THERE are many bright spots in yesterday’s elections and one of them is that some of the newly elected Congressional representatives have raised the possibility of eliminating the Department of Education, which has been spectacularly expensive, as well as a massive failure at improving education in this country. Richard W. Rahn of The Washington Times advocates at least a serious reduction in the department’s funding. He writes:

The U.S. Department of Education was created with the primary stated goal of increasing students’ test scores, but test scores for 17-year-old American students have remained essentially flat since 1970. The department’s budget has grown to a whopping $107 billion this year. Per pupil, taxpayer-financed education spending (adjusted for inflation) has risen by more than 200 percent since 1970 (and 150-plus percent since 1980). Clearly and unambiguously, the department deserves a grade of F.

…. What the new Congress can and should do, however, is to greatly reduce the department’s budget. Suppose Congress said to the department, “We are going to cut your budget and payroll by 20 percent per year until test scores start improving, and if they have not substantially improved within five years, the department will be dust.” What do you think would happen to test scores?

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