We need progress on improving education

We need to quickly address the declining skills and education levels coming out of our public schools. While I don’t support the “defund” idea, we need very specific fixes now. The public schools also need to communicate clearly about what they are doing to reverse the problems.

As we celebrate graduations, we also know that high school graduation rates and high GPAs do not translate to an educated populace. Quite the opposite: something like a third of incoming college freshman need remedial math coursework. The recent Yale study about higher education is sobering. Closer to home, the 25-point decline in SAT scores in District 303 over the last eight years (starting well before COVID) is consistent with the national trend.

There is no equivalent of the Federal Reserve to counteract inflation in our education system. We need to give ourselves a dose of reality and then the Education Establishment needs to act on it. A couple of suggestions: (1) Make the Illinois Report Card website user-friendly. As is, it is overloaded with minutia while failing to show the Big Picture. Example: it does not display year-over-year declining trends in standardized test scores. (2) Impartially sample those directly impacted (parents, students, employers) and then attack the specific weaknesses identified. Example: if high school graduates cannot correctly solve simple fraction and percentage problems, ensure this is a “must have” skill before graduation. These are just a few of many proposed fixes.

We need progress. Look at your recent property tax bill and ask yourself about value for education dollars spent.

Maureen McAllister

Wayne