A long‑awaited independent review urged the Education Department to overhaul the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), calling for leaner research products, faster grant turnarounds, and better communication with practitioners. Amber Northern’s report criticized the National Center for Education Statistics for slow releases and outdated collections and urged the agency to coordinate work across centers around national priorities such as literacy. The report recommends ending the siloed structure of IES’ four centers to ensure statistics, research, special‑education testing, and evaluation operate coherently on shared priorities. The document has already triggered interest from Congress, state agencies, and research universities that rely on timely federal studies to inform practice and policy.