Students will be returning to their classrooms just weeks from now in most U.S. school districts. Optimism will be the order of the day.
But optimism doesn’t seem justified based on national test scores, with an overwhelming majority of high school seniors—after more than 11 years of schooling—consistently failing to meet proficiency standards in such basic subjects as reading, mathematics, civics (U.S. government), and American history. Perhaps that’s why the National Assessment of Educational Progress no longer tests 12th graders regularly: The results are too embarrassing to the education establishment.
Prior to the 2024–25 school year, for example, the last time 12th graders were tested in American history was a decade ago, in 2014. At that time, just 18% of the students qualified as proficient. On the civics test that year, just 23% met the mark. (Twelfth graders were tested again on these subjects between January 29 and March 8 last year. The results are supposed to be released this summer.)
Teachers’ union officials and many education administrators make excuses for the education malpractice: funding levels are too low; classes are too large; parents aren’t involved enough; parents are overly involved—they’re interfering; we’re teaching students how to think, not how to memorize. It’s time to put an expiration date on the excuses.
But the excuse-makers, whether intentionally or not, also make a valid point. It’s important to teach students how to think: clearly, with command of the relevant facts, with open-minded acceptance of other facts, and without challenging the motives of those who reach different conclusions.
As president of a company that publishes digital textbooks, classroom lesson plans, and other education materials on American history, civics, and economics for high-school students—and synthesizes and distributes material from other nonprofit organizations as well—I want to offer some advice to members of Gen Z on how to succeed in school and life. These lessons should be especially important to incoming 12th-graders, as they look forward to their senior year and what lies ahead: college, work, military service, marriage.
Since these simple truths may not be taught in school, and aren’t likely to trend on TikTok, Instagram, YouTube and other popular platforms, parents and grandparents need to take the lead. Their future is in your hands.
My advice to your teenagers:
Do your own work. The temptation may be huge to have new AI tools do your work for you, but whenever you put your name onto something, make it your own. Do your own research, perhaps with AI assistance, and do your own writing. And remember, AI is fallible. Fact check like your grade depends on it.
Don’t hesitate to ask for help. There’s no shame in it. My economics teacher in high school recommended I get help on a paper from my friend. I not only got the help I needed, I got interested in the subject. Though I studied international affairs in college, economics later became my focus, including nearly nine years at the Foundation for Economic Education. A little help can take you a long way.
Language matters. If you can’t define or describe something with specificity, don’t use the term. If you can define it, do so.
Perspective matters. It’s important to examine your situation critically and avoid comparisons to others. Your perspective on any situation is unique, as everyone else’s also will be. Based on your knowledge and perspective, you can control your own actions and reactions; to others, you can offer advice and help.
Your time matters. Scarcity is a fact of life. And your time is the most-scarce commodity of all. In order to get or do one thing, you may have to forgo other things. Focus on what makes you lose track of time; later in life get someone to pay you for it.
Stick to facts. To say something is “free,” for example, is factually incorrect. Nothing is free. The cost might be measured in time, energy, or money (yours or someone else’s), but it’s there. Free college? Where? Did the buildings, furnishings and technology materialize out of thin air? Are the faculty and staff all volunteers? Everything has a cost.
Grades aren’t everything. Parents will hate me for saying this, but grades and GPA soon become distant memories. While they are important as measures of progress, hard work and passion are equally important. Combine all three and students will hit the education trifecta.
Richard Lorenc is president and CEO of Lexandria, a project of the education nonprofit Certell, Inc. intended to help develop U.S. high school students into principled citizens.
Image: Free image, Pixabay license.