America’s Students Are Still Being Denied the Educational Excellence They Need
The latest NAEP report will likely shock our collective conscience.
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Center for Education Reform (CER), a national leader in the fight to achieve educational excellence in the United States, today issued the following statement about the release of the Nation’s Report Card on 12th-grade mathematics and reading, to be officially released today, Wednesday, October 28, 2020:
“Every year, the National Center on Education Statistics tells us how proficient America’s students are,” said CER’s founder and chief executive Jeanne Allen. “And every year, the scores continue to shock our collective conscience.”
“As we await the latest news, we have no reason to think the results will be any better than previous years. In fact, if 4th and 8th scores from 2019 are any indication, America remains a nation at risk, where students across the country are being failed by a system no longer focussed on rigor and content.”
To recap: In 2019, student achievement in both math and reading were either flat or falling. Only 15% of 8th-grade students were proficient in history, and only 1 in 4 were proficient in civics and geography. If disaggregated by race, the scores were even more stark: Only half of white students, and 10 – 20% of minority students, met proficiency levels, depending on the subject.
Allen continued: “If tomorrow’s announcement confirms similar trends, several conclusions are obvious. First, failing to educate our kids is always a shame. But failing to educate them during a pandemic is a dereliction of duty. If there’s a silver lining to Covid-19, let’s hope that it marks the time when parents demand real changes to education. Education is one aspect of American life that shouldn’t return to normal.”
“Second, education excellence cannot be achieved as long as it’s given short shrift in elections, and by the general public. Education is a national security issue, and whenever the Nation’s Report Card is released, no matter what the results, it should be front-page news.”
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Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom and flexibility throughout U.S. education.