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 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. 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 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.

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.

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. Lawmakers should adopt strong academic content and parents need quality options.

These policies — not low expectations and more spending — are what will drive improvement around the country.

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