'We Are Not Waste': Education Researchers Slam Elon Musk's $881 Million Cuts That Shut Down Studies on Student Learning and School Data

The U.S. Department of Education's research arm, the Institute of Education Sciences, is set to lose nearly $900 million in funding following a review by the White House's Department of Government Efficiency. Media reports say that the decision from the Elon Musk-led department has abruptly ended around 169 contracts, many of which supported long-term education research.

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Education Experts Slam Musk's Cuts and Their Impact on Education Research

Some of the programs getting the axe focused on tracking student progress from kindergarten through high school, testing elementary reading strategies, and studying how to better support students with disabilities. Major data sources like the National Assessment of Educational Progress and the College Scorecard are safe for now, according to The Guardian. 

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Not surprisingly, education advocates aren't happy. Rachel Dinkes, president of the Knowledge Alliance, didn't hold back, saying, "Cutting out at the knees the one independent agency that helps improve student outcomes is ridiculous." 

And she's got a point—IES plays a huge role in monitoring the state of education, analyzing student performance across different groups, and measuring the effectiveness of federal education programs.

The ripple effect of these cuts is already hitting small businesses and research firms. Activate Research, for example, lost four contracts and is now planning to lay off 20 of its 28 employees. Founder Dinah Sparks defended their work, saying, "We did valuable work for the U.S. taxpayer." 

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And just last year, Congress allocated around $800 million to IES—only about 1% of the Education Department's budget. Now, research groups are scrambling to get some of those contracts reinstated, arguing that a lot of IES's work is actually required by Congress.

Former IES commissioner Mark Schneider is taking a more measured approach, saying this could be an opportunity to reassess what's working and what's not. "If we just swing this sledgehammer, break all this stuff, and say, ‘OK, done,' then we've wasted an opportunity to fix things," he explained.

Not everyone is looking at this as a chance to "fix" anything, though. Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA), a former teacher, is strongly against the cuts. She put it bluntly: "An unelected billionaire is bulldozing the research arm of the Department of Education—taking a wrecking ball to high-quality research and basic data we need to improve our public schools."

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At the end of the day, these cuts are part of a much bigger push by the current administration to cut federal spending and shake up how government agencies work. Musk has made it clear that he's all about eliminating inefficiencies. "We do need to delete entire agencies," he said. "It's like a weed—if you don't remove the roots, it grows back."

Legal challenges are already underway. Attorneys general from 14 states have filed lawsuits, arguing that Musk's authority to make these kinds of cuts and access sensitive government data should be subject to oversight by a Senate-confirmed official.

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