While the US Department of Education is shrinking after mass cuts at the agency, President Donald Trump and his allies continue to make dubious allegations of the agency and education in the country.
ABC News examined some of President Donald Trump’s general complaints about the Ministry of Education and the State of Education in the United States.
Scores
Trump has repeatedly claimed that the United States is ranked in the world in education among developed countries while spending the most to a student.
“So they rank the top 40 countries in the world, we are ranked No. 40, but we are ranked # 1 in one department: price per student,” Trump said in the White House last month. “So we spend more a student from any other country in the world, but we are ranked No. 40.”
The headquarters of the U.S. Department, ordered for the day, to be closed to what employees have identified as security reasons against the background of large -scale cuts, is seen on March 12, 2025 in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
This statement is not true on the basis of data reviewed by ABC News. The US is not last ranked in education, nor do they spend the most on a student.
The White House did not respond to ABC News’ request for Trump’s claim. It is unclear which data Trump used to base his allegations.
Although the country spends a lot on a student, the education data initiative has found an average of $ 20,387 a year federal, state and local expenses. The amount is the third highest student (after adjusting local currency). The country is not the last in any statistics on education that ABC News has reviewed.
The United States is above the average in reading and science and around the average, as far as mathematics assessments are concerned, according to the Program of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) for International Student Assessment (PISA). PISA is the industrial standard for ranking students from different countries, according to education experts. There are approximately 40 Member States in the OECD and about 40 countries have participated in the last three estimates. It varies by year – 78 countries and economies participated in 2015; 78 participated in 2018; In 2022 he participated 81.
In 2022, the most published data, approximately 80 countries participated in the OECD PISA assessments that measure the ability of 15-year-olds to use their knowledge, mathematics and science knowledge. The United States ranked ninth from 80 reading, 16th/80 in science and 34th/80 in mathematics, according to PISA results in 2022.
The PISA results dismantle Trump’s long -standing statement that we are “at the bottom of each list.”
The next PISA data collection is held in 2025 – and is expected to be released in September 2026, according to an OECD spokesman.
However, this does not mean that American students are always with great achievements. Some results from the national administered exams show fears of late.
The results for the sliding of students in the fourth and eighth grades in America worsened in 2024, according to the national assessment of educational progress, called the national map of the report, which is administered by the National Center for Education Statistics under the Ministry of Education. Compared to 2022, the average reading results of this year dropped by 2 points as for the fourth and eighth grades assessments, according to NCES data held between January and March 2024, which added to the 3-point discount for both degrees in 2022.
Despite the decline in reading, in 2024 there was some recovery of mathematics, but the increase did not return the students to the levels before the pandemic.
And the NSA also found that almost one-third of American students ended the school year 2023-2024 after the level of class in at least one academic object.
It is unclear whether these data will be collected in the future years if DOE is eliminated.
State and Local Educational Agencies
The Trump administration said that through cuts at the Ministry of Education, they want to return education to the United States.
“The president wants to bring education back to the United States, to enable the closest to people to make these very important decisions about the lives of our children. And … This is the first step in the process,” said the White House secretary Carolyn Levitus of Selina Wang on ABC News when he asked about Doe abbreviations.
Education is local already, as the Federal Education Department administers only approximately 10% of public school funds across the country, according to numerous education experts.
Chloe Kiengle of Arlington, Washington, holds a sign while standing outside the headquarters of the US Editor’s Division, which were ordered for the day for the day of what employees have identified as security reasons against the backdrop of large -scale cuts, March 12, 2025 in Washington.
Mark Schiefelbein/AP
The Ministry of Education does not administer the curriculum or create lessons for the students of the nation. It also does not determine the requirements for enrollment and completion or creation or accreditation of schools or universities.
In fact, the curriculum comes from the United States and local school districts. The education department does not teach students to pass standardized exams and grades. Countries are already doing this.
The education department carries the schools responsible for the implementation of non -discrimination laws based on race, gender and disability.
The Agency also administers the means of K-12 education support programs such as the Rural Education Achievement Program, which supports rural areas that may lack staff and resources; Title I, which funds programs aimed at improving the work of low -income schools and low achievements; and grants for individuals with disabilities, including the transition and postponum for students.
Not only does the department administer the assistance of the K-12, but it also helps students continue higher education through the federal assistance service for students through grants, work funds and low interest rates.
Finally, DOE holds schools responsible for the achievements of students through the law for each student success, which requires each country to provide data on the effectiveness of the subject, the degree of completion, suspension, absences, qualification of teachers and others.
The mission of the education department is to promote the achievements and preparation of students for global competitiveness by promoting educational achievements and ensuring equal access, according to ED.GOV.
DOE employees who show up at work
Trump claims, without evidence that many Ministry of Education officials will not work or do a good job.
“Many of them do not work at all. Many of them have never appeared at work. Many of them, many of them have never appeared at work,” Trump said in the White House on Wednesday.
The White House did not respond to ABC News’ request for a comment on where Trump received this information.
Based on dozens of interviews, reporting ABC News has not found any evidence that the employees never appear at work, as Trump claims.
ABC News talks with employees charged with everything-from conducting critical research projects until the implementation of discrimination laws for students based on race, gender and disability, among other characteristics.
When the Ministry of Education reduced nearly 50% of its workforce earlier this week, an email to those who remain hired, it is said: “Please know that these decisions are not made lightly and in no way affect the dedication and hard work of those who leave.”
Joe Murphy, whose position as a management and data analyst was eliminated at the Ministry of Education earlier this week, said on Wednesday that she was feeling “disposable”.
“We realized that we were disposable in a sense, especially those of us in the data space,” he told ABC News.
Victoria Delano was a specialist in equal opportunities in the civil rights service of the civil rights department serving people with disabilities. Delano said he believed he was the only OCD employee who was located in Alabama.
“It is horrifying that the civil rights service to start with, it is not short, but when I was locked from access to work last week to think, another person who was taken out of the equation,” Delano said.
“These students have no one else. They can still complain about OCR. Please understand that OCR is a shortage at the best, and OCR is currently not external communication with all of you. So I don’t know where they turn,” she added.
An employee of the Regional Department of Education, who received an email on Tuesday and talks to ABC News, provided for anonymity of fear of retribution, said their civil rights service had been removed.
Offices in big cities, including San Francisco, New York, Cleveland, Boston, Chicago and Dallas, have closed, and the three buildings of the US Department of Education will ultimately be consolidated, according to senior ministry of education officials.
“All those children with disabilities, which is a bigger part of our doct, will not be assisted,” the employee said.
