BS BULLETIN:
- The Trump administration says roughly $3 trillion has been spent since the federal Department of Education was created.
- Yet only about 3 in 10 American students are proficient in reading and math.
- Education Secretary Linda McMahon says those results are Exhibit A for returning more control to states and parents.
Three trillion dollars. Three out of 10.
Those are two numbers the Trump administration would very much like American parents to put next to each other. The Department of Education says taxpayers have poured roughly $3 trillion into the federal education bureaucracy since it was created.
The result?
“Only 3 in 10 students are proficient in reading and math,” a department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
And Education Secretary Linda McMahon is taking that message directly to parents.
McMahon and other department officials have spent the past two weeks calling into local radio stations around the country as part of a broader 50-state campaign promoting Trump’s plan to dramatically shrink Washington’s role in education.
.@EdSecMcMahon: “This school year, American parents and students have so much to be excited about because the Trump Administration is steering education back to its rightful focus: serving students so that they are prepared for successful futures.” pic.twitter.com/KbyglnaxFu
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 24, 2026
The pitch isn’t particularly complicated. Washington has spent an enormous amount of money. American kids still aren’t performing. So why keep doing the same thing?
“Despite $3 trillion in taxpayer investment in a federal Department of Education, only 3 in 10 students are proficient in reading and math,” the department spokesperson told Fox. “That is exactly why the Trump Administration is returning education to the states and putting local leaders and parents back into the driver’s seat.”
McMahon calls it a “hard reset.”
“As a mother and grandmother, I know firsthand that we only get one opportunity to educate and help our children reach their full God-given potential,” she told Fox News Digital.
“That is exactly why the Trump Administration is returning education to the states and ushering in the largest expansion of education freedom in American history.”
The numbers behind the administration’s argument aren’t pretty. Recent national assessments have shown persistent trouble in both reading and math, with particularly alarming results among older students and struggling readers.
Trump has responded by trying to dismantle much of the federal education bureaucracy rather than expand it. McMahon famously entered the job promising to work toward eventually eliminating her own department.
The administration has already begun shifting responsibilities elsewhere. Student-loan operations have been moved toward the Treasury Department, and the Education Department has entered a series of interagency partnerships designed to reduce its footprint.
Trump is also betting heavily on school choice. Beginning Jan. 1, 2027, the new Education Freedom Tax Credit is scheduled to give individual taxpayers a dollar-for-dollar federal tax credit of up to $1,700 for contributions to qualifying scholarship organizations. Trump promoted the program at a White House back-to-school event Monday, arguing that parents need more options when their children’s schools aren’t delivering.
.@POTUS: As we remove the Far Left extremism from the classroom, we’re taking historic action to ensure that every child in America has access to a first class education. The U.S. spends more money on education than any other country by double — and our results should be better. https://t.co/UDpyXd9XP5 pic.twitter.com/LEXDFdUaiy
— Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) August 24, 2026
The administration also points to Mississippi as evidence that states can turn things around. After years near the bottom of national literacy rankings, Mississippi adopted evidence-based reading reforms, strengthened teacher preparation and made literacy a statewide priority. The Education Department says Mississippi went from second-worst nationally in average fourth-grade reading scores in 2013 to the top 10 in 2024.
In other words, Washington’s message to the states is increasingly: Here’s the money. You figure it out.
MY QUICK TAKE
Forget the political fight over Donald Trump for a minute.
Three out of 10.
If only three out of every 10 American kids are proficient in reading and math after decades of Washington spending and promises, nobody should be celebrating the status quo.
You can argue about whether abolishing the Department of Education is the right answer. You can argue about school choice. You can argue about how much control Washington, states, teachers or parents should have.
But 30%?
If that were your kid’s report card, you wouldn’t frame it and hang it on the refrigerator. Why should taxpayers accept it from the government?
