levels.

The National Center for Education Research supports rigorous research that contributes to the solution of significant education problems in the United States. 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. NCER research examines the effectiveness of educational programs, practices, and policies, including the application of technology to instruction and assessment. The goal of NCER research programs is to provide scientific evidence of what works, for whom, and under what conditions.

In previous years, NCER held a larger number of formal grant competitions, each one addressing a distinct topic area and each with its own Request for Applications. For example, there were separate announcements for the Reading and Writing research program and for the Mathematics and Science Education research program. NCER is now holding one formal grant competition but addressing more topics.