Test scores have fallen to historic lows, student mobility has stalled, and the gap between top performers and their peers has widened. Data from the Department of Education and expert testimony show it is time for change.
“It’s a problem from [kindergarten through 12th grade]. It needs to be answered in that way. We need more rigorous instruction, higher expectations, a strong response to runaway iPhone culture, and less acceptance of absenteeism or misconduct. There’s a need to improve the teacher workforce, expand good options for families, and ensure dollars are spent more responsibly,” Frederick Hess, the K-12 Education Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, told the Washington Examiner.
EDITORIAL: DISASTROUS TEST SCORES SHOW SCHOOLS NEED TO GET BACK TO BASICS
According to Hess, America’s youth face low standards in education, weak discipline, understaffed schools, and limited opportunities. The result is one of the worst school systems in our history, with test scores now at unprecedented lows.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon released the Nation’s Report Card last week, which showed that only 31% of eighth-graders performed at or above National Assessment of Educational Progress proficient standards in their science assessments, and 22% of 12th-graders performed at or above NAEP proficient in their mathematics assessments.
In other words, more students than not are illiterate, mathematically incompetent, or scientifically challenged. To complicate the situation further, the top 10% of students stayed at the same level. There is no upward mobility.
In another report from the Department of Education, the reading scores for lower-performing students were lower in the last three years than in 1992.
These numbers show that schools have failed to equip students with even basic knowledge in science, math, and reading — an alarming shortfall that underscores a major problem in our education system.
NAEP results show graduation rates rising even as test scores fall, evidence of weak school leadership that promotes students instead of ensuring they are truly prepared for the workforce.
“While chronic absenteeism is very high in [kindergarten through eighth grade] and high school, the high school graduation rate is at an all-time high — pushing close to 90%. That speaks to the problem: Between grade inflation and a failure to uphold standards, schools are passing everyone along. They need to do far better,” Hess said.
After analyzing these unfortunate results and listening to the commentary from the veteran policy expert, it is safe to say that the problem lies in the school administrations, where standards for administrators continue to drop.
Today, individuals who are unprepared to lead a classroom are nonetheless shaping how America’s children are taught to think. Modern curricula, enforced by current staff, often resist standardized testing while promoting ideologies rooted in diversity, equity, and inclusion rather than academic excellence.
Fortunately, there is a path forward. Whether this troubling trend continues or is reversed depends on bold policy changes. Organizations such as the Center for Education Reform and Parents for Education Reform have long pushed to expand school choice and redirect education funding to support stronger curricula.
Implementing measures such as federal tax credits or voucher programs, along with broader access to homeschooling and other alternative options, would empower parents to choose the best educational path for their children and ensure students receive the quality education they deserve.
President Donald Trump’s recent “big, beautiful bill” provided a significant voucher for students to attend the school of their choice, which is something conservatives have advocated for decades.
“The federal government has recognized the importance of education options for kids, and they’re putting their skin in the game. They’re saying if you and I contribute to a scholarship organization, at the end of the year, we will get a dollar-for-dollar tax credit towards our taxes,” Center for Education Reform Jeanne Allen told America Family News.
“And what that does is that actually creates a stockpile in school organizations, giving scholarships to kids who need those choices to be able to grant them,” Allen added.
For those who can’t, or don’t want to, go to an alternative school, organizations such as the Center for Education Reform have long advocated alternative reforms.
OPINION: A CONSERVATIVE VISION FOR EDUCATION REFORM
Reforms should include more personalized learning and the creation of educational networks that connect underdeveloped communities, such as those in rural America, to better meet local needs and strengthen educational outcomes.
For years, meaningful alternatives within the public education system have been blocked by weak, poorly executed policies. Yet amid the undeniable failures of America’s schools and the growing influence of organizations advocating reform, there is still hope that the nation can begin to reverse its education crisis.