Basic education in America is falling short of what is needed

May 21, 2024

In the last few years there has been much criticism of both public education and higher education. Stories abound regarding the changing of education into indoctrination in many public schools and school systems, and colleges and universities.

It got so bad that when parents attended school board meetings to express their concern and displeasure, they were sometimes hassled by security and police personnel. And the U.S. Department of Justice even went so far as to label some of them as “domestic terrorists.”

While these unauthorized and often secret changes in the curriculum are dishonest, some of them are truly dangerous. Some schools or teachers not only keep parents from knowing that their children are interested in changing genders, for example, some of them are actively encouraging it.

Colleges and universities are suspected of teaching students not how to think, but they instead are pushing political points of view about what to think on important issues.

Another side of the education situation is what is happening to the actual level of education taking place. On this topic, The Daily Signal, a digital news platform of The Heritage Foundation, has recently published some statistics that truly ought to alarm every American, and especially those in the school systems dealt with in the story.

The Signal story discusses the spending on education in Connecticut, Idaho, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Utah, Vermont, and Washington, DC, along with their level of performance as measured by the Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), and the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP).

The state which spent the most in “current expenditures” in FY2022 was New York, laying out $29,284 per pupil.

The Signal noted that “[c]urrent expenditures comprise expenditures for the day-to-day operation of schools and school districts for public elementary and secondary education, including expenditures for staff salaries and benefits, supplies, and purchased services,” according to the NCES. “General administration expenditures and school administration expenditures are also included in current expenditures,” it added.

According to the NAEP, New York had only 28 percent of eighth grade students scoring proficient or better in mathematics, and just 32 percent were proficient or better in reading.

Spending a little less money than New York was Washington, D.C., at $28,128 in current expenditures per pupil. But proficiency did not measure up. For mathematics, only 16 percent were proficient or better, and only 22 percent made the grade in reading.

Showing better proficiency than New York or D.C. was New Jersey, where per-pupil spending was $25,550. Mathematics = 33 percent, reading = 42 percent.

Vermont and Connecticut followed, with spending of $25,073, and $23,868, respectively. Vermont: mathematics = 27 percent, reading = 34 percent. Connecticut: mathematics = 30 percent, reading = 35 percent.

In the per-pupil rankings, three other New England states followed. Massachusetts spent $22,778; Rhode Island spent $20,498; and New Hampshire spent $20,424. Massachusetts: mathematics = 35 percent, reading = 40 percent. Rhode Island: mathematics = 24 percent, and reading = 31 percent. And, New Hampshire: mathematics = 29 percent, reading = 33 percent.

Utah and Idaho spent significantly less per-pupil, but didn’t do worse in ratings and in some cases were better than the higher-spending systems.

Utah spent just $9,496 per-pupil: mathematics = 35 percent, reading = 36 percent. Idaho spent $9,662 per-pupil and scored 32 percent in both math and reading.

The Signal also published some data on Catholic schools, at which parents pay tuition for their children to attend, in addition to the taxes they pay that support public education. “The average tuition at Catholic elementary schools in 2023, according to U.S. News and World Report, was $4,840. The average tuition at Catholic high schools was $11,240,” the story said.

And, it added that “students at Catholic schools score better on these NAEP tests than students at public schools.”

It should be noted that the FY2022 data was affected to some degree by the COVID virus and its effects on school operations. However, the 2022 numbers were not very much lower than the previous survey data from FY2019.

The Signal story did not cover all states, and we may assume that some states did much better than those listed. However, any school system that produces proficiency for fewer than 50 percent of students, has a serious problem.

And these low scores are not limited to these particular states and D.C. The NAEP Report Card for 2022 in reading shows that “the average reading score for eighth-grade students was 3 points lower than 2019. Average scores are reported on the NAEP reading scale that ranges from 0 to 500.”  The score for 2019 was 263, and for 2022 was 260. And only two states had higher scores in reading in 2022 than they had in 2019.

NCES data shows rising scores in both math and reading starting in FY1990/1991 on a 500-point scale. Reading scores rose from 211 to 221 in FY2012 before dropping to 215 in FY2022. Math scores rose from about 235 to 241, then dropped to 234 in FY2022.

