The Department of Education has spent $3 trillion since its inception in 1980, and academic accomplishment has not advanced at all.
The Institute of Education Sciences (IES), which administers research grants, is a division of the Department of Education. Given your point, how much of this funding was dedicated to research? Even if $500 million (its much more, but I digress) has been invested in research since 1980, this does not negate your point since the Department of Education does more than advancing academic achievement?
Each state has its own rules for education. The Department of Education mostly funds programs based on federal law, but they can only regulate state's activities they’re breaking federal law, you can't solely blame the department for failures of multiple state governments.
The dollars spent is not evidence of accomplishment.
"Academic accomplishment has not advanced at all" feels like something people say without expanding on what they mean by it.
What have we got to show for spending $3 trillion?
Y'all really don't understand how education works in America and your comments make it clear for all to see.
Because it seems to me that a chief indicator that waste likely exists is an inability to show ROI.