Trump admin. puts NCES commissioner on leave

A longtime veteran of the Education Department and the current commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics is now on administrative leave, Education Week reported.

The Education Department put Peggy Carr, who has worked at the center for more than 30 years, on leave Monday night. A department spokeswoman told The 74 that the decision was in part because former president Biden appointed Carr commissioner in 2021.

The National Center for Education Statistics, which is part of the department’s Institute for Education Sciences, collects reams of data about student outcomes, financial aid and other information on U.S. postsecondary institutions and K-12 schools. That work also includes  administering the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a widely respected national K-12 test. 

Carr’s term as commissioner was set to expire in 2027. She told The 74 via email that she was still processing the news and had “no words to share right now,” adding that “it’s a lot to take in.”

Earlier this month, the Elon Musk–led Department of Government Efficiency canceled millions in IES contracts. NCES was hit hard by the cuts.

Suspending Carr has alarmed education researchers, according to Education Week and The 74. They worry about the future of data collection and education research at the department as well as the data quality at NCES without Carr at the helm.