ABOLISHED

Department of Education

Spending doubled. Scores didn’t move.

Official story

What they claim to do

Promotes student achievement and equal access to education.

Ground truth

What they actually do

Created in 1979, the department mostly redistributes money to states and schools along with the rules that come attached. Inflation-adjusted spending per pupil has roughly doubled since the 1970s, while long-term national test scores for 17-year-olds have stayed flat or fallen.

The libertarian case

The Constitution gives Washington no role in schooling, and the record suggests the department hasn’t improved it. Education works best close to families: local control, school choice, charters, homeschooling and competition. Send the money, and the decisions, to parents.

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