“High-school diplomas have become participation trophies.”
U.S. schools are in crisis — too many high-school and college graduates can’t think or do for themselves. A competitive economy requires that employers have capable workers and for schools to perform better.
Just as with many businesses, the Covid-19 pandemic shutdowns disrupted schools. But student performance already was declining. According to the ACT exams, 43% of 2023 high school graduates lack competency for college work in reading, English, mathematics and science, and just 21% satisfy that benchmark in all four of these areas.
By comparison, 36% of graduates in 2019 and 31% in 2014 lacked competency. Reading and English competency fell to 51% and 40%, respectively, in 2023, from 64% and 44% in 2014.
Meanwhile, high schools are reporting record numbers of graduates, because diplomas have become participation trophies.
In 2012, 25 states, enrolling 70% of America’s public school students, required achievement exams to receive a diploma. In 2023, just eight states did and of those, New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts are considering dropping their tests.
The problem reaches down to elementary schools. Early literacy scores for first-graders have fallen, and scores for reading and mathematics have slipped among both fourth- and eighth graders.
Progressives often want to gut math requirements to promote equity. California’s new framework, for instance, does not encourage algebra for eighth graders. That makes the sequence from geometry to calculus in high school impractical, and calculus is required for admission to most competitive colleges.
“Colleges can only work with the high-school graduates they get.”
Colleges can only work with the high-school graduates they get. Through a career spanning 47 years teaching at colleges varying widely in prestige, I learned how institutions adjust standards to fill classrooms.
Too many American students lack critical thinking skills — the ability to look at a body of facts or data and come to a reasoned conclusion. At public schools, chronic absenteeism — students missing at least 10% of school days — emerged as a significant problem when schools reopened from the pandemic shutdowns. It’s still at terribly high levels in the inner cities and affluent suburbs alike.
In the work from home culture, too many parents may fail to see the necessity of children attending school every day. Not enough school districts effectively enforce state attendance laws, condition participation in clubs, sports and other activities on good attendance or assign grades as they should. Obsessions over cultural issues take up energy at all levels. At college, too many students spend too much time obsessing about wrong-word pronouns, microaggression and cishetrosexism.
Incentives for change
The culture of mediocrity and prejudices that have captured U.S. schools and universities can be altered by demand-side incentives. That’s what is really needed for schools to produce the workers businesses need.
States should require eighth-grade competency exams and that high school and college students pass competency exams in order to obtain diplomas.
Make scores on graduates’ exams available to employers and replace school principals and university presidents whose students don’t pass or find appropriate jobs.
Require that students receive passing grades in at least three of the four major curriculum areas (REMS: reading; English; math, science) to obtain federally sponsored college loans. Deny access to student loans to any college with freshman classes with fewer than 80% of its students having passed the ACT, or a comparable national competency exam, in all four REMS.
“About one-third of recent U.S. college graduates are employed in occupations not requiring a degree.”
Vocational training and apprenticeships
Moreover, Americans should rethink the emphasis on sending so many high school graduates to four-year colleges, and provide greater support for vocational education and apprenticeships.
Consider that more than one-third of U.S. college students don’t earn a degree or certificate within six years. About one-third of recent college graduates are employed in occupations not requiring a degree but often leave college with a mountain of debt.
The U.S. Department of Labor certifies employee-sponsored apprenticeship programs in a wide range of blue- and white-collar occupations. These programs pay young workers while they learn. Most of the students completing one of these programs earn more than the average college graduate.
High standards, practical goals and outcomes-based accountability is how business works. Holding schools and colleges to similar standards would help prepare students to be better workers and create a more competitive U.S. economy.
Peter Morici is an economist and emeritus business professor at the University of Maryland, and a national columnist.
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