Latest Breaking News

Ocelot II

(127,257 posts)

28. The pandemic didn't help, either.

Sat Sep 20, 2025, 01:46 PM

Saturday

But poor reading/writing skills have been showing up for a long time. Until about 10 years ago I taught a couple of college courses that included assigned papers, and far too many of the students didn't have the writing skills one would hope for by the time they got to college. I don't think those skills have been taught for decades.

Edit history

Please sign in to view edit histories.

Recommendations

4 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Coldwater SickOfTheOnePct nitpicked Grolph_

55 replies

= new reply since forum marked as read

Highlight:

'These results are sobering': US high-school seniors' reading and math scores plummet [View all] groundloop Saturday OP

Can anyone be suprised? I've written about my frustrations (not only with our youngest, but hlthe2b Saturday #1

But the Traildogbob Saturday #2

They have the fastest thumbs, though. sop Saturday #3

It's because they don't post the Ten Commandments in every school! Wednesdays Saturday #4

They should post Kepler's Laws instead DBoon Saturday #17

A.I.is the reason. They're not doing their own work. They have AI to do it. nt pnwmom Saturday #5

The decline has been happening since 2015. The article states that they think the reasons are.... chowder66 Saturday #6

I agree. They don't read. LisaM Saturday #31

I've noticed a decline in my reading stamina since I got a smartphone. yardwork Saturday #44

Nonsense. Math skills in grade 12 are formed in primary grades. That's where the problem is. In 2024 AI Bernardo de La Paz Saturday #8

It's all connected. High school kids who rely on AI aren't reading on their own, pnwmom Saturday #9

AI is so new that it has not had much effect at all on seniors. They were sabotaged years before AI. . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Saturday #11

I would also point out that moniss Saturday #23

I wish I'd had your good math teachers. My high school algebra teacher (9th grade) sucked. 3catwoman3 Saturday #35

Republican states keep cutting funding to their public schools. Because they want "vouchers" Walleye Saturday #32

So the decline is only in red states? MichMan Saturday #36

No, of course, but that certainly contributes to it and the attitude towards education in general Walleye Saturday #38

Dumbing down the populist. republianmushroom Saturday #7

Dumbing down the populace. Bernardo de La Paz Saturday #12

Grooming future Magats, gullible. GreenWave Saturday #22

Yup republianmushroom Saturday #24

Really Timewas Saturday #10

There was a book that came out in the late 1980's... llmart Saturday #27

Reading takes too much time! pfitz59 Saturday #13

Reading is FASTER than video: so much talk, so much repetition, so little really said. . . . . nt Bernardo de La Paz Saturday #29

People post videos for the thrill of being on camera, then talk WAY too much, just to please themselves. eppur_se_muova Yesterday #48

Future Republican voters. nt not fooled Saturday #14

It's not specifcally Social Media, it's not AI doing this Lithos Saturday #15

Been going on for quite awhile. Silent Type Saturday #16

Dumbed down curriculum. Mblaze Saturday #18

Mental math has always been fun to me and something I work at. Spelling and grammar are important too but content is twodogsbarking Saturday #19

Maybe, its because they now know any idiot can be president. Buddyzbuddy Saturday #20

There's no comparison in Civics scores since it's no longer being taught. Gimpyknee Saturday #21

The ignorance seen recently regarding the First Amendment is proof of that MichMan Saturday #43

As a substitute teacher for over 11 years now I have seen the decline and unfortunately the culprit is kimbutgar Saturday #25

I don't know what plummet means Tetrachloride Saturday #26

I'll help you out. llmart Saturday #30

exceeds expectations lol Tetrachloride Saturday #46

The pandemic didn't help, either. Ocelot II Saturday #28

Oligarchs have always known that if they are to control this country and rule, they must do the following: ancianita Saturday #33

I have one quibble OrwellwasRight Saturday #45

Point well taken. Since Ivies are full of entitled prep school kids, even for them it still holds true that one only ancianita Saturday #47

Well off suburban public schools as well exboyfil 23 hrs ago #53

Yes. The property tax base of school districts perpetuates funding inequities and socioeconomic hierarchies of ancianita 18 hrs ago #55

Future MAGA Voters Coldwater Saturday #34

My (step)grandkids don't know their math facts sorcrow Saturday #37

Good that you try to help. Math is much more methods & a frame of mind than facts and much more than arithmetic. . nt Bernardo de La Paz Saturday #40

Check the timeline- teaching to the test under NCLB JCMach1 Saturday #39

You can place a large amount of blame on No Child Left Behind legislation. flashman13 Saturday #41

Not too surprising after shutting down schools for a year and substituting remote learning MichMan Saturday #42

Rather, this is what happens when republicans politicize and evangelize schools LearnedHand Yesterday #49

It's a lazy non-think thing, common in countries where parents and kids think they are going to get by on luck. Aussie105 Yesterday #50

and speaking of education or lack of Coldwater Yesterday #51

My house had lots of books nitpicked 23 hrs ago #52

The last thing the ruling class wants is an educated population. MrsCheaplaugh 20 hrs ago #54