How U.S. schoolchildren can stop trailing their international peers

U.S. educators better hope Santa doesn’t check test results. New results from an international comparison of K-12 students showed they continue to fall behind their peers around the world. If American students are to bounce back, policymakers nationwide need to ignore the calls for lower — yes, lower — standards coming from some sectors and reject claims that more spending in education is the answer.

According to an international test known as the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS), U.S. fourth-graders dropped 18 points in math since the last test in 2019, and eighth-grade scores fell 27 points. For U.S. students to fall behind is not news — in fact, student test scores on several different measures have dropped since the COVID-19 pandemic. These international results were especially bad, though, because students at the bottom end of the achievement scale fell even further behind.

Economists estimate that depressed — and depressing — results such as these will have lasting consequences on students’ future earnings and the entire economy, to the tune of $31 trillion in lost economic output over the next century.

Education successes in states such as Florida, Louisiana and Mississippi are showing the way out of this morass, but their results have been drowned out by the headline-grabbing activities of the U.S. Department of Education and flawed punditry from the mainstream media.

For example, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona led a "bus tour" this fall that touted states where policymakers had increased education spending. He didn’t mention that lawmakers in some of the high-spending states he visited such as Wisconsin had lowered the benchmark for passing scores on state tests.

Likewise, recent commentary from the New York Times said the state with the best education system is Massachusetts ("by most estimates"), but this is a misunderstanding of what should count as education success and what parents want for their children.

Consider: More than a decade ago, Massachusetts schools operated with high academic standards, and state education officials could boast strong test scores. Yet other states have made remarkable progress over the last few years, and for less money. Massachusetts taxpayers spend nearly $23,000 per student, but taxpayers in Florida and Mississippi spend almost half this figure and have seen some of the biggest improvements in fourth-grade reading scores of any states in the country.

Massachusetts is not alone as a high-spending, largely stagnant locale in terms of student achievement, but the state serves as an example of the problems besieging education nationwide.

In November, Bay State voters approved a ballot initiative that weakens the state’s previously strong standards by eliminating a graduation exam — akin to policy that lowered benchmarks in Wisconsin.

Oregon lawmakers also lowered graduation standards in 2023, and New York officials have proposed the same. If elites want the rest of the country to follow Wisconsin, Oregon and Massachusetts by spending more and lowering expectations, then students are in trouble.

U.S. students’ dismal scores are a signal that education officials need to set high goals and not equate school spending with success. First, lawmakers should adopt strong academic content. Florida and Louisiana policymakers recently revamped their states’ academic goals in civics and social studies, respectively. Mississippi’s approach to reading by not advancing third-graders until they demonstrate proficiency is also worth following.

Second, parents need quality options. These same three states that have worthwhile academic content also offer account-style private learning scholarships for students. Florida’s options are available to students statewide, and Louisiana’s will be in the coming years.

This month, Florida Education Commissioner Manny Diaz Jr. summarized his state’s pursuit of excellence in a speech before the World Strategic Forum, saying, "The implementation of strong, rigorous standards, rich content, and holding schools accountable — the mix of that, with the leverage point of school choice…that’s what drives the engine of Florida’s education system."

These policies — not low expectations and more spending — will drive improvement around the country. Education miracles are hard to come by, but parents will surely accept steady progress in the right direction.

Jonathan Butcher is the Will Skillman Senior Research Fellow in Education Policy at the Heritage Foundation.