Tuesday, March 11, 2025
Year : 2, Issue: 28
by Nicole Russell
I’m a mom of four school-age children, and my eldest will graduate from high school this year. I homeschooled my kids for six years, and we loved it. Then I enrolled them in public schools. For the most part, they’ve loved that too.
But public school education in the United States needs to improve significantly to better prepare our children for a world that’s changing rapidly and is more challenging than ever.
News reports indicate that President Donald Trump is preparing to sign an executive order that would drastically reduce the size and reach of the Department of Education. Only Congress can shutter the department entirely, but I hope Trump signs the order and Congress follows through in returning more control over our schools to the states.
Student achievement is declining in the US
Trump’s order might upset many parents, but it won’t upset me. All education systems have pros and cons − including private schools and homeschooling. Parents, who in most cases are best suited to determine what is optimal for their kids, should be able to decide the type of school their children attend.
Removing federal bureaucrats from the equation and giving states and local school boards more flexibility in setting education policy will improve choices for parents like me and bolster student achievement.
The Department of Education, created during the Carter administration in 1980, is relatively new among federal agencies, but it costs taxpayers a lot − $268 billion in the last fiscal year.
It’s hard to see what we’ve gotten in return for that investment.
Math and reading scores on the department’s National Assessment of Educational Progress have dropped significantly in recent years. The COVID-19 pandemic was devastating for student achievement, but both test scores and research indicate that our children are slipping further behind years later.
American students also are struggling to learn math, scoring below average on the most recent Program for International Student Assessment. Reading and science scores were stronger, but Americans’ 2022 math score was “among the lowest ever measured by PISA in mathematics,” according to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.
It’s clear that the status quo is not working for our nation’s kids. Returning education to the states will help to ensure that our public education system is smaller, more efficient and better meets students’ needs. It’s also likely to promote better options for families. A majority of states now have some kind of school choice program, and 14 states have adopted universal school choice.
Trump isn’t abandoning America’s schools
Democrats, of course, are fighting Trump’s efforts to dismantle the Department of Education. And their fearmongering is sure to grow after the executive order is signed. Trump and his fellow Republicans will be accused of abandoning America’s children, especially students from low-income families and kids with special needs.
None of that will be true. Returning more oversight of public schools to the states isn’t the same as abandoning children or lowering standards. Just the opposite, taking schools out of the clutches of federal bureaucrats means more of them will be able to thrive.
The Foundation for Government Accountability says students whose parents take advantage of school choice options tend to perform better in school. “Studies have shown that expanded access to school choice programs leads to higher test scores, parental satisfaction, and student safety,” the foundation reported in December.
Although educational options have grown in recent years, our massive and inefficient public education system remains the default for most families. But schools aren’t doing enough to set up our kids for success in a world on the verge of massive technological and societal change. We can and must do better.
I won’t cry if the federal education system is abolished. In fact, I’ll cheer. It should have happened long ago.
Author Nicole Russell is a columnist at USA TODAY and a mother of four who lives in Texas.
