The document discusses the CIA archives database and what it can reveal about the history of education. It introduces the CIA online reading room, which contains declassified documents from 1966 onward under the Freedom of Information Act. The sources in the archives related to education have largely been interpreted in the context of the Cold War and CIA covert actions. However, the document argues they could provide new insights into comparative education studies if analyzed from the viewpoint of what educational issues the CIA saw as important to record, rather than just as instruments of political influence. Closer examination of the documents is needed to understand what they can teach about different education systems during the Cold War era.