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For more than 20 years, Peggy Carr has helped the nation understand how students are performing in school. Even before former President Joe Biden appointed her commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics in 2021, she had long been the face of the testing program known as the Nation鈥檚 Report Card.

But that era ended abruptly Monday when the U.S. Department of Education put Carr, who has worked across both Republican and Democratic administrations, on paid leave. A department spokeswoman cited the fact that Biden appointed Carr to the position. Carr鈥檚 term was set to expire in 2027.

鈥淚鈥檓 still processing and have no words to share right now. It鈥檚 a lot to take in,鈥� Carr said in an email, declining to answer further questions. 

The move, coming less than a week after officials canceled an upcoming math and reading test for 17 year olds, raises questions about the future of the congressionally mandated National Assessment of Educational Progress.

Carr earned respect from both sides of the aisle with her ability to present the results 鈥� both promising and discouraging 鈥� in an objective way. Some former officials say the decision to put her on leave reflects President Donald Trump鈥檚 desire to streamline NAEP. But others say losing her expertise at a time when student performance still hasn鈥檛 recovered from the pandemic could compromise the integrity of the assessment program.

鈥淲ithout knowledgeable decision makers like Peggy Carr, it is likely that the scientific quality of NAEP, and other important data collections, will be eroded,鈥� said Eric Hanushek, a Stanford University economist and former member of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets NAEP policy. He added that political interpretations of the data could undermine public trust in the assessment鈥檚 value. 鈥淭oday, schools and states must face up to the reality of their performance. If given the chance, some states will argue that their poor performance is just a matter of poor data 鈥� allowing them to avoid addressing any performance problems.鈥�

Andrew Ho, a Harvard University assessment expert and also a former board member, called Carr an 鈥渋nstitution鈥� and 鈥渢ruth teller鈥� who presented testing results in a nonpartisan way.

But others say politics had nothing to do with the decision to let Carr go. 

Mark Schneider, a Trump appointee who stepped down last March as director of the Institute for Education Sciences, which includes NCES and NAEP, said the program鈥檚 increasing costs during Carr鈥檚 tenure were out of step with an administration determined to cut spending. 

鈥淣AEP is going to take a haircut. I don鈥檛 think there’s a question about that,鈥� said Schneider, Carr鈥檚 former supervisor and NCES commissioner under George W. Bush. 鈥淭he question is 鈥楬ow do you prioritize what it does in a harsh fiscal environment?鈥� 鈥�

He argued that canceling the long-term trend test for 17 year olds is just the first step toward making NAEP, which costs $192 million, a leaner operation that concentrates on math and reading. 

鈥淲e鈥檝e been doing main NAEP since the 1990s. Why do we need long-term trend tests?鈥� he asked. 鈥淣AEP has grown and grown and grown, and from my perspective, it鈥檚 way too expensive.鈥�

鈥楧id a lot of homework鈥�

Carr began her long career with the federal government as a chief statistician in the Office for Civil Rights before moving to NCES in 1993. For over 20 years, she served as associate commissioner for assessment and has long translated NAEP and international assessment results for reporters, educators and policymakers. 

鈥淪he did a lot of homework preparing and rehearsing for presentations of NAEP results, so that she knew the results thoroughly and could answer any questions,鈥� said Andrew Kolstad, who served as her senior technical adviser in the 1990s. 鈥淧eople in the department and in the testing industry called on her for her experience.鈥�

Chester Finn, president emeritus of the conservative Thomas B. Fordham Institute and former chair of the board, said Carr won his respect for 鈥渕eticulously鈥� fact-checking his , Assessing the Nation’s Report Card: Challenges and Choices for NAEP.

She offered a number of critical judgments 鈥渨ithout ever once trying to compromise my authorial integrity or get in my face,鈥� he said. 鈥淚n her day job, she鈥檚 been superb at explaining and interpreting NAEP data without spinning it or crossing the line into causation.鈥�

When students took the first NAEP tests after COVID school closures, Carr wanted to brace the public for sharp declines. In an exclusive interview with 麻豆精品 in 2022, she said that while scores for fourth and eighth graders in reading and math were already falling prior to the pandemic, 鈥渋t鈥檚 more than likely we鈥檙e going to see the bottom drop even more.鈥�

While some former commissioners served under only one president, others worked through transitions to new administrations. Carr served as acting commissioner under President Barack Obama and Trump until the latter appointed Lynn Woodworth. Under Biden, Woodworth stayed on until the end of his term in 2021. 

Carr wasn鈥檛 alone in asking for more resources for NCES, which collects and analyzes data on all aspects of education, including enrollment trends and the state of the teacher workforce. During his tenure Woodworth pushed for more and equipment, rather than contracting with outside agencies, but said his requests were always denied.

Schneider applauded Carr for driving the requirement under No Child Left Behind to administer the core NAEP math and reading tests every two years. The law required states to participate to receive federal funds. 

鈥嬧�嬧�漇omeone had to turn NAEP into that machine to deliver on a regular basis data required by law,鈥� he said. 鈥淪he deserves all the credit in the world for that.鈥�

Carr also led the transition to a in 2018 and to of students鈥� answers in 2022. But Schneider, who has indicated he wouldn’t rule out returning to his former position, said the program hasn鈥檛 kept up with 鈥渕odern data-collection techniques.鈥�

He鈥檇 prefer the next commissioner to have state-level experience and to be more 鈥渃ritical of these big research houses鈥� like ETS, which has held NAEP contracts for roughly 40 years and just won in January. 

鈥淭he challenge for NAEP, and more broadly for NCES,鈥� Schneider said, 鈥渋s modernization 鈥� creating new data systems that are faster, cheaper, better.鈥�

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