When the Department of Education (DoEd) was created in 1979, a Washington Post editorial stated, "The creation of this department is a response by both the President [Carter] and the Congress, to one specific organization, the National Education Association." Former Representative Pat Schroeder (D-Colo.) warned, "No matter what anyone says, the Department of Education will not just write checks to local school boards. They will meddle in everything. I do not want that."

In 1993, best-selling author Martin Gross verified these predictions. Gross said the DoEd was "not a tragedy waiting to happen. It has already happened. Despite the fact that it will spend $37 billion this year, it has the honor of not educating one child." Standardized test scores provide evidence to support this claim. Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and ACT Assessment scores are significantly lower today than they were 30 years ago – before the creation of DoEd. In addition, the average amount spent on each public school student has skyrocketed. In 1965, the average SAT score was 980 and slightly less than $3,000 was spent per student. More than 30 years later, the average SAT score is 910 and about $6,500 is spent per pupil.

DoEd's first budget was $14 billion and the department employed 450 people. By fiscal 2000, the budget had ballooned to more than $32 billion. The fiscal 2001 budget estimate is more than $43 billion, a 33 percent increase from the previous year. The department now employs more than 4,800 people, a 966 percent increase from 1979, yet DoEd spending for public schools accounts for less than 6 percent of total education spending. There are currently 780 education programs spread throughout 39 federal agencies, costing taxpayers $100 billion annually.

Despite the federal government's well-intentioned intervention, Americans are losing the education race. National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) tests show that average reading scores for high school students over 20 years have improved only one point, from 286 to 287 out of a possible 500. Writing scores during the same period, on the same scale, fell seven points from 290 to 283. On a standard percentile scale (where students answering 60 percent of the questions correctly receive passing grades) these reading and writing scores would receive failing grades. The scores have real-life consequences. Only 40 percent of American 12th graders are reading proficient. The other 60 percent of American students will find it difficult to hold jobs or attend college after graduation.

A recent study showed that although DoEd spent $15 billion in 1996 on elementary and secondary education, $3 billion went for purposes other than the needs of school districts. Various audits across the country have estimated that as little as 26 percent of DoEd funds are spent in the classroom. In a 1993 survey of small schools in Ohio, then-Governor George Voinovich (R) noted that as many as 170 federal reports totaling more than 700 pages must be filed by school officials each year. These reports comprise 55 percent of all school district paperwork. The Ohio survey illustrates the excessive spending for administrative activities required by DoEd.

Any education reform must shift control from Washington to the states and parents. Block grants, charter schools and vouchers are the most effective ways to accomplish such a shift.

Block grants, which have been introduced by members of both chambers of Congress, would send money back to the states with the guarantee that at least 95 percent of the money would reach the classroom. This method would surely improve education in states such as Nevada, where only 41 percent of education tax dollars actually make it to the students. Block grants would also guarantee that tailor-made solutions could be carried out by local education officials without Washington's over-regulating influence.

Charter schools also shift power into local hands. Charter schools are publicly funded schools that are privately administered. Charter signatories vary – a group of parents or a private corporation could run the school. It is up to the signatory to design and administer the curriculum. A Hudson Institute study found that charter schools work well for students who have gotten off to a slow start. Of those charter school students for whom truancy and bad report cards were once the norm, nearly half are now receiving "excellent" or "above average" marks. Charter schools, while not completely free from the regulatory arm of the federal government, provide students and parents with more choices and better results.

Educational vouchers allow students the freedom to choose their own public, private or parochial school. In 1998, the Wisconsin Supreme Court upheld a pilot voucher program that allowed disadvantaged youths to attend parochial schools. The ruling stated that when parents control public funds, the primary beneficiary is not the school, but the child. This ruling illustrates the importance of vouchers and allows some Wisconsin parents the right to choose what is best for their children. However, all news about vouchers is not good. Federal judges have struck down similar programs in Florida and Ohio showing, once again, that while many parents and taxpayers are trying to break free of the status quo, the regulatory establishment refuses to let them go.

A majority of parents support school choice. A 1999 Phi Delta Kappa study showed that 60 percent of public school parents support school choice. Sen. John Kerry (D–Mass.), a supporter of school choice, said, "Shame on us for not realizing that there are parents in this country who...support vouchers not because they are enamored with private schools but because they want a choice for their children. They want alternatives, and seeing none in our rigid system, they are willing and some, even desperate, to look elsewhere."

American children are caught in an educational system that perpetuates waste and fails to educate. Freedom from the monolithic bureaucracy of DoEd and returning choice to local communities will help the United States be more competitive in the education race. A 1998 report published by Harvard University shows that low-income recipients of New York School Choice scholarships scored higher on math and reading tests after just one year. This figure shines in comparison to the NAEP scores mentioned earlier, where it took students 20 years to improve their average reading scores by just one point. Even a child can see that choice equals results. Now it is time for the federal government to learn that lesson.

The first step in making sure that our children receive an appropriate education is to ensure that the American people are properly educated about the status of today's education system and the harm being caused by the federal government's regulations and involvement.