U of A's Josh McGee has been appointed to a National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine panel charged with making recommendations that will inform the National Center for Education Statistics' priorities through the remainder of the decade.

Over the next year, the "A Vision and Roadmap for Education Statistics in 2030 and Beyond" panel will meet to develop recommendations and draft a consensus report. The work is being funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

McGee, the associate director of the Office for Education Policy in the College of Education and Health Professions, said he's honored to be part of a group that will help shape the future of the NCES, the primary federal entity responsible for collecting, analyzing and disseminating education data.

"We live in an increasingly data-driven world. Refreshing NCES's approach to education data has the potential to unlock new insights about students and the schools they attend, helping parents, teachers and policymakers work toward better outcomes for kids," he said.

The multidisciplinary panel met for the second time this week. In addition to recommending priority areas and activities, the panel is also tasked with reporting on how the NCES should operate, including staffing, size, use of contractors and implications for its budget. Panel members are also being asked to help decide how the NCES can increase the impact of its educational statistics.

The panel appointment ends in July 2022.

In 2020, the Arkansas Department of Transformation and Shared Services named McGee the state's chief data officer. He leads the state's effort to bring disparate data together and put it to use to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of state government.

Prior to joining the U of A in 2019, McGee was an executive vice president with the Arnold Foundation in Houston where he led a team that invested $50 million in data-driven efforts to improve public policy in six states and Washington, D.C.

A native Arkansan, McGee received a master's degree and a bachelor's degree in industrial engineering and a doctorate in economics, all from the U of A.