A federal research office that tracks the progress of America’s students is being hit with almost $900 million in cuts after Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency found no need for much of its work.

Summary

Elon Musk’s DOGE cut nearly $900 million in contracts from the Education Department’s Institute of Education Sciences (IES), a federal agency that tracks student progress.

The cuts affected 169 contracts, including long-term studies on student learning, special education support, and equity research.

Critics warn this will harm educational accountability and transparency. Congress and research groups are pushing back, calling for reinstatement.

The cuts align with Trump’s broader goal to dismantle the Education Department, though it’s unclear how far he can act without congressional approval.

  • treadful@lemmy.zipEnglish
    3·
    1 day ago

    Trying to get a sense of how much money this is for just tracking student progress. Turns out it’s $17 per student in the US with about 51m grade schoolers. And presumably that’s only a fraction of the budget?

    Kind of seems high. Not sure what to think about that.