Dem
47
GOP
53
Specifically, American high school kids are stupid. No. we don't mean 18-year-olds are voting against their own interests (although that comes next). We mean one-third of high school seniors are not capable of figuring out how much they save by buying an $80 shirt that is on sale with a 10% discount. Yeah, it's that bad. Fifth-grade math is not rocket science but it is a bridge too far for millions of kids.
The NAEP (National Assessment of Education Progress), the gold standard of measuring educational levels, has a new report card out for America's students and the kids get a "D." Matthew Soldner, acting commissioner for Educational Statistics said the results show a "stark decline" compared to past reports. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said the statistics confirm "a devastating trend." She also said: "It's an economic emergency that threatens our workforce and national competitiveness." Watch out for that sneaky word: "emergency." There is probably an old law stating that in an educational emergency, the president can take over all the nation's schools and rewrite the curriculum as he sees fit. The focus of the new one could be fighting woke and CRT; forget computing 10% discounts. That is not important.
The NAEP defines three achievement levels: basic, proficient, and advanced. One-third of seniors fail to make it to the basic level. This means that they can't make simple inferences after reading a piece of text. Math is especially bad, with 45% of high school seniors below basic (e.g., can't do the 10% discount calculation above). Figuring out how much gas they will need for a road trip is a no-can-do. Adjusting a recipe for four people to six people is way beyond what they can do.
In the 2025 Program for International Student Assessment tests (PISA) Singapore was on top, China was second, Japan and Taiwan were tied for third, followed by South Korea, and then Hong Kong. Canada was #8. The U.S. came in at #18, way behind all the Asian countries. How can the U.S. out-innovate other countries when American kids can't read or do simple math? How can they make intelligent political choices if they don't understand the issues?
Third grade is considered crucial by educational experts. That's when students transition from learning to read to reading to learn. Students who can't read by the end of third grade are in deep doodoo going forward. Yet in the 2024 report card, 40% of fourth graders were below basic.
This report is clearly a problem. It will be up to McMahon to do something about it, if she wants to. But her background is running World Wrestling Entertainment and she knows you don't have to be very smart to watch wrestling. This doesn't bode well for future workers.
Many colleges—even Harvard—have to spend a lot of effort on what is effectively remedial teaching because the incoming students really aren't ready for college work. But reading and math deficits also affect students aiming for vocational training. Pretty much all machines these days are full of computers and they come with thick manuals explaining how to use them and even thicker ones explaining how to repair them. How is a student who can barely read going to cope with a 500-page manual on how to repair a car? None of this bodes well for the American economy in the 21st century. (V)