School is (not) for fools
In the first major national report on public schools since the start of the ‘rona, student scores are showing a significant drop. While this is not surprising to anyone that was conscious during the last few years, or who have ever tried to educate a child at home while trying to navigate buying toilet paper from someone on the KSL Classifieds, the magnitude of the drop is cause for concern (if you like learning and education that is…).
Doing the Math
Whenever an old person tells you that school was tougher, or that they were smarter, go ahead and show them this report (though you will have to explain how graphs work because apparently they were really bad at math…). Apparently, the US has increased Math scores measurably in the last 40 years…until 2022. From 2020 to 2022, scores dropped from 241 to 234, which marks the first decline ever recorded. Unsurprisingly, the students who are struggling the most saw the most significant decline. Students in the bottom 10% saw their scores drop by 12 points, versus only 3 points for the top 10%.
Out here in the West (where we live), the drop was less pronounced, but still the first ever. A key indicator of success for the top performers appears to have been access to technology, resources, and help from an adult(duh).
Working in tech, or living in a highly connected world, it can be hard to imagine not having access to the internet, or technology to do something as rudimentary as schoolwork. For much of the population, access to the internet and technology is not only for taking ugly pictures of nice food, following what the Utah swinger scene is up to, or for reading your favorite weekly newsletter.
Do we really care?
While you may not be using math in your day-to-day life, many professions (cough…programmers, software engineers, data insights…cough) require a skill in math, and a cultivation of an interest in the subject. Billions of dollars have been spent on “STEM” initiatives (the M in STEM stands for Math), and the gap between jobs and people in STEM careers is widening.
To keep technology thriving in Utah, it is crucial to make sure that we use that same technology to increase access to underserved populations, enhance internet infrastructure, and encourage all the younglings to enjoy Math (English can go to hell). This year, consider giving your children the lifelong gift of a graphing calculator for Christmas.
