Waste of the Day: Education Spending Up, Grades Down Since 2000

Topline: The Department of Education’s employee headcount fell by 13.9% between 2000 and 2024 but its spending increased by 749% during that time, according to a new report from OpenTheBooks.com. Meanwhile, reading and math student proficiency on standardized tests has fallen.

Education Department spending up more than eightfold – to less than no avail

Key facts: In 2000, the Department of Education had 4,930 employees and spent $33.5 billion. In 2024, the department had only 4,245 employees but spent $250.73 billion.

When President Trump began his first term in 2017, Department of Education spending increased by $34.7 billion from the year before. Outlays then soared during the Covid-19 pandemic as relief funds were sent to public schools, reaching a then-record $204.42 billion in 2020 under Trump and ballooning to $639.37 billion in 2022 under President Biden.

Spending has not decreased back to the 2019 level of $104.37 billion, before the pandemic.

The department also added 566 staff positions between 2019 and 2024.

Last year, only 60% of 4th graders and 67% of 8th graders scored at least “basic” in reading skills on the National Assessment of Educational Progress standardized test, according to the Associated Press. In math, 77% of 4th graders and 61% of 8th graders scored at least “basic.” All four of those percentages are lower or the same as scores from 2004, despite the increase in education spending.

President Trump has the department on the chopping block

Background: The revelation comes weeks after President Trump announced he is drafting an executive order that directs the Secretary of Education to scale back the department and calls on Congress to eliminate the agency entirely. 

Spending has increased at a faster rate than staff headcount at plenty of other agencies, such as the National Institutes of Health, Agency for International Development and many more. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is perhaps the best example: employee count rose by 290% since 2000, but spending far exceeded it with a 2,096% increase.

Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com. 

Critical quote: Savannah Newhouse, a Department of Education spokesperson in the Trump administration, told Fox News that past administrations were “frivolously spending taxpayer dollars on priorities that do nothing to help our students learn.”

“Under President Trump, the department is aggressively auditing our spending to ensure maximum impact for students and responsible stewardship of taxpayer dollars,” Newhouse said.

Summary: Increased government spending is rarely a good idea, but it’s especially concerning when there are few positive results to show for it. Yet high outlays have been the one constant for the federal government this century, regardless of which party was in power.

The #WasteOfTheDay is brought to you by the forensic auditors at OpenTheBooks.com.

This article was originally published by RCI and made available via RealClearWire.