Dana Goldstein

Would love to learn more about this! dana.goldstein@nytimes.com

How Politics Is Changing the Way History Is Taught

A few months ago, I started to hear from history teachers that the curriculum materials they’d used for years were being pulled from the market, or they were not being allowed to use them because of political pressures. My investigation of this trend published today: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/27/u...

Were You Assigned Full Books to Read in High School English? Tell Us.

Were you or your kids assigned full books to read in high school English — novels, nonfiction or plays from beginning to end — or mostly shorter excerpts? We are digging into this very controversial maybe-trend and need your help:

www.nytimes.com/2025/09/24/u...

Some Programs for Black Students Become ‘Illegal D.E.I.’ Under Trump

Read @danagoldstein.bsky.social ‬⁩ “The administration is using the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights, which was established to protect racial and ethnic minority groups, to try to end programs meant to help some of those same students.” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/26/u...

Judge Halts White House Effort to Defund Schools With D.E.I. Programs

Federal judge halts Trump effort to withdraw federal funding from schools and colleges with "illegal D.E.I." Judge says the effort violated administrative procedure and threatened free speech. White House likely to appeal. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/u...

join us right now for a discussion on what's happening in K-12 education politics www.aei.org/events/whats...

Tomorrow, 3 pm, a discussion on what's going on in K-12 education politics, between me and Rick Hess of AEI. Please join us virtually. www.aei.org/events/whats...

Federal School Voucher Proposal Advances, a Milestone for Conservatives

The private-school-choice movement is on the verge of a victory that has eluded it: Pushing school vouchers into all 50 states, even the liberal ones. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/13/u...

Has America Given Up on Children’s Learning?

Excellent piece by @danagoldstein.bsky.social about how both parties have walked away from efforts to improve student learning. We're caught in culture wars set in schools, but much less focused on whether kids can read and whether they graduate from high school. www.nytimes.com/2025/05/10/u...

Who Decides How Much You Pay for College? Here’s How Tuition Costs Are Set. Schools turn to little-known consultants, owned by private equity firms, to find applicants and calculate scholarships. Here’s how that affects the price you pay.

must-read for parents to understand how college prices are set -- and why, if you ask for more aid, you just might get it! scarcity is a myth -- most colleges have trouble filling their seats www.nytimes.com/2025/05/01/b...

will also die on this hill

GOT HAIM TIX

Will the Humanities Survive Artificial Intelligence? Maybe not as we’ve known them. But, in the ruins of the old curriculum, something vital is stirring.

Essential reading for anyone who cares about education, for parents, and all citizens. I began using deep research AI over the past several months. It is challenging and reshaping my vision of what literacy and literate culture will be in our lifetimes. www.newyorker.com/culture/the-...

School Vouchers Won in Texas. Next Up, the Nation. Choice laws have now passed in every major Republican state. Congress and President Trump are now aiming at blue states that have resisted vouchers for decades.

Once a movement held at bay, the push to give taxpayer-funded vouchers to virtually any parent with a school-age child has secured wins in every major red state, Texas the latest and biggest. Now activists have their eyes on blue states, and Congress hopes to oblige. www.nytimes.com/2025/04/17/u...

Can Trump End the Department of Education? (Gift Article) President Trump signed an order calling for the agency to close, and has already gutted its staff and programs. Still, students may not see much change, at least at first.

Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/u...

Can Trump End the Department of Education? President Trump signed an order calling for the agency to close, and has already gutted its staff and programs. Still, students may not see much change, at least at first.

President Trump just signed an order attempting to dismantle the Department of Education. Can he do that? What is likely to happen next -- and what does the agency actually do day-to-day? My explainer: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/u...

Since 1979, the U.S. Department of Education has spent over $3 trillion with virtually nothing to show for it. Despite per-pupil spending having increased by more than 245% over that period, there has been virtually no measurable improvement in student achievement: Math and reading scores for 13-year-olds are at the lowest level in decades. Six-in-ten fourth graders and nearly three-quarters of eighth graders are not proficient in math. Seven-in-ten fourth and eighth graders are not proficient in reading, while 40% of fourth grade students don’t even meet basic reading levels. Standardized test scores have remained flat for decades. U.S. students rank 28 out of 37 OECD member countries in math. President Donald J. Trump and his administration believe we can, and must, be better. Instead of maintaining the status quo that is failing American students, the Trump Administration’s bold plan will return education where it belongs — with individual states, which are best positioned to administer effective programs and services that benefit their own unique populations and needs. Instead of a bloated federal system that burdens schools with regulations and paperwork, the Trump Administration believes states should be empowered to expand educational freedom and opportunity for all families. Why would we keep doing the same thing over and over again and expect a different result?

