Congress and Department of Education

The Federal Department of Education is unlikely to change much under the new congress. In 1994 under a republican controlled congress spending in the DOE actually increased. We will be lucky if this congress can keep it from expanding. The issue is control.
Definition of FREEDOM (according to Webster’s dictionary)
1: the quality or state of being free: as
a : the absence of necessity, coercion, or constraint in choice or action

Coercion
2: to compel to an act or choice
When the Federal Government distributes funds when sovereign States act a certain way towards school (no child left behind, race to the top) – it fundamentally must destroy freedom.
Now perhaps American (home of the free, land of the brave) is okay with this intrusion of freedom.
So the Federal Government takes taxes from citizens (who probably live in states) – spends about $0.10 to create a policy to improve education, then gives about $0.90 back to that state to spend how the federal government wants it to. Unless that state wants to improve education some other means that may be better and more efficient for its people. In that case the government takes that $0.90 and gives it to someone else’s kids.
The more money the DE spends the more it can coerce states into following its national standards. BTW has the DE helped the US? Since its creation America has dropped from #1 in almost every educational category to anywhere from #9 to #23 among developed nations. You tell me.

Interesting Links

College Measures is a new site that exposes the amount of money the state and federal government are paying students who never make it to a second year of college. I believe the reason for this failure is that students are not prepared for college, we will see what solutions the government comes up with - probably more tax payer money needed. It is good to see someone challenging the hidden costs of education.

Currently State and Federal Governments spend 9.1 billion dollars a year to pay for 1st year students education a year that will not be back for a second year (30% of freshman). President Obama is calling for more people to go to college - so expect this number to balloon.

Special thanks to eduflack for writing an interesting opinion piece on this new research.
Finishing the first lap is a great study that outlines these cost.