I think you’re overstating how effective the DoEd is at coordinating curriculum, as well as how effective state governments are at the same.
I’m in a red state (Utah), and we’re pretty competitive in terms of scholastic attainment (top 15 in most metrics), above many blue states that spend way more on education. Higher spending does not seem correlated with higher achievement. Also, from non-rigorous comparison of some state lists of academic achievement (like this wiki page), I don’t see a clear relationship between how states vote and academic performance that can’t more convincingly be explained by rural vs urban/suburban demographics.
So while it’s a popular talking point, I’m not convinced the DoEd is actually helping here. Schools will do better in areas with more parental engagement, and curriculum choice, funding, and rigor in testing don’t seem have much of an impact. We’re spending more than ever, have strict education standards, etc, yet test scores continue to drop across the country.
So no, I don’t think the DoEd is effective, and in fact I think they’re largely to blame for tuition outpacing inflation, because student loans are easier to get, so sold m schools can get away with raising prices.
What we should have are laws that states must maintain a secular education, and if religion is taught, all major religions are given equal treatment. That, and that states must provide a free K-12 education for all residents, and that public universities must be affordable for all residents who qualify (with grants as appropriate). That’s it, no common standard, no loans, etc. Education is better handled locally.
That said, I don’t trust Trump or Musk to handle this properly.
I think you’re overstating how effective the DoEd is at coordinating curriculum, as well as how effective state governments are at the same.
I’m in a red state (Utah), and we’re pretty competitive in terms of scholastic attainment (top 15 in most metrics), above many blue states that spend way more on education. Higher spending does not seem correlated with higher achievement. Also, from non-rigorous comparison of some state lists of academic achievement (like this wiki page), I don’t see a clear relationship between how states vote and academic performance that can’t more convincingly be explained by rural vs urban/suburban demographics.
So while it’s a popular talking point, I’m not convinced the DoEd is actually helping here. Schools will do better in areas with more parental engagement, and curriculum choice, funding, and rigor in testing don’t seem have much of an impact. We’re spending more than ever, have strict education standards, etc, yet test scores continue to drop across the country.
So no, I don’t think the DoEd is effective, and in fact I think they’re largely to blame for tuition outpacing inflation, because student loans are easier to get, so sold m schools can get away with raising prices.
What we should have are laws that states must maintain a secular education, and if religion is taught, all major religions are given equal treatment. That, and that states must provide a free K-12 education for all residents, and that public universities must be affordable for all residents who qualify (with grants as appropriate). That’s it, no common standard, no loans, etc. Education is better handled locally.
That said, I don’t trust Trump or Musk to handle this properly.