Educational Proficiency Lowered to Pandemic-Level New Normals

It is no secret that the COVID-19 pandemic wreaked havoc on education. The learning loss suffered by students who were deprived of in-person schooling is well-documented. Given this reality, it would seem obvious that schools and parents should take decisive action to remedy the situation by getting students caught up on the skills and knowledge that they missed. Unfortunately, however, some New Yorkers have a different idea: Dumb down the state tests.

Earlier this year, a scoring committee informed the New York State Board of Regents that it would be necessary to reset the scores on New York’s math and English language arts (ELA) tests in grades three through eight. A member of the committee stated that students’ 2022 test scores—many of which reflected post-COVID learning loss—would be used as a “new baseline” for future tests. Similar changes are planned for the Regents examination in U.S. history.

There is nothing new about the “dumbing down” trend in American education. The results are obvious: In February, the New York Post reported that in New York City’s community colleges, 47% of students who had graduated from New York City’s public schools needed remedial classes because “city school kids are being shoved through an educational revolving door without truly learning.”

Maintenance of high educational standards is a pro-family issue. Parents whose children receive “passing” marks on state tests should be able to rely on those test results to mean something. It’s also a good government issue. New York taxpayers pay more for public education than the taxpayers of any other state. Accurate test results are needed so that taxpayers can evaluate whether we are receiving an acceptable return on our investment.

Educational dumbing-down is nothing more than a face-saving effort by politicians, bureaucrats, and school administrators to conceal the sad state of public education in New York.