Jerry Falwell Jr. emerges as possible Trump cabinet pick

Really, the problem with the DoEd is that it’s existed for 40 years as a subsidy for the NEA and universities, but educationally they’ve got nothing to show for it. No huge increases in SAT or ACT scores (they’re actually down I believe), no huge benefits for college preparedness, no huge increases in graduation rates from college or high school….

….now you could temporarily help things by, say, moving the DoEd to more of what homeschoolers and private schools are doing, but that’s really undone the next time the Democrats win an election. So really, if you want to reform the DoEd, what you need to do is to pretty much to shut down any version of the New Math (including Chicago Math), cut Pell grants and student loans by about half (the graduation rate for recipients is an abyssmal 40% or so), and fire thousands of staffers responsible for these….

….and then you watch the fur fly, politically speaking. Reforming the DoEd basically means “admit it is a colossal failure.” And for all my disagreements with Mr. Falwell, I’m pretty sure he knows this, and that it’s yet another reason why he doesn’t want to touch it.

Before the DOE:

Negatively:

• Wealthy local districts vs
• Very poor districts (still somewhat of a problem!)
• Very uneven standards and educational outcomes (still somewhat of a problem!)

Positively:

• Local control &
• Local accountability

The DOE could be eliminated

[Jim]

Before the DOE:

Negatively:

• Wealthy local districts vs
• Very poor districts (still somewhat of a problem!)
• Very uneven standards and educational outcomes (still somewhat of a problem!)

Positively:

• Local control &
• Local accountability

The DOE could be eliminated

Still “somewhat” of a problem, Jim? When the average graduate of Chicago Public reads at a sixth grade level, and DC and Detroit are far worse—and when 40% of Chicago youth don’t graduate from high school at all? Somewhat? :^)

I guess urban school districts are getting plenty of funding these days, but the sad example they set illustrates pretty clearly that money is not the answer. Putting crooks in jail and removing disincentives for urban dwellers to marry and form families….now there might be a start. And, per the topic here, something that the Secretary of Education can’t touch.