American education has been in crisis for decades. But now, that crisis has become a four-alarm fire – that if left unaddressed – will lead to our eventual doom as a nation.
But sadly, America’s educational establishment persists trying to fight a four-alarm fire with little more than a water pistol.
In a recent commentary by John Stonestreet and Dr. Glenn Sunshine, they share the following anecdote from a recent article from Atlantic magazine about an Ivy League professor who was stunned to learn that one student had never read a complete book in her entire high school career. In addition, one of the professor’s colleagues reported that his students were unable to remain focused on a single sonnet.
Sadly, even in the highest levels of American academics, America’s lack of literacy is becoming increasingly apparent.
According to the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) in a report released last month, the average reading score in 2024 for the nation eighth grade students was two points lower than 2022 and five points lower compared to 2019. While there was a very slight improvement in math scores, for the most part they remained flat.
Even more alarmingly, one-third of eighth grade students scored below “basic” in reading, more than ever in the history of the assessment.
Another study of Illinois students in 30 schools found that not a single one could read at grade level. And,according to ProLiteracy, more than 48 million adults in the United States cannot read above a third grade level.
Finally, another recent federal survey documents that 28% of Americans now occupy the lowest level of literacy, up from 19% in 2017.
And it is not just reading. American students have become increasingly illiterate when it comes to our nation’s history and civics, as I document in my book,
Toward a More Perfect Union. In the book, I cite study after study documenting America’s civic ignorance and its implications, which we now witnessing being played out daily in our national discourse which values emotion over critical thinking.
For instance, the American Council of Trustees and Alumni reported in 2016 that more than half had no idea of how the U.S. Constitution can be amended as well did now know the length of terms for their representatives and Senators. Finally, 9.6% of college graduates thought Judith Sheindlin— “Judge Judy”—was on the Supreme Court!
The council writes: “When surveys repeatedly show that college graduates do not understand the fundamental processes of our government and the historical forces that shaped it, the problem is much greater than a simple lack of factual knowledge. It is a dangerous sign of civic disempowerment.”
But just as we have seen, as I have written in my book, Stumbling Toward Utopia, that the failed government policies of the 1960s to reduce poverty only exacerbated it, the educational establishment sees the only solution is to throw money at the problem, while ignoring the root cause of the problem.
The Wall Street Journal acknowledged this in a recent editorial, writing, “An iron rule of education politics is that the more test scores decline, the more money the teachers unions demand. So, it goes in California where student test scores keep falling despite ever more money flowing to public schools.”
And thus, the vicious cycle of more money resulting in fewer results continues to perpetuate itself while American students spiral down academically as well as socially.
So how did we get to this point? Much of the “dumbing down” of American education, as I write, was a deliberate effort, starting with John Dewey in the early 20th century, to move American education from teaching basic life skills to becoming a venue where children are treated like test animals to experiment the latest progressive theories on.
For instance, in 1933, Dewey said in a speech to the Teachers College at Columbia University that learning should be de-emphasized and replaced with the creation of attitudes as a way of creating social change.
But that was just the start. And now, as our nation’s educational report card proves, we are seeing the dreadful results of such an effort. And without a fundamental shift back to teaching basic life skills and discarding these progressive educational theories, all the money in the world will not reverse the damage done.
As these studies show, and our culture reminds us daily, the time for such a shift is past urgent. Without reading skills, and the ability to understand what one is reading, we continue to lose our ability to critically think through and discuss issues, while falling susceptible to arguments based on emotion rather than intellect.
Perhaps Joel Kotkin, writing in The American Mind, puts it best,“Today’s students are unprepared for the future, and so is the United States. Unless this dumbing down is somehow reversed, America’s road to permanent mediocrity will be well assured.”
If we are going to get America’s children reading and learning again, it is going to be essential for parents to become more engaged in their child’s education. If children are not being read to, or being taught to read at school, we need to step in as parents, uncles, aunts, or just friends, and read to them. Reading aloud to children, and talking with them about what was read, brings many benefits that will accelerate their learning, even if they are in a difficult educational environment.
Given our current educational system, it will be in our homes where real change and progress can be made – not in a government-run preschool or public-school program. Yes, we need to work towards that change for the betterment of all and reject the educational philosophies that have led to such dismal results, but for the time being, we can make the most progress by investing in our children at home.
And, to do so, we need intact homes, as studies show over and over again that children do best academically and socially, in a two-parent married home.
As history has shown time and time again, the results of ignorance are not pretty. Let us pray and take active steps at our home and in our communities towards improving America’s report card before such ignorance consumes us all.
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