Classroom culture

Despite a rocky year due to funding challenges and public funding battles with the Trump administration, America’s top colleges aren’t losing out when it comes to getting a top-level education. Princeton, MIT and Harvard hold the top three spots in the 2026 U.S. News Best College Rankings.

The nation’s report card for 2024 shows declining scores in math, rThe nation’s report card for 2024 shows declining scores in math, reading and science, especially by high school seniors. Not only are scores falling, but attendance too, with 31% of 12th graders missing three or more days of school per month.

According to a report, the National Education Association found that teachers are earning 5% less than they did 10 years ago, adjusting for inflation. Around 17% of them took second jobs during the 2020-2021 school year. In a Pew Research survey, 74% of those polled said teachers should earn more.

Student loan borrowers who switched to the Saving on a Valuable Education (SAVE) plan saw interest start accruing again on Aug. 1, after a federal court’s injunction stopped the plan from going ahead in 2024 and President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act slashed the SAVE, Pay As You Earn (PAYE) and Income-Contingent Repayment (ICR) plans.

Harvard University sued the Trump administration, saying a freeze on $2.2 billion in federal funding was unconstitutional. The lawsuit represented the most significant pushback to the administration’s efforts to force elite universities to end diversity, equity and inclusion programs and to punish alleged antisemitism related to protests last year over Israel’s war in Gaza.

President Trump signed an executive order to begin the process of shutting down the U.S. Department of Education. While closing the department would require a congressional act, Trump’s order resulted in the firings of thousands of department employees and the transfer of many of its core functions to other agencies.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress – known as “the nation’s report card” – showed American students continued to get worse at reading, continuing a slide that intensified after the COVID-19 pandemic.

A new study by the National Center for Education Statistics showed American students were falling behind their peers internationally in math and science. The study found that the United States was among countries in which test scores declined following the disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic.

California passed a law in June 2024 requiring schools to offer a personal finance course, becoming the 26th state to do so. Still, some key aspects of financing aren’t being taught in these courses.

The Biden administration fast-tracked relief for Americans with small federal student loans. The move followed a Supreme Court ruling that blocked the administration from canceling student loans for about 40 million people.