After less than three months, the Obama Administration has
approved an unprecedented increase in federal spending for the
Department of Education (DOE). But if history is any guide, these
spending increases will have little if any positive effect on the
quality of American education.
Bigger and Bigger
In February, President Obama signed the American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009, which included $98 billion in new
spending programs administered by the Department of Education.[1] The
Omnibus Appropriations Act of 2009, signed in March, included $66.5
billion for the DOE, a $4.5 billion increase over the last fiscal
year.[2] Together, the stimulus and omnibus packages
provide $101 billion to the DOE--a 163 percent increase.[3]
Now, President Obama is calling for new spending increases for
the DOE in his budget proposal to Congress. Specifically, the
President's budget includes a $5.3 billion spending increase on DOE
discretionary programs, an increase of 7.8 percent over FY 2009.[4]
Moreover, the Administration's budget calls for continuous
increases in federal education spending in the years ahead: a $64.5
billion increase in discretionary spending for 2014, a 55 percent
increase over FY 2009.[5] (These figures exclude proposed funding
increases for Pell grants, which the Obama Administration proposes
to become a mandatory spending program in its budget.)
Increasing Funding for All Levels of
Education
The budget proposes new federal funding to encourage state and
localities to enact early childhood education programs, following
significant increases for the federal Head Start program in the
stimulus and omnibus legislation.
The Obama Administration does not include details about proposed
funding levels for the main K-12 education programs, such as Title
I. However, the omnibus and stimulus packages included a 76 percent
for Title I, Part A, and a 112 percent increase for Title I, Part
B.
The budget also includes new funding for higher education
programs. Specifically, the budget proposes new funding for Pell
grants, which received a 132 percent increase in the omnibus and
stimulus and calls for the Pell grant program to become mandatory
to ensure that it receives continuous funding increases in future
years.
Spending Has Not Solved Problems
Considering how these proposed spending increases will expand
the ballooning federal deficit and grow the long-term debt burden,
American taxpayers and students alike should consider whether
increasing federal spending programs will yield meaningful
benefits. Unfortunately, past experience suggests that expanding
federal support for early childhood, K-12, or post-secondary
education will not solve the persistent problems in American
education:
- Since the 1960s, the federal government has sought to help
disadvantaged children enter school ready to learn by supporting
the Head Start program. In 2008, the federal government spent $6.1
billion on Head Start, serving more than 900,000 children at an
average cost per child of $7,300.[6] Yet more than 40 years after
Head Start was launched, the program "has not measurably improved
educational outcomes."[7]
- Federal spending on elementary and secondary education has
increased steadily over time. Between 1985 and 2007, real federal
spending on K-12 education programs has increased by 138 percent.[8] In
2005, the federal government spent $971 per pupil, more than three
times its level of spending in 1970, after adjusting for
inflation.[9] However, historical measures of student
achievement like the National Assessment of Educational Progress
reading scores have remained relatively flat.[10]
- Continuous growth in federal subsidies for student aid and
higher education has not solved the problem of college
affordability. In 2006-07, the federal government spent more than
$86 billion on student aid for post-secondary education--a real
increase of 77 percent over what was spent 10 years earlier.[11]
However, over the past decade tuition costs have increased by 27
percent and 50 percent at private and public four-year colleges.[12]
An Alternative Path to Improve
Education
Instead of simply increasing federal spending on education
programs that have failed to solve the fundamental problems that
they were designed to address, the Obama Administration and
Congress should focus on reforming the federal government's current
role in education. Specifically, President Obama and Congress
should work to end ineffective and unnecessary education
programs.
For starters, in 2008, the Bush Administration's Program
Assessment Rating Tool evaluation identified 47 DOE programs that
"achieved their purpose, duplicate other programs, are narrowly
focused, or unable to demonstrate effectiveness."[13] Eliminating these
programs would have saved an estimated $3.8 billion.[14]
Remaining federal programs should also be reformed to improve their
efficiency and performance.
In early childhood education, the Administration and Congress
should work to reform Head Start and other similar programs instead
of enacting new preschool initiatives. For example, states should
be given the ability to improve the delivery of Head Start services
through parental choice options and better state-directed
coordination.
In elementary and secondary education, states should be able to
opt-out of federal program requirements and determine how best to
use federal funding to improve student learning while maintaining
academic transparency and holding public schools accountable for
results. Moreover, major federal programs like Title I should also
be reformed to allow states and local school systems to distribute
funding to schools through a simplified, student-centered funding
formula.
For post-secondary education, the Obama Administration and
Congress should recognize that simply increasing federal subsidies
for higher education has failed to solve the problem of college
affordability. Federal policymakers should challenge states and
post-secondary institutions to develop new strategies for reducing
college costs and making higher learning more affordable for
American students without simply leaving taxpayers with the
ever-increasing tab.
Time for a New Approach
For decades, rising federal spending on pre-K, K-12, and
post-secondary education has failed to solve the persistent
problems in American education. After just two months, the Obama
Administration has already overseen the largest increase in federal
spending on education in history. Congress should recognize that
the President's budget proposal to further increase education
spending is unlikely to improve American education. Instead,
Congress should work to end ineffective federal programs and make
the remaining ones more effective.
Dan Lips is Senior Policy Analyst in Education
in the Domestic Policy Studies Department at The Heritage
Foundation.