Two noteworthy things about the White House press release ahead of today's announcement regarding ED:

(1) It's all about K-12, while most federal money goes to higher ed.
(2) Most of the links are to NCES reports...and NCES is now down to about three employees.

www.whitehouse.gov/articles/202...

Trump’s Battles With Colleges Could Change American Culture for a Generation Many in higher education worry Trump’s efforts to bend academia to his will could end American leadership in research and science. Universities are not finding many allies to defend them.

An important story by the great Alan Blinder, stepping back to look at the historic role of the American research university, and the sector's failure to address its critics and tell its own story www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/u...

Deported Professor Rasha Alawieh Attended Hezbollah Leader’s Funeral, D.H.S. Says Dr. Rasha Alawieh was detained in Boston and then deported after returning from a trip to Lebanon. The government says a judge’s order that she be allowed to stay in the U.S. came too late.

The latest on the case of Dr. Rasha Alawieh, the Brown Medicine doctor deported Friday night despite a valid visa. DHS says she had attended the Hezbollah leader's funeral. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/17/u...

Brown University Professor and Doctor Is Deported to Lebanon Despite a Judge’s Order Dr. Rasha Alawieh, a kidney transplant specialist and Brown University professor who had a valid visa, was expelled in apparent defiance of a court order.

Latest on the case of Dr. Rasha Alawieh, the kidney transplant specialist and Brown U professor detained and deported in potential defiance of a court order.

Foreign doctors are crucial in her field, as there is a shortage of Americans: www.nytimes.com/2025/03/16/u...

Would Schools Close in a Future Pandemic? Five years after the global Covid pandemic was declared, there is widespread agreement that closing classrooms was devastating for children. Here is what leaders say they may do next time.

NEW: 5 years later, what did we learn about school closures for the next pandemic? We interviewed over a dozen education, health and political leaders about where they now stand, any regrets, and what should happen next time www.nytimes.com/2025/03/13/u...

Are Schools Succeeding? Education Department Cuts Could Make It Hard to Know (Gift Article) At least 800 education department research employees and outside partners have lost jobs. The cuts will decimate research and data collection.

GIFT LINK HERE! www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/u...

Are Schools Succeeding? Education Department Cuts Could Make It Hard to Know At least 800 education department research employees and outside partners have lost jobs. The cuts will decimate research and data collection.

I keep hearing the question: What's the biggest impact of Trump education disruptions so far? My answer: Research. Data. Knowledge on how students are doing and how schools might improve. All of this is being decimated. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/12/u...

Hi Betsy. I am so sorry you're impacted by this. I am reporting on the cuts at IES for the NY Times. Can I give you a call? dana.goldstein@nytimes.com. 212 556 1774

Hi Jeff - I am reporting on the cuts at NCES for the NY Times. Can I give you a call? dana.goldstein@nytimes.com. 212 556 1774

Trump Takes Aim at the Department of Education Podcast Episode · The Daily · 03/10/2025 · 26m

I’m on The Daily, unpacking the fundamental paradox at the heart of Trump’s education agenda: how he wants to abolish the agency he is also aggressively using to fight a culture war podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

Some Schools Rethink “College For All” The idea that every student should aim for a four-year college motivated a bipartisan movement for decades. Now even enthusiastic promoters of the idea are reconsidering it.

40% of students who start college don't finish. Some high schools that once pushed "college for all" are grappling with that reality, and providing teens with more career-focused learning.

www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/u...

thank you, Steve!

DOGE Proposes A.I. Bot as Replacement for Financial Aid Help A new chatbot would answer questions from student borrowers. The idea comes from staffers with ties to the tech industry as they push further into the agency’s work.

3. Some ED staffers are worried about a “severe degradation” in services. The DOGE folks bringing these ideas to the table have ties to ed tech and venture capital, and are not super-young, but executives in 30s/40s. Reported with the great Zach Montague www.nytimes.com/2025/02/13/u...

2. Beefing up those call centers was a key response to last year's FAFSA debacle, and for students and borrowers, wait times have significantly reduced.