Great article, highlighting a disturbing trend. I’d recommend an Oct 19th David Brooks article on the same subject. https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2025/10/19/brooks-for-democrats-a-failing-grade-on-schools/ Brooks: For Democrats, a failing grade on schools. Now let’s not make this a lefty righty thing, we are trying to figure out how again, to best education our youth. Brooks points policies that led us stray and some corrective actions being taking in some other states(yes red poor states) that are successful.
In a nut shell, Brooks points out the problems of computers and cell phones and more importantly we change our education approach: “The age of accountability was over; the age of equity was here”.
Here’s a couple quotes from his article:
“In 2015, Congress replaced No Child Left Behind with the Every Student Succeeds Act. The age of accountability was over; the age of equity was here. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, states no longer had to produce rigorous report cards on how schools were doing. ……. For example, California revised its rating system, and magically, nearly 80% of its schools were ranked as medium- or high-performing.
When it comes to education policy, Republicans are kicking Democrats in the butt. Schools in blue states such as California, Oregon and Washington are languishing, but schools in red states including Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Louisiana, traditional laggards, are suddenly doing remarkably well.
The so-called Southern Surge came about because the red states built a reading curriculum based on science, not ideology. Schools provide clear accountability information to parents and give them more freedom to choose schools. They send coaches to low-performing classrooms. They use high-quality tutoring, and they don’t promote students who can’t read.”
The idea that the red states could be doing a better job of educating now is counterintuitive to me. The red south states are known for book banding and eliminating social justice teaching, yet their students are doing better with the basics: reading, writing and arithmetic. Maybe both can be true?
To me, the solution isn’t rocket science. In the “good old” days there were consequences. It was expected that if you didn’t meet the standard, you flunked, went to summer school, not graduating was an option.
There is a deeply cynical reason the White House Destroyer loves the poorly educated. And even liberal leaning SoCo is giving the Destroyer the low information electorate he loves and needs.
Great article, highlighting a disturbing trend. I’d recommend an Oct 19th David Brooks article on the same subject. https://www.pressdemocrat.com/2025/10/19/brooks-for-democrats-a-failing-grade-on-schools/ Brooks: For Democrats, a failing grade on schools. Now let’s not make this a lefty righty thing, we are trying to figure out how again, to best education our youth. Brooks points policies that led us stray and some corrective actions being taking in some other states(yes red poor states) that are successful.
In a nut shell, Brooks points out the problems of computers and cell phones and more importantly we change our education approach: “The age of accountability was over; the age of equity was here”.
Here’s a couple quotes from his article:
“In 2015, Congress replaced No Child Left Behind with the Every Student Succeeds Act. The age of accountability was over; the age of equity was here. Under the Every Student Succeeds Act, states no longer had to produce rigorous report cards on how schools were doing. ……. For example, California revised its rating system, and magically, nearly 80% of its schools were ranked as medium- or high-performing.
When it comes to education policy, Republicans are kicking Democrats in the butt. Schools in blue states such as California, Oregon and Washington are languishing, but schools in red states including Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee and Louisiana, traditional laggards, are suddenly doing remarkably well.
The so-called Southern Surge came about because the red states built a reading curriculum based on science, not ideology. Schools provide clear accountability information to parents and give them more freedom to choose schools. They send coaches to low-performing classrooms. They use high-quality tutoring, and they don’t promote students who can’t read.”
The idea that the red states could be doing a better job of educating now is counterintuitive to me. The red south states are known for book banding and eliminating social justice teaching, yet their students are doing better with the basics: reading, writing and arithmetic. Maybe both can be true?
To me, the solution isn’t rocket science. In the “good old” days there were consequences. It was expected that if you didn’t meet the standard, you flunked, went to summer school, not graduating was an option.
There is a deeply cynical reason the White House Destroyer loves the poorly educated. And even liberal leaning SoCo is giving the Destroyer the low information electorate he loves and needs.
Sigh, Thank you for organizing and presenting this data.
As an 80 year old scientist I reflect on the degradation of too many aspects of US society. Societies in other countries make different choices.
The UK after WWII shows the decay of Empire. The US is on the same path.
Our two political parties have “democratically” focused on poor aspects of capitalism.
We spent weeks in Singapore and discovered a maturity of solutions our society rejects as socialism.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H6mPBEFkv1w
Thank you for this series. Ignorance is not bliss.