Biden Administration Politicizes Education Crisis

Education wonks like me consider the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) examinations to be America’s report card. Using validated test items over time, these exams measure how much students know compared with their older siblings and parents. The just-released NAEP history results should be a wake-up call for anyone who wants to strengthen, rather than erode U.S., democracy. So why is the Biden administration playing politics?

Last week, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Commissioner Peggy Carr released the 2022 results for the NAEP history exams. They weren’t pretty. Only 13 percent of eighth-graders scored proficient in history, which is even lower than the mediocre scores for reading (31 percent proficient) and math (26 percent).

RM

About the Author

Robert Maranto

Robert Maranto is the 21st Century Chair in Leadership in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas and has served on both the governing boards of both traditional public schools and charter schools, including one BASIS campus. He has a forthcoming book, School Board Confidential. These views are his alone.

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Education wonks like me consider the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) examinations to be America’s report card. Using validated test items over time, these exams measure how much students know compared with their older siblings and parents. The just-released NAEP history results should be a wake-up call for anyone who wants to strengthen, rather than erode U.S., democracy. So why is the Biden administration playing politics?

Last week, National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) Commissioner Peggy Carr released the 2022 results for the NAEP history exams. They weren’t pretty. Only 13 percent of eighth-graders scored proficient in history, which is even lower than the mediocre scores for reading (31 percent proficient) and math (26 percent).

RM

About the Author

Robert Maranto

Robert Maranto is the 21st Century Chair in Leadership in the Department of Education Reform at the University of Arkansas and has served on both the governing boards of both traditional public schools and charter schools, including one BASIS campus. He has a forthcoming book, School Board Confidential. These views are his alone.