America’s Dismal Test Scores Are a Bipartisan Failure US students are falling further behind the rest of the world. Politicians don’t seem to have noticed. Michael Bloomberg
For anyone concerned about America’s future, the latest findings from the Program for International Student Assessment are nothing short of alarming. US math scores fell by 13 points between 2018 and 2022, with students continuing to underperform their peers in most other developed countries. This failure underscores the need to improve America’s schools and hold them accountable for results. Sadly, it’s not clear our country’s elected leaders are paying attention.
The PISA test measured the aptitude of students from 81 countries in math, reading and science. And while US students mostly held steady in reading and science, overall, they are behind many competitors. Out of 37 participating members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the US ranked 26th in math — a slight improvement over 2018, but still unacceptably low. Yet it was enough for Education Secretary Miguel Cardona to declare that the $190 billion in federal relief spent on public schools since 2020 has “kept the United States in the game.”
If so, too many students are still losing. Student math performance was its worst in two decades. The gap between the US and the highest-performing countries grew. More than a third of American students failed to demonstrate basic proficiency in math. Just 7% of 15-year-olds scored in the highest two levels, compared to 41% in Singapore and 32% in Taiwan.
At the most basic level, US students need more classroom instruction to make up for pandemic learning loss. That should include high-dosage tutoring, longer school days and mandatory summer school for those furthest behind. Over the longer term, closing academic deficits with the rest of the world also requires policymakers to bolster teacher quality, adopt more rigorous instructional materials and promote greater competition through the expansion of high-quality public charter schools.
Considering the stakes, these reforms should top the agenda for elected officials in both parties. Instead, congressional Republicans are pushing Draconian cuts to education spending that will leave the most disadvantaged students even worse off, while Democrats have shied away from imposing more accountability on educators, out of fear of alienating teachers unions. Rather than demand that districts help students recover what they’ve lost, many cities and states are doing the opposite, by watering down requirements for promoting kids to the next grade. Only eight states still require high school seniors to pass even a basic proficiency test to earn their diploma, down from 25 a decade ago, and three are considering plans to scrap theirs.
The failure of America’s schools to hold students to high standards and keep pace with the rest of the world will leave the US poorer, less competitive and more unequal. Only voters can save the country from that fate, by demanding that elected officials stop pretending that failing grades are passing grades.
Comments are closed.
