Since the 1930s, the IBE has requested Member States to present, at each session of the International Conference on Education (ICE), a National Report on the Development of Education. These reports can be considered as one of the main sources for comparing educational data across countries and over time, and a useful tool for the exchange of information and experience in the field of education.

From 1933 to 1969, the national reports were abstracted and published in the International yearbook of education. From 1973 to 1992, the full texts of the reports were made available on microfiche in the Series of International Reports on Education (SIRE) collection.