Editing Education in the United States (section)

===21st century===
The [[No Child Left Behind Act]] of 2001, passed by a bipartisan coalition in Congress, provided federal aid to the states in exchange for measures to penalize schools that were not meeting the goals as measured by standardized state exams in mathematics and language skills. This made [[standardized test]]ing a requirement.<ref>{{cite book|author=Jesse Rhodes|title=An Education in Politics: The Origins and Evolution of No Child Left Behind|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fDvg6r8oHKIC&pg=PA179|year=2012|publisher=Cornell U.P.|pages=179–81|isbn=978-0801464669}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|author=Steven Brill|title=Class Warfare: Inside the Fight to Fix America's Schools|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9_e6RjCtpcAC&pg=PA84|year=2011|publisher=Simon & Schuster|page=84|isbn=9781451611991}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ed.gov/nclb/overview/intro/factsheet.html|title=Archived: Fact Sheet on No Child Left Behind|date=2006-05-03}}</ref> In the same year, the [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] diluted some of the century-old "Blaine" laws upheld an Ohio law allowing aid to [[parochial school]]s under specific circumstances.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=00-1751|title=Zeman vs Simmon-Harris, US Supreme Court certoriari 00-1751|date=June 27, 2002|work=findlaw.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20021002104112/http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/scripts/getcase.pl?court=US&vol=000&invol=00-1751|archive-date=October 2, 2002|url-status=dead}}</ref> The 2006 [[Commission on the Future of Higher Education]] evaluated higher education. In December 2015, then-American President [[Barack Obama]] signed legislation replacing No Child Left Behind with the [[Every Student Succeeds Act]].<ref name="Hirschfeld Davis">{{cite news|last=Hirschfeld Davis|first=Julie|title=President Obama Signs into Law a Rewrite of No Child Left Behind|newspaper=The New York Times|date=December 10, 2015|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/11/us/politics/president-obama-signs-into-law-a-rewrite-of-no-child-left-behind.html|access-date=December 18, 2015}}</ref>

The [[Great Recession]] of 2007–2009 caused a sharp decline in tax revenues in all American states and cities. The response included cuts to education budgets. [[American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009|Obama's $800 billion stimulus package]] of 2009 included $100 billion for public schools, which every state used to protect its education budget. In terms of sponsoring innovation; however, then-President Obama and then-Education Secretary [[Arne Duncan]] pursued K-12 education reform through the [[Race to the Top]] grant program. With over $15 billion of grants at stake, 34 states quickly revised their education laws according to the proposals of advanced educational reformers. In the competition, points were awarded for allowing charter schools to multiply, for compensating teachers on a merit basis including student test scores, and for adopting higher educational standards.

There were incentives for states to establish college and career-ready standards, which in practice meant adopting the [[Common Core|Common Core State Standards Initiative]] that had been developed on a bipartisan basis by the [[National Governors Association]], and the [[Council of Chief State School Officers]]. The criteria were not mandatory, they were incentives to improve opportunities to get a grant. Most states revised their laws accordingly, even though they realized it was unlikely they would win a highly competitive new grant. Race to the Top had strong bipartisan support, with centrist elements from both parties. It was opposed by the left wing of the Democratic Party, and by the right wing of the Republican Party, and criticized for centralizing too much power in Washington. Complaints also came from middle-class families, who were annoyed at the increasing emphasis on teaching to the test, rather than encouraging teachers to show creativity and stimulating students' imagination.<ref>[[Jonathan Zimmerman]], "Education in the Age of Obama: The Paradox of Consensus" in Zelizer, ed., ''The Presidency of Barack Obama '' pp 110–28.</ref><ref>{{cite journal|last=McGuinn|first=Patrick|year=2012|title=Stimulating reform: Race to the Top, competitive grants and the Obama education agenda|journal=Educational Policy|volume=26|issue=1|pages=136–159|doi=10.1177/0895904811425911|s2cid=154566214}}</ref> Voters in both major parties have been critical of the [[Common Core]] initiative.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Ferguson |first=Maria |year=2015 |title=Washington View So you want to be an education president?. |journal=Phi Delta Kappan |volume=96 |issue=6 |pages=72–73 |doi=10.1177/0031721715575307 |s2cid=145724054}}</ref>

During the 2010s, American [[Student loans in the United States|student loan debt]] became recognized as a social problem.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2018/08/25/opinion/sunday/student-debt-loan-default-college.html|title=Opinion &#124; the Student Debt Problem is Worse Than We Imagined|newspaper=The New York Times|date=2018-08-25}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://thehill.com/blogs/pundits-blog/economy-budget/309760-student-debt-is-americas-most-pressing-economic-problem|title=Student debt is America's most pressing economic problem|date=2016-12-11}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-10-17/the-student-loan-debt-crisis-is-about-to-get-worse|title=The Student Loan Debt Crisis Is About to Get Worse|last=Griffin|first=Riley|date=2018-10-17|work=Bloomberg}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/zackfriedman/2018/11/28/student-loan-debt-crisis/|title=Betsy DeVos: Student Loan Debt is Now A 'Crisis'|website=[[Forbes]]|date=July 16, 2023 }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu/article/student-loan-debt-crisis/|title=Will a Student Loan Debt Crisis Sink the U.S. Economy?}}</ref>

