Education Secretary Linda McMahon told Fox News Digital that the United States is due for a "reset" of public education after spending $3 trillion over decades while national reading scores have consistently declined.
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scores → tell → decades
"We've spent this $3 trillion that you referenced, and we've watched scores continue to come down.
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scores → spend → that
So we're doing something wrong.
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we → do → something
We need to reset," McMahon said in an interview with Fox News Digital.
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McMahon → need → Digital
"We know that the president believes, as do I, that the best education is the one that's closest to the child with parental involvement," McMahon added.
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McMahon → know → involvement
"Our goal is to make sure that we move administrative programs that focus more on adults out of Washington, D.C., so that we can get all of those dollars back into education in the states.
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we → make → states
McMahon visited Utah on Tuesday to highlight the Trump administrationâs progress in reforming K-12 education.
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McMahon → visit → education
Delivering a speech titled "The Next 250: K-12 Education," the secretary emphasized returning education authority to the states, investing in proven academic interventions, and expanding school choice for families.
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secretary → deliver → families
"In every decision we make, we are not asking whatâs better for growing government power, ideological agendas, or bureaucratsâ careers.
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we → make → power
We are returning education to its most basic obligation: to nurture the God-given potential of our children," McMahon told a crowd of students, parents, and teachers at American Preparatory Academy in West Valley City.
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McMahon → return → City
The Utah event marked the 47th stop on the departmentâs 50-state tour aimed at decentralizing federal education authority.
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event → mark → authority
According to Department of Education officials, more than $3 trillion in federal taxpayer money has been spent over the decades, while national test results show that only about three in 10 students perform at or above the proficient level in math and reading.
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students → accord → math
Speaking with Fox News Digital following her address, McMahon said parental involvement in education increased during the pandemic.
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involvement → speak → pandemic
"Parents, for the first time, could see what was going on with education, with the curriculum that was being taught to their children," McMahon said.
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McMahon → see → children
"They became involved, they became concerned, and they started going to school board meetings.
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they → become → meetings
I think that really started to change the focus.
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that → think → focus
And that, in conjunction with looking at the fact that NAEP scores â our national report card â have simply gone down since the Department of Education was established."
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Department → look → Education
McMahon pledged upon taking office to work toward dismantling the federal agency, including hiring leaders tasked with phasing out their own offices.
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McMahon → pledge → offices
The push aligns with President Donald Trump's broader education initiative, which he highlighted at a White House Rose Garden event promoting school choice.
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he → align → choice
Trump also pledged to eliminate "far-left extremism" from classrooms and argued that federal education spending has failed to deliver acceptable academic results.
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spending → pledge → results
As part of the administration's broader effort to downsize federal oversight, the Department of Education announced an interagency agreement with the Treasury Department in March.
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Department → downsize → March
Under the agreement, Treasury will take on certain responsibilities for managing federal student loans, including collections on defaulted loans, as part of the administration's effort to transfer administrative duties away from the Education Department.
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Treasury → take → Department
The student loan transfer is one of nine interagency partnerships designed to serve as a "proof of concept" for Congress to show that federal education tasks can be reallocated.
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tasks → design → concept
"I've asked Congress, with this proof of concept and these interagency agreements: Let me prove to you that it works," McMahon told Fox News Digital.
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McMahon → ask → Digital
"I know, ultimately, Congress has to vote if we do close the Department of Education and if I, in fact, am able to fire myself.
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I → know → myself
Hopefully, they will vote for it because I believe the outcome will be better for students â and that is the goal."
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that → vote → students
McMahon said that the federal agency functions largely as a "pass-through" for funding rather than controlling local school curricula, a distinction she noted is frequently misunderstood by the public.
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she → say → public
"The goal is to get rid of the bureaucracy of education that seems to focus more on adults and not on children's performance," she said.
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she → rid → performance
Following her Utah visit, McMahonâs four-part speaking series will continue with upcoming stops in Nevada, Arizona, and Tennessee to address rising higher education costs and workforce Pell grants.
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series → follow → costs
Her final keynote in Tennessee later this month will focus on restoring accountability and standards in higher education.
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keynote → focus → education
The Aporia
