A Department Only Washington Could Love

Rachel Sheffield / July 13, 2010

The results are in: The Department of Education (DOE) is the least popular of all federal departments. Considering the stagnate state of U.S. students’ test scores despite ever increasing federal education spending, this should come as no surprise. What should be surprising—and troubling—however, is that some Members of Congress want to allocate even more taxpayer money to this “bureaucratic boondoggle,” as termed by President Ronald Reagan.

Currently, Congress is considering pumping $10 billion more into the DOE, adding to the recent $80 billion already allocated via the stimulus package. After decades of increased funding for the DOE, created just 30 years ago, its budget now ranks as the third largest of all government agencies. Nonetheless, American students’ achievement has flatlined, and they continue to lag behind their peers internationally. (more…)