Woke Agenda In Education Betrays America As Students Struggle With Basic Math Proficiency

For nearly 30 years, American 4th and 8th graders have taken an international Math test called TIMSS, short for the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. The test is administered every four years, and the latest TIMSS, the results of which were announced this week by the U.S. Department of Education, was the first one conducted after the world recovered from the disastrous effects of COVID-19.

American performance relative to other nations was a disaster. On a test with a range of 1 to 1000, the average American 4th grader scored 517, which was lower than the scores of peers in 21 other education systems. It is not surprising that Asian countries like Singapore, Chinese Taipei, Korea, Hong Kong, Japan, and Macao, which have long emphasized math education through the so-called "cram schools," performed better than America. But students from many countries commonly not associated with academic excellence, such as Lithuania, Dubai, Türkiye, Romania, Serbia, Poland, and Hungary fared far better than students from the United States.

In America, money was certainly no object. For fiscal year 2022, national per capita spending on K-12 education in the United States averaged around $16,340. States with the highest spending include New York, at approximately $27,500 per student, and Connecticut, at over $23,000 per student. In contrast, Romania's per capita spending, among the lowest in the European Union, was only about $2,200. So, America "invested" more than seven times what Romania does, and our students still rank lower than Romania? Even when the numbers are normalized between America and Romania using Purchase Power Parity terms—as shown by OECD data—America still spends more than 3.5 times what Romania does with disastrous results. Something is not right here.

The absolute performance of American students was worse. Even if one ignored how Americans fared against other nations and focused only on internal performance, such as comparing how children performed relative to the last time the TIMSS test was held in 2019 (before COVID-19 hit), the results are terrible.

On average, U.S. 4th-graders scored lower in 2023 than in 2019 by a whopping 18 points. This drop was equivalent to falling thirteen spots against countries on the relative scale.American 8th-graders scored worse in 2023 compared to 2019, by 27 points.

TIMSS achievement scores for American students are also a significant concern. The test sets four levels of student achievement, referred to as international benchmarks: Advanced (625), High (550), Intermediate (475), and Low (400). The benchmark definition itself is problematic, as most Americans wouldn't consider a score of 625 on a 1-1000 scale to be at an "Advanced" performance level.

Even with the generous definition of performance benchmarks, only 13% of American students met the Advanced level, and 39% met the High level. In other words, nearly half of all American test takers were at the Intermediate or Low benchmark.

As reported by the New York Times, Dr. Peggy Carr, the Commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, part of the federal Department of Education that reported the TIMSS results, said: "This is alarming. These are sharp, steep declines."

When it comes to resources, American children are the envy of children around the world. K-12 public education in America is free, and student transportation to and from schools is free. Children from low-income families are provided nutritious meals at school, practically for free, and have free health insurance. Low-income families in rural areas get subsidized internet access through federal and state funds.

Schools spend billions of dollars to maintain library and computer facilities on campus, all for free. Public libraries offer free computer workstations. If children qualify for subsidized lunches in school and wish to take admission tests such as the SAT or ACT, they are exempt from paying test-taking and score-reporting fees. The U.S. Department of Education operates nationwide federal TRIO programs, which identify and provide services for students from disadvantaged backgrounds. These programs offer free counseling, summer programs, research, computer training, and connections to university faculty to help students obtain degrees and careers. Charitable organizations like Questbridge work with outreach programs at the most elite schools to reach and recruit low-income students - for free.

While various stakeholders may offer different explanations for the less than stellar TIMSS results, the following conclusions are relatively straightforward.

Taxpayers beware. For too long, politicians, teachers' unions, school boards, and superintendents have taken taxpayers for granted. Although property evaluations have risen dramatically, resulting in more money flowing to school districts each year to support their budgets (since most counties share real estate tax revenues with schools using agreed-upon formulas), citizens routinely vote in favor of bond election proposals. For a cent or two of increases in real estate tax rates, the pitch goes, your favorite school district can sell a 20-year municipal bond that can bring in a half billion dollars to pay for capital projects, such as building new schools or renovating existing ones.

Our children aren't performing well not because of a lack of resources - they are underperforming despite abundant resources. Citizens should immediately stop granting school district requests until school districts demonstrate to families that children are performing better than they currently are.

Spare teachers' inordinate paperwork obligations and get them to teach. Contrary to what families believe, most teachers spend more time documenting student progress in class than actively teaching them. As school districts have gone politically correct in recent decades, teachers are under enormous pressure to follow the 80-20 rule, that is, spend 80% of their time on the 20% of their students that underperform in class. The situation is the same in our inefficient healthcare system, where medical practitioners spend more time doing paperwork than treating patients.

Drop woke ideologies and focus on teaching. The Biden-Harris administration has focused so much on transgender/LGBTQ/DEI issues in schools that teaching students academic and math skills has taken a back seat. When parents protested at school board meetings, such as in Loudoun County, Virginia,, the DOJ and Attorney General Merrick Garland issued a memorandum in October 2021 directing the FBI and U.S. Attorneys to address threats against school board members and educators. It was a chilling response to parental advocacy.

The Red-Blue divide in education is fundamental. Taxpayers should organize peaceful revolts against school officials and teachers' unions who refuse to serve the best interests of students.

During COVID-19, some school districts remained closed to in-person learning for nearly 15 months. In California, the state's largest districts transitioned to remote learning in March 2020 and kept classrooms closed for much of the 2020-2021 school year - primarily out of a concern for "teacher safety." Meanwhile, states like Florida and Texas reopened schools for in-person instruction much sooner, often by fall 2020. While TIMSS data does not provide a breakdown across the Red and Blue states, it is clear that keeping children at home was not beneficial to their learning.

The Biden-Harris administration's CDC guidelines were directly responsible for influencing unnecessarily prolonged closures in the Blue states. In contrast, the Red states better managed the risks of highlighted disparities in access to education and the broader societal impacts of school closures, such as learning loss and mental health challenges, particularly in underserved communities.

Education, especially schooling, lays the foundation for our future generation. The ability to read, write, and do basic math is necessary for individuals to navigate everyday tasks and contribute meaningfully to society. A strong educational foundation fosters critical thinking, problem-solving abilities, and a sense of responsibility. It is evident that the U.S. does not lack resources. The TIMSS results must prompt all stakeholders to ask what is lacking and how to address it. It is the only way America can secure its future.

Rajkamal Rao is a columnist and a member of the tippinsights editorial board. He is an American entrepreneur and wrote the WorldView column for the Hindu BusinessLine, India's second-largest financial newspaper, on the economy, politics, immigration, foreign affairs, and sports.

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