The latest data about math proficiency in America is out, and the numbers are alarming. The Wall Street Journal reports that the exam results for 4th and 8th-grade math skills, as recorded by the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), have made no progress since the tests began in 1995.
The U.S. ranking for 8th-grade math dropped to 24 out of 45 developed education systems worldwide. Finland, England, and even Poland, which was mired in communist dysfunction for decades, have leaped past us in education performance.
This display is further reason for President Trump to make good on his promise to abolish the U.S. Department of Education, block grant money to the states, and let state leaders drive innovation and reform.
But how can the next generation of Oklahoma’s workforce be prepared for a great, productive life when thousands are coming out of our schools in Oklahoma with a lack of proficiency in reading and math? According to the National Advancement of Education Progress, only 21% of 8th-grade students have good reading skills, and only 26% are competent in math. Work out those numbers, and they’ll tell you that over 500,000 students in the K-12 system won’t be prepared for life. To turn this around, we need a complete paradigm shift in Oklahoma that will engage the following policy initiatives.
1. Promote the true science of reading in all Oklahoma K-12 teacher education programs.
2. Eliminate the social pressure of moving students to the next grade when they do not demonstrate mastery of grade-level standards.
3. Provide $250 million for a statewide literacy program and reading remediation effort in all 500+ school districts.
4. Implement total transparency policies and financial accountability for all school districts and superintendents that are not producing acceptable outcomes.
5. Emulate and reward best practices from schools and districts that are getting the job done effectively.
6. Allocate education finances to lift teacher pay to Top Ten in the country to attract the best and brightest teachers to our state.
Other states are already taking action. We can do it here if we put kids first and work together to challenge and change the status quo. Oklahoma’s future depends on it.
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