UC San Diego report finds alarming drop in freshmen math skills, with one in eight below middle school level
A University of California San Diego report warns that roughly one in eight incoming college students can’t meet middle school math standards. It found that the number of students needing to take remedial math courses increased “thirty-fold” over the last five years.
Jeanne Allen, founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform, says this isn’t a new problem. She said it’s a result of decades of unaccountable schools and a broken system that fails students long before they make it to higher education.
“It really, Sandra, should be shocking to most of us, but sadly, it feels like Groundhog Day again,” Allen told “America Reports” Thursday.
The report, done by the school’s Senate Administration Workgroup on Admissions, said Math 2 was created as a high school remedial class. But they found that “most students had knowledge gaps that went back much further, to middle and even elementary school.”
It also revealed that in 2024, 25% of students placed in Math 2 had a 4.0 average in high school math. This meant many students’ GPA’s did not match their actual proficiency in the subject.
Allen warned the findings are the latest sign of a school system that’s been breaking down for years.
“Why are we continuing to accredit these schools, allow them to get public and private money, and yet they’re like, ‘Oops, these incoming freshmen, they need remedial education,’” she said.
While the COVID-19 pandemic has been found to have impacted education for many students, Allen argues it’s not entirely to blame for today’s problems in the classroom.
“A lot of the report that we just saw talks about concerns of the pandemic, which, yes, we haven’t caught up,” said Allen.
“But it’s been worse for a 20-year trend. Again, it’s a generational issue.”
NATION’S REPORT CARD GIVES PUBLIC SCHOOLS A FAILING GRADE. PARENTS ARE DEMANDING BETTER
She suggested the answer to these problems isn’t lowering standards for U.S. kids, but empowering teachers and parents to demand accountability from the school system.
Allen called for greater parent involvement, school choice and more personalized learning for students.
“Sending them to cookie-cutter schools, large districts where they’re not held accountable whether they fail or they succeed is why you end up with students graduating probably with okay GPA’s, but really they know very little,” said Allen.
