Reader TTS

Apparently the Education Department’s research agency has literally shut off the lights—and the computer servers— in the wake of the federal shutdown. Those who try to access the Institute

of Education Sciences web site or any of its ancillary sites (like the National Assessment of Educational Progress) are confronted with a grim grey screen and this message: The outages seem

to be affecting all of IES’ direct sites, such as the national research centers, the Nation’s Report Card site, and What Works Clearinghouse, though they have not affected the sites operated

by outside contractors, such as the regional educational labs (though you can’t reach them through IES.) As my colleague Catherine Gewertz notes over at Curriculum Matters, the shutdown has

also delayed the long-awaited release of a federal study linking the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the international Trends in Math and Science Study. IES has already had

to delay or cut several ongoing research projects and data collections as a result of the sequester, and the shutdown could cause additional delays if it continues. For the skinny on how

education programs and initiatives are faring during the shutdown, check out my colleague Alyson Klein’s cheat sheet over at Politics K-12.