Part of the U.S Department of Education’s Institute of Education Sciences, the National Center for Education Statistics publishes and analyzes a wide variety of data pertaining to public school education and finances. In its mission statement, the NCES says it aims to conduct studies that compare international education statistics with U.S education results and seeks to be the “primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education.”
The NCES website contains reports on such subjects as the use of educational technology in public school districts, and it has data on the makeup of the student bodies of public schools nationwide. Its data allowing for comparisons between schools internationally and those in the United States is widely used. Two of the major international programs that show how U.S. students compare with students in other countries are the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) and the Progress in International Reading Literacy Study (PIRLS). Results from both studies are available on the NCES site.
Comments: The NCES regularly posts statistics, surveys and analyses of education in the United States.