Easy, DOGE. IES matters.

In an essay for the Flypaper blog at the Fordham Institute, Chester E. Finn, Jr. argues that DOGE cost-cutting efforts shouldn't "slash and burn" the Institute of Education Sciences within the US Department of Education. Finn notes how this research organization traces its roots to the very beginning of the first DoE in 1867; it "is responsible for the oldest and most fundamental of all federal activities bearing on 'the cause of education throughout the country.'” Finn argues that while there is potential for worthwhile reform within IES, getting rid of the organization would be harmful to education research in the US. "DOGE, if it actually sought the 'government efficiency' in its name, could help modernize IES, perhaps even put out to pasture some sacred cows, such as the regional labs." Finn writes. "But slashing and burning, as happened the other day, won’t improve matters. It’s just going to weaken the foremost truth squad in American education, the chief sponsor and funder of rigorous analysis, reliable data, and clear-eyed evaluations in a realm that needs more of those things, not less."

Submitted February 13, 2025 at 12:20PM by HooverInstitution https://ift.tt/wq4elNv