Michael Nettles has built a national and international reputation as a researcher and scholar of education and public policy. His research and scholarly expertise include educational assessment, student performance and achievement, educational equity education finance and education data production analyses and presentation. His publications reflect his broad interest in public policy, student and faculty access, opportunity, achievement, and assessment and financing at both the K-12 and all levels of postsecondary levels. In August 2014 President Barack Obama appointed Nettles to the President's Advisory Commission on Educational Excellence for African Americans. He was appointed by two US Secretaries of Education to serve on the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), which oversees and develops policies for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). He also served for eight years on both the College Board of Trustees and the GRE Board and immediate past chair of the Southern Education Foundation (SEF) Board of Trustees.