Florida’s Commissioner of Education, Manny Diaz Jr., blamed the Biden administration’s methodology for Florida’s poor results in an op-ed. He argued that the assessment should also take into account students attending private and charter schools, a growing number in the state supported by taxpayer-funded scholarships or “vouchers.”

U.S. President Donald Trump's stated goal of closing the Department of Education comes after a long Republican-led push to chip away at the agency's funding and influence. Like other U.S. agencies, the Department of Education's budget is determined by Congress,