Trump administration gutted data collection on US education

The Trump administration sharply reduced the federal education statistics operation, eliminating staff and canceling nearly $900m in contracts under a unit dubbed the department of government efficiency (Doge). The National Center for Education Statistics, which produces core tools such as The Nation’s Report Card and long-running longitudinal studies, saw headcount fall from about 100 to single digits before partially rebuilding to a dozen. Dozens of data collections were halted or scaled back, according to trackers and former employees, with major longitudinal projects cut midstream - most notably the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, whose $47m contract was terminated while following 15,000 children born after the Covid pandemic. Other multi-year cohorts tracking college starters and high schoolers were ended after years of investment, generating termination fees and wasting upfront sampling and setup work.

Those cuts leave the U.S. with diminished capacity to understand why math and reading performance has plunged to its lowest point in 25 years and to assess interventions on violence, college financing and early-childhood programs. Researchers and advocates argue the dismantling was politically driven, weakened evidence-based policymaking and squandered taxpayer dollars, even as litigation and public pressure have restored some surveys such as the national postsecondary student aid survey and a baccalaureate follow-up study. The result is a narrower, less reliable picture of student outcomes at a moment when objective data are most needed.