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Donald Trump has ordered a plan to shutter the U.S. Department of Education and transfer its programs to the states, giving Congress a roadmap on how to accomplish that.
Thisisalong-termprojectwithnocertaintyofsuccess.WhiletheEducationDepartmenthasmanyenemies,italsohasmanyfriendsinbothparties.WithanFY2025budgetof$82.5billion,there’splentyofcashtospreadaround.
That$82.5billionisinadditiontothe$276billionspenttohelpK-12students“catchup”afterthepandemic.Thegovernmentcalledthatprogram“TheEducationStabilizationFund.”Thetruthis,itdidn’tstabilizeanything.
TheNationalAssessmentofEducationalProgress(NAEP)isoftencalled“TheNation’sReportCard”becauseit’sadministeredtosomanystudents.Theresultsfromthe2024NAEPtestrevealthetotalfailureofourEducationDepartment.
“Thepercentageofeighthgraderswhohave‘belowbasic’readingskillsaccordingtoNAEPwasthelargestithasbeenintheexam’sthree-decadehistory—33percent,”reportstheNewYorkTimes.“Theperc