Much of America’s youth is in free fall, with the only question being why. On every metric, our kids lag behind the world, are abysmally unhappy and unprepared for a life that’s less kind and forgiving than it was fifty years ago. It didn’t happen by accident, and the divided nature of our country means we are unprepared to make necessary changes. Our society tolerates confrontation and excuses, always finding superficial reasons why Johnny can’t read, and why everyone’s so angry. It’s certainly not about money; we spend more per pupil than anyone else.
COVID may ultimately prove to be both the best and worst thing that has ever happened to us. All-powerful American teachers’ unions and school administrators effectively forced schools to close, replaced by online education, which was a total failure. However, the upside was that parents learned what was being taught in schools, and it wasn’t the ABCs! All manner of DEI initiatives and social gobbledygook took center stage, boring children out of their minds, with many dropping out, never to return. No wonder that, today, American schoolchildren have extremely high absentee rates, likely the highest in the developed world.
During COVID, roughly 31% of students were chronically absent (missing ≥10% of school days). In 2022-2023, the rate dipped slightly to 28%, but that’s still 75% higher than pre-pandemic levels. In the 2023-2024 academic year, long after COVID’s lockdowns ended, approximately 27.4% of students were still absent.
But that’s just the start of the problem; if Johnny isn’t in school, he can’t learn. But what about when he’s physically in school? What are the underlying dynamics that prevent our young from having a fighting chance to obtain essential skills that are a requirement for living a good life?
It takes three things to take a young person and grow him into a scholar. A scholar must learn to think critically, read, write, and be both emotionally and logically prepared to live in the real world. That young person must eventually (with the help of loving parents) decide which direction to strike out into, whether it be a specific trade or higher skills requiring college or university. Treading water jobs that used to be transitional are now becoming permanent, stymying growth for millions because their schools failed them, and too often, their distracted parents as well.
When we don’t give children the ability to grow, learn, and yes, even fail, thereby leaning to pick themselves up again, we rob them of the essential life lessons needed to make a success of themselves.
The question is always, why did the teachers not cry “foul” and stop this while there was still time?
During COVID, roughly 31% of students were chronically absent (missing ≥10% of school days). In 2022-2023, the rate dipped slightly to 28%, but that’s still 75% higher than pre-pandemic levels. In the 2023-2024 academic year, long after COVID’s lockdowns ended, approximately 27.4% of students were still absent.
But that’s just the start of the problem; if Johnny isn’t in school, he can’t learn. But what about when he’s physically in school? What are the underlying dynamics that prevent our young from having a fighting chance to obtain essential skills that are a requirement for living a good life?
It takes three things to take a young person and grow him into a scholar. A scholar must learn to think critically, read, write, and be both emotionally and logically prepared to live in the real world. That young person must eventually (with the help of loving parents) decide which direction to strike out into, whether it be a specific trade or higher skills requiring college or university. Treading water jobs that used to be transitional are now becoming permanent, stymying growth for millions because their schools failed them, and too often, their distracted parents as well.
When we don’t give children the ability to grow, learn, and yes, even fail, thereby leaning to pick themselves up again, we rob them of the essential life lessons needed to make a success of themselves.
The question is always, why did the teachers not cry “foul” and stop this while there was still time?
Those who spoke up quickly learned to keep their mouths shut, quit, or felt forced to retire. That was because so many teachers and administrators in public education came out of their training programs having been indoctrinated in leftist values, so they supported anything and everything the Democrat established, helped along by some of the highest (undeserved) salaries in the world.
In addition to teachers indoctrinated into depriving children of learning skills and knowledge, there’s the puzzling growth in the number of administrators who do exactly what? U.S. growth in school administrative staff has been much larger than growth in U.S. students and teachers over recent decades. Administrative position growth has been ten times that of actual teachers!
There are two reasons: First, follow the money. Administrators typically make 50-100% more than teachers. But, there’s a second, more insidious reason. Every gang of criminals requires enforcers. Administrators perform that role, rooting out any student or teacher who doesn’t toe a leftist line.
Standardized test scores show we are nearing rock bottom:
1. Academic Decline
- Standardized Test Scores: U.S. students have experienced sharp declines in math and reading scores since 2015, with pandemic-era losses further accelerating the trend. In 2023, 40% of public school students failed to meet basic standards in either subject, a trend that has worsened since then.
- International Ranking: The U.S. ranks behind 36 countries in educational proficiency.
- Literacy Crisis: 28% of Americans are functionally illiterate, up from 19% in 2017.
2. Grade Inflation & “Equity Grading”
- Minimum Grades for Failure: Some districts award a minimum grade of 50 even for missed or failed assignments.
- Unlimited Retakes: Students may retake tests as many times as needed, often without penalty for skipping class or missing deadlines.
- Result: Graduation rates rise while actual mastery plummets—45% of high school seniors can’t do basic math.
3. Curriculum Erosion
- Phonics Abandoned: Effective reading instruction has been replaced by “whole language” approaches, leaving 60% of 4th graders struggling with reading.
- History & Civics Gaps: NAEP data reveal widespread ignorance of U.S. history and civic structures among high school students.
- STEM Weakness: China now dominates global STEM fields, while U.S. students tank.
4. Chronic Absenteeism & “Zombie Schools”
- Attendance Crisis: In some districts, over 30% of students are chronically absent, creating “zombie schools.”
- California Example: Less than half of students meet literacy standards, and only one-third meet math benchmarks.
5. Institutional Resistance to Accountability
- Union Pushback: Teachers’ unions resist performance-based accountability, shielding failed systems from reform, while funding many Democrats political asperations.
- Social Meddling: In some states and districts, schools withhold information from parents concerning sensitive issues, such as gender ideology.
6. IQ Decline & Cognitive Trends
- First IQ Drop in 100 Years: Recent studies suggest a measurable decline in average American IQ scores, likely linked to shifts in education and culture.
America has a history of facing challenges and then overcoming them, and saving our young people should be no different.
Fixing obvious issues can be easily remedied with rigorous and unflinching honesty, but only if we focus our minds and implement a national Marshall Plan that eliminates social promotion and demands direct accountability for schools, teachers, and administrators—no more excuses. Fix the problem or give the money to the parents.
The question remains as to whether we can agree that a good education trumps politics.
God Bless America!
Allen J. Feifer is an Author, Businessman, Thinker, and Strategist. Read more about Allan, his background, and his ideas to create a better tomorrow at www.1plus1equals2.com.
THE ARTFUL DILETTANTE 