The Institute of Education Sciences (IES) is the statistics, research, and evaluation arm of the U.S. Department of Education. It provides rigorous and relevant evidence on which to ground education practice and policy and shares this information broadly. IES makes money through government funding and grants, supporting its mission to improve educational outcomes. Established in 2002, IES has four main research centers: the National Center for Education Statistics, the National Center for Education Research, the National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, and the National Center for Special Education Research.