Fill The Gap - Part I

The gap is widening. It isn’t simply because of the pandemic. The United States educational system is behind the top echelon countries. People are graduating from high school with gaping holes in their knowledge, skills, and abilities. I don’t blame teachers; their hands are tied by political bureaucrats who keep teachers from actually teaching. Focus on standardized testing has contributed to the widening of the gaps. Social promotion plays a part. School violence and inadequate school safety is instrumental in the downfall. Uninvolved parents contribute. Unmotivated students promote the problem. Run-away addiction to technology contributes to students being driven to distraction.

‘No Child Left Behind’ didn’t work; focussing on STEM hasn’t worked; throwing more money at the system isn’t working. The U.S. “…spends $14,891 per public school student per year, which totals $762 billion” (https://educationdata.org/public-education-spending-statistics). Kimberly Amadeo writes, in her article, “U.S. Education Rankings Are Felling Being the Rest of the World," “Despite the low scores dating back decades, some Americans see no problem with the state of U.S. education. In 2008, nearly half of those who participated in an Associated Press poll said that American students’ achievement test scores were the same as or better than those of children in other industrialized nations. However, 90% of them recognized that education helps economic growth. The truth is that the U.S. ranks near the bottom in a survey of students’ math skills in 30 industrialized countries. Instead of knowing and confronting the facts, many Americans are in denial. In fact, the same survey showed that while one-third believed their schools were excellent, only one-sixth believed the same of any other schools. The states that are poorest have lower education scores. This cycle creates structural inequality” (qtd in https://www.thebalance.com/the-u-s-is-losing-its-competitive-advantage-3306225#citation-6). The state in which I currently reside, Louisiana, earned a ‘D’ in 2021 for the quality of their education (https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/state-grades-on-k-12-achievement-2021-map-and-rankings/2021/09). The golden years of public education in the U.S. are gone. Interestingly, when education sags, so does the economy.

The Education Week Research Center reports the disturbing news: “[The USA’s national score for] K-12 [on the ]Achievement Index in Quality Counts 2021, along with how they scored on a host of indicators that go into those rankings is a [C-](73.0). [Not one state ranked at the ‘A’ level.] Massachusetts finishes first in the nation for K-12 Achievement, with a B. New Jersey also receives a B and Florida gets the only B-minus. On the other end of the spectrum, New Mexico and Alaska receive the nation’s lowest grades at D-minus. In all, 30 states and the District of Columbia earn grades between C-plus and C-minus [with an average of ‘C-‘] in 2021” (https://www.edweek.org/policy-politics/state-grades-on-k-12-achievement-2021-map-and-rankings/2021/09). In another article sharing research, “The IMD World Competitiveness Center reports that the U.S. is ranked 10th in its 2020 Competitiveness Report. After ranking first in 2018, the U.S. fell to the third spot in 2019. The seven-point tumble to 10th place in 2020 represents the lowest the U.S. has ever been in the annual ranking system by far” (qtd. in https://www.thebalance.com/the-u-s-is-losing-its-competitive-advantage-3306225#citation-6).

It’s time to ‘fill the gap.’ If you’ve ever ridden on the London Tube, you have heard these iconic words, “Mind the Gap.” It’s time we all ‘mind the gap’ by working to ‘fill the gap.’ The next few weeks’ blog posts will discuss some specifics on the ‘gaps’ and suggest how to fill them.