In a recent op-ed in The Free Press, former U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos critically assessed the Department of Education’s performance since its establishment in 1979.
“I served as the 11th U.S. secretary of Education. That’s how I know it’s beyond repair,” she wrote, highlighting that despite over $1 trillion in federal funding aimed at bridging the achievement gap between high and low performers, disparities remain as wide as ever, with some measures indicating they have even widened.
DeVos referenced the latest Nation’s Report Card, published by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), which reveals that in reading and math, most students have fallen further behind compared to previous years. Specifically, seven out of ten American fourth graders are not proficient readers, and six out of ten are behind in math. Notably, the gap between the highest and lowest performers has grown by 10% since 2019.
DeVos emphasized that this trend is not solely a by-product of the Covid-19 pandemic, noting that the lowest-performing eighth-grade readers are significantly worse off than their peers were in 1992, the first year the NAEP was administered.
Citing these persistent challenges, DeVos argued that the Department of Education has failed in its mission and should be dissolved.
Last year, Congress appropriated $80 billion to the department, which, after administrative costs are skimmed at every level of the bureaucracy, only a severely diminished amount reaches actual classrooms. DeVos contended that the department does not run any schools, employ teachers, set academic standards, or curricula, and contributes less than 10% of K–12 public education funding in most states.
Her perspective aligns with recent discussions among many Republican lawmakers and members of the public, as well as President Donald Trump, who have proposed dismantling the Department of Education, arguing that education decisions should be localized.
Good news do it and we can save borrowing money to fund it.
80 BILLION in one year. And 10% (8 billion) to all 50 states. So what the *&^% is the DOE doing with the rest of the 80 billion? We know the answer. And we know AK student performance mirrors exactly what DeVos said above. My only concern is if the billions go back to individual states will the same grift repeat itself on a smaller scale?
Heck, the state of Oregon officially declared that black students are not required to know how to read, write or do math. I wish I were kidding.
Readin’ be racist ‘n all!
Sadly, that is the exact reason the Oregon Legislature states. I also wish I was kidding.
Source please.
Scrumptious: Google is free.
sorry for being snippy, but every time I post a link, the only people who ignore it are the ones who need to have it rubbed in their noses.
I will find 10 links about this story and post it when I get home tonight.
And as a former Sec. of Education, she should know just how fundamentally broken that dept is. The way the left lost it’s collective mind when Trump 45 nominated her for that post should have been enough warning.
$80B, and they still claim to need more money to get kids grades up. Don’t imagine there’s much of a paper trail for all these dollars.
I saw this fantastic post on FB where a liberal stated a few facts about America’s education:
40% of students in 7th grade – all across America – cannot read, write or do math.
She went on to say we need to keep the Department of Education that has been in place for 45 years.
100%. Blow it up!
But…but….but, what about all of those students loans financed by the DOE? $750 billion in loans.
Do they get forgiven during the destruction of DOE?
Nope!
Trump is coming to collect. All of it. If the Education Department loans you money, you will pay back. The mafia ALWAYS collects.
give me my money back, never had kids. working since 14 and getting tax free social security next year. god bless don trump!!! cashing in my pennies too
The definition of insanity attributed to Einstein comes into play here:
“Doing the same thing over and over, and expecting different results every time.”
As Ron White famously said: “you can’t fix stupid”
Why was there a DOE in the first place if it was just a black hole for tax payer funded bucks? Let the states run their own show.
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