Our country’s future depends on younger generations that can function at a high level. The information provided indicates that we will not meet that need.

The math doesn’t add up with Virginia’s ‘woke’ education discussion

A story back in April reported that the Virginia Department of Education is considering eliminating all accelerated math options prior to the 11th grade. Students who perform well in math will no longer be allowed to advance to upper level math study when they are ready to move ahead. 

Loudoun County school board member Ian Serotkin explained that the Virginia Mathematics Pathway Initiative (VMPI), "as currently planned, … will eliminate ALL math acceleration prior to 11th grade.” 

He said that it “is not an exaggeration, nor does there appear to be any discretion in how local districts implement this. All 6th graders will take Foundational Concepts 6. All 7th graders will take Foundational Concepts 7. All 10th graders will take Essential Concepts 10. Only in 11th and 12th grade is there any opportunity for choice in higher math courses."

So, the best math students, the worst math students, and those in between will move through the math curriculum together, and at the same speed. Those blessed with exceptional math skills will be prevented from advancing to higher levels, moving along at the slower pace of the lesser skilled. 

On April 27, Norfolk’s The Virginian Pilot, however, published a story with comments from state Superintendent James Lane. “I’ve seen articles that say ‘Virginia is doing X, Y or Z,’” he said. “Virginia is not doing anything right now. … We are literally just having conversations with the community about what they want.”

Virginia’s math standards are reviewed every seven years, and there are two years remaining before the next revision. But this concept is being seriously discussed, and there is a significant degree of support for it.

This concept is a step toward “equity,” an element of the woke culture, and one of its goals. Merriam-Webster defines equity as “freedom from bias or favoritism.” But to the woke it means that no one is better at anything that everyone else.

Under equity, everyone should make the same grades in all subjects. Everyone should make the same money at work. Everyone must be at the same level in all things. It is unfair that some should be recognized as better than others, ever.

Most understand the reality that we are not all the same. Some of us are tall, some not so much. Some run faster or are stronger than others. Some can play an instrument or sing better than others, or are better in a dramatic part than others. Some are better at math than others, but the others may be better at history, science, English, geography or other things than the math scholar.

Each person has her or his stronger areas, and weaker areas. That is human nature. Some folks strongly resent this reality, and work to make everyone equal in all things.

However, in order to produce the most effective and strongest nation possible, our education system — public schools and private schools — must recognize those inherent strengths and weaknesses, and work to advance students to their peak in their strong areas and help them improve in their weaker areas.

If people cannot advance in subjects like math until their junior year in high school, they may never reach their full math potential. And this concept might be applied to other subjects, as well. The nation cannot afford to hold back it’s brightest in any area of study just to try to keep everybody even. First, that is an impossible task, and second, it is a foolish, dangerous goal.

Depending upon which evaluation system you read, the United States is either near the top, or as far down as 26th on the list for best education in the world.

However, the U.S. education system “is not as internationally competitive as it used to be; in fact, the United States has slipped ten spots in both high school and college graduation rates over the past three decades,” according to a report by the Council on Foreign Relations.

And, the World Top 20 Project does not list the United States in its top 20 nations in either 2020, or 2021.

The STEM areas — Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics — are critical to the future. If the VMPI takes hold and is applied to other educational areas and spreads inside the country, the United States will be focused on equity among the younger generations, rather than on enhancing their learning and advancement. 

This will lead to a national weakening, making us subject to the will of other nations. In fact, the U.S. has already weakened.

The National Interest magazine reports that the Pentagon released its annual report entitled “US Defense Industrial Base Industrial Capabilities Report January 2021,” on the state of the U.S. defense and manufacturing industrial base. There “are innumerable takeaways from the report but a consistent and glaring deficiency throughout reveals an erosion and degradation of the U.S. STEM education system and a severe shortage of technical talent in the U.S. workplace,” the Pentagon report said.

Rather than try to create “equity” among people, the United States education system must focus on developing the talents of young people to their fullest, so that we can remain a strong presence in the world. The alternative is simply not acceptable.