Like every wealthy country, the [[COVID-19 pandemic in the United States|COVID-19 pandemic]] and [[SARS-CoV-2 Delta variant|Delta]][[SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant|cron]] hybrid variant had a [[impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on education in the United States|great impact on education in the United States]], requiring schools to implement technology and transition to virtual meetings.<ref>{{Cite web|last1=Nagel|first1=David|date=2020-03-06|title=More Than Half of All States Have Shut Down All of Their Schools |url=https://thejournal.com/articles/2020/03/16/more-major-education-systems-shut-down.aspx|access-date=2020-06-10|website=THE Journal|language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|last=Herold|first=Benjamin|date=2020-04-01|title=The Scramble to Move America's Schools Online - Education Week|work=Education Week|url=https://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2020/03/26/the-scramble-to-move-americas-schools-online.html|access-date=2020-06-19}}</ref> Although the use of technology improves the grading process and the quality of information received,<ref>{{Cite web|title=Technology in Classrooms: Pros and Cons – Future Educators|date=June 22, 2019 |url=https://www.futureeducators.org/technology-in-classrooms-pros-cons/|access-date=2020-06-18|language=en-US}}</ref> critics assess it a poor substitute for in-person learning, and that online-only education disadvantages students without internet access, who disproportionately live in poor households, and that technology may make it harder for students to pay attention.<ref name="weforum.org">{{Cite web|title=The COVID-19 pandemic has changed education forever. This is how|url=https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2020/04/coronavirus-education-global-covid19-online-digital-learning/|access-date=2020-06-19|website=World Economic Forum|date=April 29, 2020 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=Zilibotti/>

Some colleges and universities became vulnerable to permanent closure during the pandemic. Universities and colleges were refunding tuition monies to students while investing in online technology and tools, making it harder to invest into empty campuses. Schools are defined as being in low financial health if their combined revenue and unrestricted assets will no longer cover operating expenses in six years. Before COVID-19, 13 institutions were in danger of closing within 6 years in New England.<ref name="Fern">{{Cite web|last=Fern|first=Deirdre|date=8 May 2020|title=Amid coronavirus pandemic, a growing list of colleges in financial peril|url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/05/08/metro/amid-pandemic-growing-list-colleges-financial-peril/|access-date=2020-06-19|work=The Boston Globe|language=en-US}}</ref> With the presence of COVID-19, that number has increased to 25 institutions.<ref name="Fern"/> In the United States due to the financial impact caused by COVID-19, 110 more colleges and universities are now at risk of closing. This labels the total number of colleges and universities in peril due to pandemic to be 345 institutions.<ref name="Fern"/> While prestigious colleges and universities have historically had financial cushion due to high levels of enrollment, private colleges at a low risk have dropped from 485 to 385.<ref name="Fern"/> Federal COVID-19 relief has assisted students and universities. However, it has not been enough to bandage the financial wound created by COVID-19. Colby-Sawyer College located in New Hampshire has received about $780,000 in assistance through the [[United States Department of Education]].<ref name="Fern"/> About half of this money was dispersed amongst the student body. Colby-Swayer College was also capable of receiving a loan of $2.65 million, to avoid layoffs of their 312 employees.<ref name="Fern"/>

[[Yale University|Yale]] economist [[Fabrizio Zilibotti]] co-authored a January 2022 study with professors from the [[Columbia University]], [[New York University]], [[University of Pennsylvania]], [[Harvard University]], [[Northwestern University]], and the [[University of Amsterdam]], showing that "the pandemic is widening educational inequality and that the learning gaps created by the crisis will persist."<ref name=Zilibotti>{{cite journal |author1=Francesco Agostinelli, Matthias Doepke, Giuseppe Sorrenti & Fabrizio Zilibotti |title=When the Great Equalizer Shuts Down: Schools, Peers, and Parents in Pandemic Times |date=December 2020 |volume=206 |issue=104574 |doi=10.3386/w28264 |url=https://www.nber.org/papers/w28264 |access-date=27 July 2022 |journal=Journal of Public Economics |issn=0047-2727 |id=28264 |quote=Online education is an imperfect substitute for in-person learning, particularly for children from low-income families. Peer effects also change: schools allow children from different socio-economic backgrounds to mix together, and this effect is lost when schools are closed.|doi-access=free }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Cummings |first1=Mike |title=COVID school closures most harm students from poorest neighborhood |url=https://news.yale.edu/2021/01/05/covid-school-closures-most-harm-students-poorest-neighborhoods |website=news.yale.edu |publisher=Yale News |access-date=27 July 2022 |date=5 January 2022}}</ref> As of result, COVID-19 educational impact in the United States has ended by March 11, 2022, as Deltacron cases fall and ahead of the living with an [[Endemic COVID-19|endemic phase]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2022}}