6 Questions Senators Should Ask Trump’s Nominee for Education Secretary
Bell-Ellwanger: With NAEP scores down & absenteeism up, Linda McMahon must make her policies on data, assessment, transparency & student privacy clear

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Next week, the Senate HELP Committee will hold a confirmation hearing for secretary of education nominee Linda McMahon. McMahon has management experience, having served as administrator of the Small Business Administration during the first Trump presidency, but less background in education. While she has expressed support for President Donald Trump’s campaign policies — increased school choice and information for parents, expanded apprenticeships and workforce opportunities, and passage of workforce Pell Grants — not much has been said about McMahon’s policies, positions and philosophy for running the U.S. Department of Education.
At a time when scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress are down and chronic absenteeism is up — 75% higher than before the pandemic — here are six questions about data that committee members should ask McMahon:
1. How will you ensure the department works with state leaders to sustain state data efforts, particularly statewide longitudinal data systems?
The government has long helped states build and maintain systems that securely connect early childhood, K-12, postsecondary and workforce data. These are crucial for ensuring policymakers have the information they need to drive systemic improvements and aid students in making decisions about their futures. Ensuring these systems are effective and transparent requires the next secretary to continue the strong partnership between the department and states through funding, guidance, technical assistance and open access to federal data.
2. How will you work with Congress to modernize federal education privacy laws and regulations?
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) was enacted over 50 years ago and was last updated in 2011. Since then, technology and educators’ understanding of how data can be used to support students and families have changed radically, but FERPA and other privacy protections have not kept pace. As a result, these laws sometimes hinder efforts to protect students. The next administration can modernize FERPA, enabling states to take educationally appropriate actions with data (e.g., streamlining admissions to make it easier for eligible students to enroll in postsecondary programs, like college or career training). Changes should be considered carefully to avoid unintended consequences.
3. How will you enforce existing state report card transparency requirements, so parents get the information they need?
State report cards are the baseline for parent and public understanding of how well schools are educating students. But few, if any, states provide this information in ways that are easy for parents to find and understand, as required under the Every Student Succeeds Act. Not only can transparency make school choice meaningful, but parents and their children deserve to know how their schools are performing. The next administration must commit to implementing ESSA’s accountability and reporting provisions.
4. What is your plan for maintaining statewide student assessments while innovating to improve them?
Objective, reliable assessment data is one piece of the puzzle that gives state education leaders, researchers, educators and parents a picture of students’ academic success. In particular, statewide assessments allow policymakers to compare outcomes and identify areas for improvement, ensuring that parents get honest information about school performance. These tests, however, should not remain static; innovation is essential. But the desire to do something new cannot undermine the importance of having consistent, annual information about all schools and students. The next administration must explore the right balance between maintaining annual assessments and ensuring they are accurate, timely and minimally burdensome.
5. How will you ensure quality and transparency in career pathway and postsecondary programs?
In recent years, students increasingly have expressed interest in programs that prepare them for careers, like dual enrollment and “earn while you learn.” But there is inconsistent information about which result in student mobility and success. Data about these programs — persistence and completion rates, outcomes, enrollment, cost and quality — is critical to help people to make informed decisions.
One way to require this transparency is to pass the bipartisan College Transparency Act, which would require the federal government to give consumers more timely, accurate data on completion and post-college outcomes. Another is to assist states developing dashboards, career exploration websites and other tools that help people understand which skills are most in demand, like the resources Colorado, Kentucky and Indiana have developed. Students need access to robust, comprehensive data to make decisions that are right for them. The next administration must take steps to enable data sharing, including working to pass the act and providing guidance for states.
6. How will you encourage research that facilitates using data and evidence to improve student outcomes?
Researchers are continually working to identify ways to tackle persistent issues for different groups of students. For some, like recovering learning loss, evidence exists about which approaches work for whom, and under what circumstances. For others, evidence is still being developed. The pandemic made clear that consistently evaluating the outcomes of different interventions and sharing that information is critical to meeting students’ needs as they arise.
The Institute of Education Sciences has begun expediting information for its What Works Clearinghouse and more quickly releasing research for immediate use. The next administration should build on the work underway to ensure that federally funded research aligns with the needs of the field and that findings are made publicly available quickly and clearly.
The next secretary of education can ensure that everyone, from high school students to governors, has better, more transparent data about how well schools prepare children for life after school. Data is foundational to ensuring transparency, measuring quality and understanding whether federal investments are being used well. Members of the HELP Committee should seek to clarify how McMahon plans to continue investing in data to ensure that students, families, educators and policymakers have the information they need to make decisions.
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