Trump puts Education Department official on leave following dismal NAEP report card
SUMMARY
Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, was put on administrative leave Monday by the Trump administration. This comes just weeks after the 2024 National Assessment of Education Progress showed eighth-grade math and reading scores dropping to their lowest in over 20 years. Carr, appointed by President Joe Biden in 2021 after nearly two decades leading NCES’s Assessment Division, isn’t fired—she’ll stay on payroll during a review of her role. The report she presented last month also noted fourth-grade reading at a 20-year low, though math scores for that grade ticked up slightly. A Department of Education spokesperson confirmed the move, thanking Carr for her service. Meanwhile, Trump’s been rolling out school-focused executive orders—pushing school choice, banning transgender athletes in women’s sports, and ending funding for schools with COVID vaccine mandates. Over 100 Department of Education staffers have been let go or suspended.
