The incoming Donald Trump administration is gearing up for a major overhaul of the nation’s education system, beginning with the nomination of Linda McMahon as Secretary of Education and the possible dismantling of the U.S. Department of Education. Trump’s ambitious plans come at a time when the education system is grappling with decades of underperformance, particularly in critical areas like reading, writing, and math. The statistics are staggering: a mere 19% of high school seniors are functionally literate. For a system that has consistently demanded more taxpayer dollars, the return on investment has been embarrassingly low.
Since the Department of Education was created under President Jimmy Carter, federal education spending has ballooned by 136%. Despite this, student outcomes have remained dismal, with only a modest 9% increase in the number of school-aged children since the late 1970s. Back then, the U.S. had about 46.5 million children in schools. By 2023, that number inched up to 49.6 million, but the vast increase in funding has done little to move the needle on academic achievement. The problem clearly isn’t a lack of resources—it’s a glaring failure of priorities.
Adding to the dysfunction is the shifting demographic landscape within American classrooms. As of 2023, more than a quarter of children in U.S. households came from immigrant families, a figure that has doubled since 1990. By 2021, approximately 5.3 million students were English learners, representing about one in nine of the total student population. These students face the dual challenge of mastering English while trying to keep up with other subjects. Integrating such a large population of non-native speakers into an already struggling system has stretched resources even thinner, but policymakers have largely ignored these realities, opting instead for feel-good rhetoric about diversity and inclusion.
The data paints an unflattering picture of a system drowning in inefficiency. Advocates for the status quo continue to tout “diversity” and “equity,” but these buzzwords don’t address the glaring deficiencies in basic education. Trump’s administration has signaled a shift toward reforming the system by cutting out waste and refocusing on the fundamentals. The Department of Education, which has proven better at spending money than improving outcomes, could be one of the first casualties in this drive for efficiency.
With Linda McMahon taking charge, Trump’s team has a chance to tackle these issues head-on. By prioritizing literacy and math proficiency and addressing the challenges posed by a growing population of English learners, they could finally reverse the decades-long decline in educational standards. Whether this involves empowering local school boards, reallocating resources, or slashing ineffective federal programs, one thing is certain: America’s education system is overdue for a reset. The path forward may ruffle some feathers, but continuing on the current trajectory is no longer an option.
