DOGE reduces $ 900 million from the agency following the academic progress of American students

By Collin Binkley and Bianca Vázquez Toness, AP Education Writers

Washington (AP) – A federal research office that follows the progress of American students is affected with nearly $ 900 million in cuts after the Elon Musk Government Ministry did not find the need to ‘a large part of his work.

It is not known to what extent the Institute of Education Sciences of the Department of Education continues to exist after the Musk team has reduced the dozens of contracts. Industry groups said that at least 169 contracts were suddenly terminated on Monday, representing a large part of the work of the Institute.

The Department of Education did not immediately share the details of the cuts. Madison Biedermann, agency spokesperson, said the action will not affect the main work of the IES, including the NAEP assessment, known as the Bulletin de la Nation, and the Scorecard college, a Cost and university results database.

Student defenders have made the alarm. Reductions could affect the responsibility of the American education system.

The IES highlights inequalities and its work is “more than numbers and statistics,” said Education Trust, a research and defense group for non -profit organizations. “Without that, we are left in darkness, unable to see where educational gaps exist or how to close them,” the group said in a statement.

Biedermann refused to share the names of suppliers whose contracts have been reduced, citing “sensitive commercial information”. In response to the questions, she referred to a publication on Doge’s social networks which said that the Musk team had terminated 89 contracts with $ 881 million, including 1.5 million dollars to an entrepreneur hired for ” Observe the sending and office operations ”in a mail center. Another position said that 29 training subsidies totaling $ 101 million had been reduced.

The Institute of Education Sciences is a central source of information on the health of the American education system. Across the country, it follows the progress of students over time and through demography. He estimates the effectiveness of federal programs, and colleges and schools rely on his research to improve students’ results.

Last month, the Institute published the latest NAEP results, revealing that American children continued to lose ground on reading skills and made little improvement in mathematics as a result of the COVVI-19 pandemic .

The Congress gave the Institute around 800 million dollars last year, or around 1% of the annual budget of the Department of Education.

Two eminent research associations have jointly summoned the reinstatement of contracts, claiming that a large part of the work of the IES is mandated by the congress and relies on contracts to support its limited staff. The groups said 169 contracts had been reduced, slowing down the Institute’s ability to report data on school finances and students’ results.

“Without such research, the learning and the development of students will be injured,” according to the leaders of the American Education Research Association and the Council of Professional Associations on Federal Statistics.

The Institute oversees a wide range of works, including the administration of the NAEP examination and the participation of the United States in Pisa, an assessment that compares academic progress between nations. It is also a main teacher in education research funds and retains a research database that has shown results in improving education.

Democratic senator Patty Murray, former teacher and member of the health, education, work and pensions committee, said that she “sounds the alarm” to retaliate.

“An unadred billionaire is now the research arm of the Ministry of Education – taking a demolition ball in search of high quality and the basic data we need to improve our public schools,” said the senator of Washington in a press release. “The reduction of these investments after the contract has already been inked is the definition of waste.”

Trump promised to abolish the Department of Education and put his power back to states and schools. The White House is considering an order that would order Trump’s education to dismantle the agency as much as possible while calling the congress to close it completely.

We do not know how far Trump could act by himself to reduce the expenses of the ministry, a large part of which is ordered by the congress.

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Originally published: February 11, 2025 at 10:05 am PST