Andre Perry: As Republicans stress political fiction over facts, students’ math and reading scores fall

As Republicans stress political fiction over facts, students’ math and reading scores fall

As Republicans stress political fiction over facts, students’ math and reading scores fall
GOP remedy for the decline? More of the policies that may have prompted it 

Last week, the National Center for Education Statistics released the 2019 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) for mathematics and reading in the fourth and eighth grades. The top-level findings of the report, also known as the Nation’s Report Card, show that academic achievement across the United States in these critical subjects has stalled. Gaps between the highest- and lowest-achieving students in most states have widened, and disparities among racial, ethnic and socioeconomic groups have grown.

The report set off a heated debate about the reasons for this decline. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos weighed in, taking the opportunity to double down on old talking points, instead of offering potential new paths for moving forward.

“It’s way past time we dispense with the idea that more money for school buildings buys better achievement for school students,” DeVos said in a speech responding to the NAEP scores. She wasn’t the only conservative to peddle shopworn reform wares. Writing in Education Next, Paul Peterson of the right-leaning think tank The Hoover Institution stated, “The shift corresponds almost exactly with the abandonment of effective enforcement of the accountability system put into place by No Child Left Behind.” Conservative analysts can’t get enough of preaching accountability — to black and CONTINUE READING: As Republicans stress political fiction over facts, students’ math and reading scores fall