American Students Aren't Proficient in Math: Here's Why

Almost 75% of students got the lowest possible grade in math.

13 high schools in Baltimore don’t have a single student that’s proficient in math. These students are failed by the public school system and the way it's run. Not only did students fail to get a passing grade in math, but 74.5% of students scored the lowest possible score on the test. These statistics from Baltimore are unsettling, but this is a trend across American public schools. One-third of American students are not on grade level. Is it the pandemic that caused this trend, or is there a deeper problem with our education system? 

U.S. Ranks 30th in Math Compared to Other Civilized Nations

Pew research reveals that students in the U.S. lag behind many of their peers in other countries when comparing basic proficiency in math, science, and even reading. Math is of particular note. Among the 35 countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, which sponsors the PISA initiative, a test that measures learning proficiency, the U.S. ranked 30th in math and 19th in science. This isn’t a small lag behind the rest of the world, it’s egregious. 

What’s Causing this Massive Failure in Education?