The dumbing of America
Nat Malkus from the American Enterprise Institute observes that, to the extent they are available, test scores for American adults are also in decline.
In other words, the flagging performance of American students isn’t just about something that’s happening in schools; it’s about something that’s happening in our society at large. He glosses a few different theories, but I think it’s pretty obviously a combination of smartphones, social media, and short-form video. If you give people more stuff to do, they read less. Our son loves to read, but he obviously loves playing Fortnite and watching Minecraft streamers on YouTube even more. He reads a lot anyway because he loves it, because he was taught well at school, and because we make books available for him at home. But mostly he reads a lot because there are large swathes of time when gaming and watching videos are simply off-limits.
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The taxpayer funded Madison School District long used Reading Recovery…
The data clearly indicate that being able to read is not a requirement for graduation at (Madison) East, especially if you are black or Hispanic”
My Question to Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers on Teacher Mulligans and our Disastrous Reading Results
2017: West High Reading Interventionist Teacher’s Remarks to the School Board on Madison’s Disastrous Reading Results
Madison’s taxpayer supported K-12 school district, despite spending far more than most, has long tolerated disastrous reading results.
“An emphasis on adult employment”
Wisconsin Public Policy Forum Madison School District Report[PDF]
WEAC: $1.57 million for Four Wisconsin Senators
Friday Afternoon Veto: Governor Evers Rejects AB446/SB454; an effort to address our long term, disastrous reading results
Booked, but can’t read (Madison): functional literacy, National citizenship and the new face of Dred Scott in the age of mass incarceration.
When A Stands for Average: Students at the UW-Madison School of Education Receive Sky-High Grades. How Smart is That?
