Washington (CNN) Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Wednesday blamed Washington overreach, high-paid school administrators and layers of bureaucracy for American students' lower scores on the Nation's Report Card, pointing to the scores as proof that the United States "has a student achievement crisis."

"Government has never made anything better or cheaper, more effective or more efficient. And nowhere is that more true than in education," she said in remarks at the National Press Club in Washington.

The test scores released by the National Center for Education Statistics earlier Wednesday showed that average reading scores were lower for fourth- and eighth-grade students and lower in math for eighth-graders compared with the 2017 results. The tests, given every two years, assess students in those grades on math and reading.

DeVos has long called for a shift in the way the United States approaches education policy, pushing for ways to empower local districts to take back control from the federal government. She reiterated the need for change on Wednesday.

She applauded states like Florida for embracing charter schools and setting up tax-credit scholarship programs, education savings accounts and vouchers that help students attend schools they believe best fit their needs, regardless of whether they are out of their districts.

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