The U.S. educational system now faces a crossroads unlike anything its ever seen in history.
Last November, then president-elect Donald Trump announced his nomination for Betsy DeVos as Secretary of Education. DeVos, a Michigan businesswoman and educational activist, is a known backer of charter and private school education, arguing that the government should provide student vouchers so that students can attend such institutions. She has been a spearhead for the development and oversight of several Michigan charter schools, and continues to advocate against public school spending.
DeVos’ ideological beliefs strongly align with those of Trump, who plans to invest 20 million dollars towards “school choice” by “re-prioritizing existing federal dollars.” Yet, this policy – which will almost certainly take affect if DeVos is appointed – seems like a misguided effort to fix a flawed education system.
In 2014, the Detroit Free Press published an investigate report which indicated that “Michigan taxpayers pour nearly $1 billion a year into charter schools — but state laws regulating charters are among the nation’s weakest, and the state demands little accountability in how taxpayer dollars are spent and how well children are educated.”
Furthermore, the academic track record for Michigan charter schools is historically poor. According to federal data analysis, “Michigan ranks near the bottom for fourth- and eighth-grade math and fourth-grade reading on a nationally representative test, nicknamed the “Nation’s Report Card,”” earning lower marks than “their traditional public school counterparts.”
During her confirmation hearing, DeVos repeatedly cited a Stanford study on the effectiveness of charter and private schools, claiming that they will help revamp a stagnant, outdated educational infrastructure. However, even the publication’s authors said that the results were not entirely significant on a macro-scale.
Critics are fearful that DeVos’ shifting focus towards these voucher programs will lead to the privatization and defunding of public education. Growing up, DeVos never attended public schools, and thus, has limited experience with the realities of their condition. She has also publicly stated – and denied stating, though that’s a different matter – her distaste for public schooling. Two years ago, she sparked outrage when she tweeted the hashtag #endDPS, short for End Detroit Public Schools.
Admittedly, public schools are not performing up to national standards. Budget cuts, particularly those in inner-city, urban school districts, have created major obstacles for students to explore their creative, academic, and extracurricular passions (I’ll definitely examine these topics more in-depth in future posts). In fact, students living in poverty-stricken areas have graduation rates 14 percent lower than middle and high income students. With few resources and overcrowded classrooms, it’s tough to provide these students with the education that they deserve.
Despite these imperfections, it’s important to note that over 90 percent of students attend public schools, and as citizens, it is their right to receive access to adequate public education. As such, it’s troubling that someone tasked with the governance and improvement of public education is so intent on dismantling it. If the federal government can re-allocate 20 million dollars – along with a proposed 110 million dollar contribution from the states – for voucher incentives, why can’t it find money to go towards the upgrading of public school resources and teacher salaries?
There are also concerns of how DeVos will handle and enforce Special Education regulations. She has said little about her stance on the issue, though when questioned by senators Tim Kaine and Maggie Hassan about the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act – a federal statute which stipulates that students with disabilities must be ensured adequate education – DeVos admitted that she was “confused” about the federal nature of the law.
DeVos has clear, overarching flaws to her candidacy that make her unfit to serve as Secretary of Education. Although her insights into the inner-workings of charter schools could prove useful in an advisory role, she lacks the knowledge and experience to successfully lead the nation’s students into the future (she was unaware of the difference between growth and proficiency in measuring individual student performance).
Currently, DeVos is still in the process of being confirmed, but with a majority Republican Senate, it’s highly likely that her nomination will pass through. And if that’s indeed the case, there is no question that her term promises to bring unheralded change and upheaval to U.S. education policy.
I really enjoyed this blog. Personally, I find the education system to be flawed and I agree that the strategies of DeVos are flawed as well. In future blogs, I would like to learn about the best educational system in the United States and see how it compares to that of another nation. In addition, your blog was very thorough with resources which made it very reliable. Recently, I watch a video about the flaws of the education in the United States. This is the link for it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=36x39hNZ4uY maybe you can branch a topic from this.