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.