The National Assessment of Educational Progress—often dubbed the “nation’s report card”—is in, and many are going to wish it wasn’t because it’s a trainwreck. American students started showing declines in learning even before the COVID pandemic, but once that hit, things got even worse.
The numbers are ugly:
…a record high 45 percent of high school seniors scored “below basic” in math. Those at the basic level, for instance, would be able to “apply statistical reasoning in the organization and display of data and in reading tables and graphs.” This means that nearly half of seniors were set to graduate without these and other skills.
Nearly 1 in 3 seniors were below basic in reading, also a record. The lowest-performing students recorded an average score of 224, which was 25 points lower than their counterparts scored in 1992.
The tweet above, from former Heritage Foundation Senior Legal Fellow Sarah Parshall Perry, continues:
Only 1/3 of high school students that left for college this year had the basic math & reading scores needed to succeed at the college level. For many, college has just become a lengthier and more expensive proposition as they scramble to catch up.
For every parent that begged schools to reopen during the COVID pandemic this news confirms what they already knew: kids would suffer, & irreparably so. As a new school year begins, a pall hangs over American education: it is failing our kids, & robbing them of their futures. And no matter how much money we throw at the problem, the scores continue to bottom out.
The social experimentation, lack of rigor, & identity politicking must end. If for no other reason than that we can no longer afford them.
READ MORE: Trump Gets Standing Ovation With Major Announcement to Protect Prayer in Schools
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Unfortunately, we’ve hit record lows:
“Scores for our lowest-performing students are at historic lows, continuing declines that began more than a decade ago. My predecessor warned of this trend and her predecessor warned of this trend as well, and now I am warning you about this trend,” said Matthew Soldner, acting director of the Institute of Education Sciences, the research and data branch of the Education Department. “These results should galvanize all of us to take concerted, focused action to accelerate student learning.”
He said these results mean that only about 1 in 3 seniors were ready to do college-level work in math and reading.
In fact, a mere 35 percent of high school seniors scored as “proficient” in reading, while only 22 percent were proficient in math—gloomy figures indeed.
Donald Trump has frequently argued that he wants to get rid of the Department of Education, a concept that makes big government liberals break out in hives.
Following the release of the scores on Tuesday, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said the results "confirm a devastating trend" which has continued "despite spending billions annually on numerous K-12 programs."
In an appearance Tuesday on "America's Newsroom," McMahon agreed with Fox News host Dana Perino, wondering if the situation was a "national emergency." She added that she and President Donald Trump were on a mission to return education funding to the states.
Numbers like these certainly make it harder to argue that Jimmy Carter’s DoE is a success. According to this report, at least, America’s young people are getting dumber by the hour.
Editor's Note: President Trump is fighting to dismantle the Department of Education and ensure America's kids get the education they deserve.
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