Houston-area schools risk losing crucial educational data as the Trump administration slashes the Department of Education, potentially eliminating the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) program.
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Public schools in the Houston area may lose vital academic performance data as the Trump administration plans significant reductions to the Department of Education.
The agency has been diminished to half its previous scale, with more than $900 million in reductions enacted by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Although officials assert that the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—an essential national student testing program—will remain unaffected, the significant layoffs in its data collection division imply a different reality.
On March 11, over 100 employees from the Institute of Education Sciences, responsible for overseeing NAEP, were let go. The decision resulted in just a few staff members remaining to manage the testing program, casting uncertainty on its future. NAEP offers national comparisons of student performance in essential subjects like math and reading, providing valuable insights into long-term academic trends.
Education experts caution that the absence of NAEP would lead to the loss of state-by-state academic comparisons, complicating the ability to monitor national achievement gaps. "If NAEP is eliminated, the capacity to compare student performance across all 50 states will be lost," stated Duncan Klussmann, a professor at the University of Houston and former superintendent of Spring Branch ISD.
The latest results from NAEP, published in January 2024, indicated a gradual academic recovery following the COVID pandemic. Nonetheless, the scheduled long-term evaluations for 17-year-olds—which would have offered essential post-pandemic insights—were already scrapped because of funding limitations. Concerns are growing among experts that the ongoing reduction of the Department of Education may lead to the elimination of additional testing areas.
"NCES served as the vital core of the Department of Education," stated former U.S. Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch. Ravitch further shared that they have removed the core by such action.
