American K–12 schooling is getting steadily worse. Yes, grades look splendid, but that’s because of grade inflation. Teachers like to give all their students good grades to avoid trouble with parents and administrators. Many students coast through to their high-school diplomas without learning much.

One indicator of that failing is the testing ACT does to determine how many students are college ready. Fewer and fewer students have good preparation. In today’s Martin Center article, Harrington Shaw reflects on this situation:

43 percent of the class of 2023 failed to meet any ACT college-readiness benchmarks, and only 21 percent met all four (English, math, reading, and science). This marks a nearly five-percent decrease from last year, when 22 percent of students met all four benchmarks. Given that nearly two million students take the exam each year, thousands of high schoolers have likely fallen below rudimentary college-readiness standards compared to last year.

Undoubtedly, the Covid shutdowns had something to do with the decline in college readiness, but it would be a mistake to say, “Well, the students will catch up in college.” Many won’t.

The terrible truth is that we spend a vast amount on schooling but get less and less education.

Read the whole thing.