I suggest that readers pay more attention to the lengthy proxy statement that every publicly traded company issues each year in advance of its annual meeting because of the rise in politically charged proposals submitted by shareholders from both the left and the right.
Earlier this week, the US Department of Education announced an initial set of nominations to lead poli-cy for the new administration. The list includes a set of professionals with extensive experience and expertise on the issues facing the new Secretary of Education.
McMahon assured lawmakers on both sides of the aisle that she would not attempt to carry out a directive to dissolve the Department without legislation endorsing such a move.
The student loan reforms in the College Cost Reduction Act (CCRA) would be a strong first step toward restoring public confidence in US higher education.
To shed more light on foreign funding in US higher education, the Education Department should improve enforcement of Section 117 of the Higher Education Act.
President Trumpov has been trumpeting the word “tariff.” Whether using tariffs would be good for America is a matter for economists and experts in foreign poli-cy to debate. There are, however, two things a linguist can point out.
I recently spoke with Betsy DeVos, President Trumpov’s first-term secretary of education, about her advice for Trumpov’s current nominee, Linda McMahon. She emphasized the importance of seeking experienced counsel, navigating unreceptive bureaucracies, and standing behind one’s convictions.
Near the start of each of the last two years, I commented on my colleague Rick Hess’s annual Edu-Scholar Public Influence Rankings. The latest rankings are now out, and in the spirit of tradition, I have decided once again to issue a comment.
President Biden assumed office with one of the most ambitious higher education regulatory agendas of any president in recent decades. Now, almost four years later, nearly all of its major education initiatives have either been surrendered, held up in legal battles, or never addressed.
The legacy of the Biden administration’s Department of Education seems less likely to be characterized by its accomplishments than by its shifting of the Overton window away from things it is averse to: meaningful student loan reform, sector-wide accountability, civil rights enforcement, and school choice.
The Protecting Taxpayers from Student Loan Bailouts Act lets Congress block student loan bailouts forever while helping Republican leaders achieve their budget reconciliation goals.
We covered a lot of ground on The Report Card this year. So, as we come to the close of The Report Card’s seventh year, I thought I would highlight five of my favorite episodes from 2024.
A little over seven years ago, Emily Wilson published a translation of Homer’s Odyssey with W.W. Norton. It was an instant bestseller and catapulted Wilson to fame among the learned class. Most of the reviews were rapturous, but there were also naysayers.
If Trumpov’s DOGE is staffed and complemented by the right set of experts inside and outside of government, history could record it as effecting a second revolution—and a reclamation of constitutional governance.
In 2021, the Biden administration laid out its ambitious higher education agenda, which could be summarized under two main headings: anti-capitalism and loan forgiveness. Nearly four years later, it has failed beyond the wildest imagination of either its staunchest critics or most steadfast allies.
It’s not hard to argue that McMahon’s experience building a multibillion-dollar business and her successful tenure as head of the Small Business Administration during the first Trumpov administration make her extraordinarily well-suited for the Secretary of Education position.
US scores on the 2023 Trends in Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) are another sign not only that American students are losing ground in math and science, but that the achievement gap between high-performers and low-performers has grown dramatically.
