Part 1 of this article can be read at: Washington K–12 Education Needs a Return to Basics A 2026 Policy Proposal for Academic Mastery, Knowledge and Career Readiness THE PROBLEM Washington has adopted successive education reforms while academic performance remains a concern. The central question should be simple: Are students leaving school with the knowledge and skills they need to succeed? A modern K–12 system should not choose between basic academic knowledge and 21st-century competencies. Students need both. THE PROPOSAL Establish a statewide K–12 Return to Basics and Core Competencies Initiative built on one principle: Knowledge → Skills → Competency → … [Read more...]
Students can’t read
The crisis of students being unable to read is a measurable, generational collapse in literacy that extends from elementary students lacking phonics to high schoolers who cannot comprehend complex texts. 40% of fourth graders cannot read proficiently, and 32% of twelfth graders scored below Basic on the 2024 NAEP reading assessment, the lowest level since the test began in 1992. Key factors contributing to this decline include: Neurological Impact of Technology: The mere presence of smartphones reduces working memory and fluid intelligence, while reading on screens suppresses comprehension-related neural activity compared to paper reading. Reliance on AI: Early use of … [Read more...]
When Free Pre-K Is Worse Than No Pre-K
Today’s article from Intellectual Takeout Dale Farran spent a decade studying over 1,000 kids who went to a state-run pre-kindergarten—and a control group of kids that wanted to, but didn’t get in. She is shocked and dismayed by what she discovered: By 6th grade the pre-K kids were doing worse all around: worse reading, math and science scores; more learning disorders; and more discipline problems, including serious ones that got them suspended. “It really has required a lot of soul-searching,” Farran told Anya Kamenetz on NPR. Now she’s pondering “what were plausible reasons that may account for this.” One theory she has is that the free pre-K doesn’t look like pricey … [Read more...]
The scary truth about how far behind American kids have fallen
From Harvard University: https://cepr.harvard.edu/news/scary-truth-about-how-far-behind-american-kids-have-fallen Students of all ages still haven’t made up the ground they lost during the pandemic. Sometimes, panics are overblown. Sometimes, older generations are just freaking out about the youngins, as they have since time immemorial. That’s not the case, unfortunately, with kids’ learning right now, more than four years after the pandemic shuttered classrooms and disrupted the lives of millions of children. The effects were seen almost immediately, as students’ performance in reading and math began to dip far below pre-pandemic norms, worrying educators and families around … [Read more...]
Why Some Reading Programs Are Abandoning Phonics (And Why That’s Wrong)
When our first child started school nearly 50 years ago he was taught "sight reading". My wife and I grew up learning "phonics". My wife went to the school principal and asked that they stop sight reading and switch back to phonics. She was relentless. Finally, they agreed to consider making the switch. They looked around the school and found, in an obscure closet, covered with dust, a "phonics kit". They decided to go ahead and try it. Fast forward 1 year...the principal came back to my wife and thanked her for pushing them to switch back to phonics. Why did he say thank you? Because reading test scores improved significantly. Today's article comes from Phonics.org. Walk into … [Read more...]
“Stupid In America” Turns 20
https://www.zerohedge.com/political/stupid-america-turns-20 Tylder Durden writes.... In January 2006, ABC’s John Stossel’s brutally honest documentary, “Stupid in America,” first aired. At the time, he referred to it as “a nasty title for a program about public education, but some nasty things are going on in America’s public schools, and it’s about time we face up to it.” Stossel exposed the ineffectiveness of many government-run schools. But now, 20 years later, things are even worse. Test scores from the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), released this year, show that 33% of 8th graders—a higher percentage than ever—are reading at the “below basic” … [Read more...]
How Public Education Failed in the Liberal Enclaves That Care About It Most
From an article published at The Intelligencer by Andrew Rice. This is a 3 cups of coffee/tea article. Last winter, the federal government released the results of its semi-annual reading and math tests of fourth- and eighth-graders, assessments that are considered the most authoritative measure of the state of learning in American elementary and middle schools. In nearly every category, the scores had plunged to levels unseen for decades — or ever. On reading tests, 40 percent of fourth-graders and one-third of eighth-graders performed below “basic,” the lowest threshold. A separate assessment of 12th-graders conducted this past spring — the first since schools were shuttered by the … [Read more...]
Screen vs. Paper: Which One Boosts Reading Comprehension?
Today's article is from Oxford Learning: https://oxfordlearning.com/screen-vs-paper-which-one-boosts-reading-comprehension/ In today’s digital world, reading on screens has become the norm—but is it the best way for students to learn? Neuroscience research suggests that reading comprehension, not just what we read, plays a crucial role in comprehension, retention, and overall academic success. When we swap pages for pixels, we’re changing the way our brains process information. For students, this can make a significant difference in their ability to absorb and retain what they read. The Print Advantage: What Science Says Studies show that reading print books leads to better reading … [Read more...]
Teachers’ Unions Bent the Education Dept. to Their Will—Shut It Down To Throttle Their Power
The Heritage Foundation shares this article with us (although the original was published in The New York Post). Teachers’ Unions Bent the Education Dept. to Their Will—Shut It Down To Throttle Their Power | The Heritage Foundation Key Takeaways No matter how many staffers are hired, achievement gaps remain. Test scores in math and reading today are at or near historic lows. Closing the Education Department will help to end federal grant awards for union-favored projects such as “diversity, equity, and inclusion” teacher training. It’s time to focus our education efforts on what will truly help America’s kids—not on what will line union leaders’ … [Read more...]
Maybe We Should Stop Calling Them Schools?
This article comes to use from RealClearEducation With the recent release of The Nation’s Report Card that revealed catastrophic results in math and reading for America’s 4th and 8th graders, it’s fair to say that America’s schools are largely failing at their most basic mission. And now that the Trump administration has announced a 50 percent reduction in force at the Department of Education and taken explicit action in an executive order to unwind the cabinet-level agency as a whole, it seems like the perfect time to ask some very basic questions about the current state of school in America. The mission creep of American schools is undeniable, and if we’re being brutally honest, … [Read more...]
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