An Education Department study finds the regular system is failing. The same department seeks to block alternatives.
The national debate over racial propaganda and sex education in elementary schools is important, but it’s almost certainly less consequential than the continuing inability of our K-12 schools to teach basic reading and math.
The people who defend and benefit most from the egregious status quo—teachers-union heavies and the Democratic pols they mainly support—would much rather argue about critical race theory and Disney if it means we’re not talking about the failure to ensure that elementary-school children perform at grade level.
“For the first time in the history of our country, the educational skills of one generation will not surpass, will not equal, will not even approach those of their parents.” That analysis was cited in “A Nation at Risk,” a federal study of the U.S. education system, published in 1983. Education spending, which is presented by liberals as the be-all and end-all for improving academic outcomes, has skyrocketed since then. Per pupil expenditures in many low-income urban districts are well above the national average. Nevertheless, academic outcomes continue to disappoint.
Continue reading the entire piece here at The Wall Street Journal (paywall)
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Jason L. Riley is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, a columnist at The Wall Street Journal, and a Fox News commentator. He is the author of the recent book “The Black Boom.”
This piece originally appeared in The Wall Street Journal