McClain to Hold Hearing on Declining Student Test Scores and Prolonged Democrat-Led School Closures

WASHINGTON—Subcommittee on Health Care and Financial Services Chairwoman Lisa McClain (R-Mich.) today announced a hearing titled “America’s Report Card: Oversight of K-12 Public Education” to examine a trend of declining student performance across the nation which was set off by school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbated by left-wing ideologies forced upon students.

“From the very beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, I and other Republicans warned of the harms that prolonged, Democrat-led school closures would have on students’ learning in my own state of Michigan and across the country. America’s students have fallen behind. Startling data in the recent Nation’s Report Card shows students’ test scores have fallen to the lowest in years and have declined significantly in both math and reading.

“Now instead of addressing student performance, many school districts are seeking to indoctrinate students with leftist DEI programs. The damage of school closures during the pandemic coupled with some school districts increasingly focused on non-academic programming will impact students’ education for years to come. We must be thorough in conducting a review of how these decisions were made, purposeful in investing in support to reverse the damage, and proactive in ensuring Democrat policies don’t fail America’s students ever again,” said Subcommittee Chairwoman McClain.

WHAT: Hearing titled “America’s Report Card: Oversight of K-12 Public Education”

DATE: January 30, 2024

TIME: 2:00 PM ET

LOCATION: 2154 Rayburn House Office Building

WITNESSES:

• Virginia Gentles, Director, Education Freedom Center, Independent Women’s Forum

• Nat Malkus, Senior Fellow and Deputy Director, Education Policy Studies, American Enterprise Institute

• Ms. Denise Forte (Minority Witness), President and CEO, The Education Trust