Education degrees have plummeted by 50% since 1970, signaling a grim future for America's once-top major: Data

National Center for Educational Statistics data indicated education degrees have plummeted by 50% since 1970, signaling an ongoing teacher shortage crisis

At the time, it was the most popular major, coming in at 176,307 degrees conferred with social sciences/history and business degrees coming in second and third with 155,324 and 115,396 degrees conferred, respectively.  Taylor Penley is an associate editor with Fox News.

"These trends aren't surprising. We pour more and more money into the system, and it doesn't make its way to the teachers in the classroom. Per student, education spending increased by 152% between 1970 and 2019 after adjusting for inflation. Teacher salaries only increased by 8% in real terms over that same period. School choice would be an obvious win for students and families by empowering them with more options. But it would be a win for teachers, too," Corey DeAngelis, a senior fellow at School Choice Now told Fox News Digital.