The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), sometimes called “the nation’s report card,” recently released data on current reading levels for American students. The numbers don’t look good.
In 2015, only 36% of 4th graders are at the “proficient” level. Only 34% of 8th graders are proficient. And by 12th grade, using data from 2013, the number is 38%.
While these numbers are scary enough on their own, the NAEP also describes preparedness levels for postsecondary training (college). The report states, “Students who are considered ready for college are generally expected to be academically prepared for entry-level college coursework. A combination of factors contributes to students’ readiness for college, including content knowledge, cognitive strategies, learning skills, and transitioning skills....Students scoring at or above 302 on the NAEP reading scale are likely to possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities in those subjects that would make them academically prepared for college.” So how many students’ reading scores show they are prepared for college? Once again, 38%. These are the students filling our college classrooms today. We might as well be telling runners who struggle to break a ten-minute mile that by next fall they should really try making the American Olympic team as a marathoner. And by the way, other people will help you pay for your training, and for anything that taxpayers don’t cover you should just go into massive debt. It will be worth it, we promise!
How do we measure “proficiency” in the real world? What if only 38% of Steve Wynn’s resort hotel rooms had beds and running water? What if Wendy’s got my order right only 38% of the time? What if only 38% of Toyota engines started on a regular basis? These are multi-billion dollar companies, and yet, no one would say, “Well, they just need more funding to get it right.” In fact, no one would think twice about letting them go out of business so better hotels, fast food restaurants, and carmakers could take their place. But not public education. It never goes out of business. Politicians demand more “investment”; teachers demand higher pay. No one remembers that America already spends more per pupil than any nation in the world. And 38% is what we get for it.
My point here is not to say that we should stop publicly funding education (though there is a very strong Constitutional case for such an idea); my point is that we need to stop looking at education as a money problem. It’s a system problem. Everyone—parents, teachers, administrators, and yes, students—is responsible. Money doesn’t make any of these participants better at performing their respective responsibilities. They either do their job, or they don’t. That’s it. That’s the tough lesson from these fancy reports. People, at all levels, are not doing their jobs.
Another interesting point of note from the report includes the gap between genders and races. Girls surpass boys by six points in 4th grade, ten points in 8th grade, and nine points in 12th grade. Asian students surpass all other ethnic groups at every grade level. By the logic of those obsessed with gender/race, surely the nation must be institutionally sexist and racist in favor of girls and Asians. There is no other explanation for such disparity in achievement, right?
Looks like we need to find out what is going on in Asian families and find out why they are outperforming their peers. Looks like we should be asking girls why they are doing so well, and asking boys why they don’t get their backsides in gear in the classroom. We need answers from actual people. We need to know what is working and what is not. People making individual/family decisions to be diligent and get smart works. Throwing more money at 38% proficiency does not. Talk to people. Learn from them. Offer that guidance to others. That is how we increase proficiency.
In 2015, only 36% of 4th graders are at the “proficient” level. Only 34% of 8th graders are proficient. And by 12th grade, using data from 2013, the number is 38%.
While these numbers are scary enough on their own, the NAEP also describes preparedness levels for postsecondary training (college). The report states, “Students who are considered ready for college are generally expected to be academically prepared for entry-level college coursework. A combination of factors contributes to students’ readiness for college, including content knowledge, cognitive strategies, learning skills, and transitioning skills....Students scoring at or above 302 on the NAEP reading scale are likely to possess the knowledge, skills, and abilities in those subjects that would make them academically prepared for college.” So how many students’ reading scores show they are prepared for college? Once again, 38%. These are the students filling our college classrooms today. We might as well be telling runners who struggle to break a ten-minute mile that by next fall they should really try making the American Olympic team as a marathoner. And by the way, other people will help you pay for your training, and for anything that taxpayers don’t cover you should just go into massive debt. It will be worth it, we promise!
How do we measure “proficiency” in the real world? What if only 38% of Steve Wynn’s resort hotel rooms had beds and running water? What if Wendy’s got my order right only 38% of the time? What if only 38% of Toyota engines started on a regular basis? These are multi-billion dollar companies, and yet, no one would say, “Well, they just need more funding to get it right.” In fact, no one would think twice about letting them go out of business so better hotels, fast food restaurants, and carmakers could take their place. But not public education. It never goes out of business. Politicians demand more “investment”; teachers demand higher pay. No one remembers that America already spends more per pupil than any nation in the world. And 38% is what we get for it.
My point here is not to say that we should stop publicly funding education (though there is a very strong Constitutional case for such an idea); my point is that we need to stop looking at education as a money problem. It’s a system problem. Everyone—parents, teachers, administrators, and yes, students—is responsible. Money doesn’t make any of these participants better at performing their respective responsibilities. They either do their job, or they don’t. That’s it. That’s the tough lesson from these fancy reports. People, at all levels, are not doing their jobs.
Another interesting point of note from the report includes the gap between genders and races. Girls surpass boys by six points in 4th grade, ten points in 8th grade, and nine points in 12th grade. Asian students surpass all other ethnic groups at every grade level. By the logic of those obsessed with gender/race, surely the nation must be institutionally sexist and racist in favor of girls and Asians. There is no other explanation for such disparity in achievement, right?
Looks like we need to find out what is going on in Asian families and find out why they are outperforming their peers. Looks like we should be asking girls why they are doing so well, and asking boys why they don’t get their backsides in gear in the classroom. We need answers from actual people. We need to know what is working and what is not. People making individual/family decisions to be diligent and get smart works. Throwing more money at 38% proficiency does not. Talk to people. Learn from them. Offer that guidance to others. That is how we increase proficiency.