The United States is the third-greatest spender among the 40 other developed nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on per-pupil spending, according to the Education Data Initiative. (iStock)
The most recent National Assessment of Educational Progress, known colloquially as the nation's report card, showed some improvements since the assessment was last released in 2022, but student achievement levels in reading and math nationally remain below 2019 levels for most students. In D.C. specifically, students saw better improvement than most big urban districts, but students in the nation's capital have still not yet fully returned to pre-pandemic achievement levels, per the nation's report card.
The United States is the third-biggest spender among the 40 other developed nations in the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development on per-pupil spending, according to the Education Data Initiative. The pandemic spurred a massive influx of cash into the public school system as well, but many districts were found to be putting all that extra funding toward staff salaries and bonuses, as opposed to things directly related to student achievement.
A FAILING NATION'S REPORT CARD PROVES NEED FOR SWEEPING CHANGE
In North Carolina, the Wake County Public School System spent 78% of its total pandemic relief funding on salaries and employee benefits. In Chicago's public schools system 77% of the district's pandemic money went to staff bonuses, salaries and benefits.
U.S. President Donald Trump signs an executive order to reduce the size and scope of the Education Department alongside school children signing their own versions, during a ceremony in the East Room of the White House on March 20, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
President Donald Trump and Republicans have taken steps to put greater control over school funding in the hands of individual states, as opposed to the federal government. Last month, he signed an executive order meant to effectively dismantle the U.S. Department of Education through transferring its educational authority to the states. Last week, GOP senators also introduced a bill to close the department.
CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP
"Despite per-pupil spending having increased by more than 245% [since the 1970s,] there has been virtually no measurable improvement in student achievement," Trump's March 20 order stated. "President Donald J. Trump and his administration believe we can, and must, be better."
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/underperforming-dc-schools-staff-grown-7-times-faster-enrollment-audit