By Tabbye Chavous, Executive Director, American Educational Research Association

Wearing my hats as a social science scholar and academic leader, I have studied trends in the development of science over the past 150 years. Over that time, scholarly science has focused on the continual advancement of knowledge. As such, the science produced has become more precise—theoretically and empirically—more sophisticated in its methods, more interdisciplinary, and more connected to practice and policy. To the last point, in this century science, including education research, has demonstrated a growing capacity for refining evidence-based approaches to address important issues and concerns in our schools, communities, and broader society.

Education scholars are deeply committed to making a tangible impact on classrooms and communities across the country. Their work offers not just knowledge, but actionable solutions. It informs classroom practice, shapes district and state policies, and enhances community well-being. It ensures accountability, stimulates and guides innovation, and allows for careful assessment of which interventions truly move the needle for students. And for many years, a strong partnership among the federal government, universities, and philanthropic organizations sustained this work, fostering a national ecosystem in which research could thrive and be applied.

That partnership is now in grave danger. The Trump administration’s dismantling of federal education research investments across the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Institutes of Health threatens to bring research and innovation to a grinding halt. These cuts would not only undermine critical research efforts—they would leave educators and decision-makers without the evidence they need to make sound, effective choices and to make wise use of finite resources.

“Education scholars are deeply committed to making a tangible impact on classrooms and communities across the country. Their work offers not just knowledge, but actionable solutions.”

We have seen the real-world value of federally funded research. With support from NSF and the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), researchers developed Building Blocks, a program that helps early childhood educators integrate mathematical thinking into everyday instruction. This work has helped children engage with math concepts through language-rich, developmentally appropriate activities woven throughout the school day.

Another innovation, Scratch, a free online coding platform created at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and originally funded by NSF, has transformed how children learn about computer science. With over 100 million registered users worldwide, it helps students develop computational thinking skills in a playful and creative environment.

At the University of Virginia, IES-funded researchers developed the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS), a reliable tool for measuring the quality of teacher-student interactions. Today, CLASS is used not only in research but as a practical instrument for professional development and program evaluation in early learning settings across the country.

In Los Angeles, a pioneering high school data science course—developed through an NSF grant—is one of the first large-scale efforts to introduce high school students to real-world data analysis. It has been adopted in more than nine states and, along with NSF-supported software like the Common Online Data Analysis Platform, has helped lay the groundwork for a broader movement toward data literacy in middle and high school curricula.

Beyond individual programs, education research has played a crucial role in evaluating major policy initiatives. Rigorous IES-funded studies have documented the success of early college high schools and provided actionable guidance for implementing dual enrollment programs. Federally funded research has also advanced our understanding of effective strategies to improve reading outcomes, particularly for students with disabilities, and has helped refine tutoring models that are now central to learning recovery efforts across the nation.

Perhaps no recent example better illustrates the power of data and research than Mississippi’s dramatic improvement in reading achievement. The state implemented a comprehensive early literacy strategy—grounded in evidence and sustained by Education Department–supported research—that has yielded significant and widely recognized gains.

These innovations are made possible not only by research funding but also by access to high-quality federal education data. Safeguarding these data systems is essential—not just for scholarly work, but for enabling school districts, states, and the public to assess progress, identify disparities, and make evidence-informed decisions.

From preschool through postsecondary education and into the workforce, education researchers are at the forefront of addressing the most urgent challenges facing schools and society. Whether the issue is chronic absenteeism, learning recovery, special education, teacher well-being, school choice, or admissions policies, researchers are working in close collaboration with educators, administrators, youth and families, and communities. Far from working in isolation, they serve on school boards, testify before legislatures, partner with local school districts, and advise policymakers at every level. Their driving motivation is always the same: to improve learning opportunities and outcomes for all students.

If the Trump administration succeeds in gutting federal education research and data, the consequences will be stark. Educators will be forced to act without a compass, policymakers will lack the evidence they need to make informed decisions, and students will bear the cost of misinformed policies and untested programs. We will lose the ability to track what works, understand why, and improve upon it. This is not just an academic concern. It is a matter of national competitiveness, economic strength, societal health, and social cohesion.

Every state, every district, and every community benefits from a strong federal commitment to education research. Halting that investment would stall innovation, diminish student achievement, and erode our capacity to prepare the next generation to meet the demands of a complex world and become leaders in making positive impacts in our world.

Tabbye Chavous is executive director of the American Educational Research Association (AERA). A nationally recognized scholar and seasoned leader, she has consistently advocated for high-quality, inclusive research, and her equity-oriented leadership is evident in her approaches to building and transforming educational environments. Chavous joined AERA from the University of Michigan, where she was a professor of education and psychology and served as vice provost for equity and inclusion and chief diversity officer. Chavous held numerous positions at the University of Michigan at the central administration, college, and department levels. Chavous holds a PhD in community psychology from the University of Virginia, and she has dedicated her career to educational equity, advancing strengths-based frameworks for studying the experiences of marginalized communities and working with educational systems to draw on this knowledge in ways that serve all students. Chavous’s scholarship underscores both foundational research and its practical applications, through integrity-grounded collaborations with schools and school systems; youth, families, and communities; and organizations at local, state, and national levels. Her work has been supported by grants from the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Spencer Foundation, among others.

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