In the 1920s, US Education reached its peak. We had crammed all we needed to know into 8 years of school. The instruction and testing ensured that most graduates could function well enough to learn trades in trade schools, advance in most jobs and run small businesses. They could balance their checkbooks, understand instructions and do their own taxes. The 10% of those who wanted to work as accountants, lawyers, doctors, engineers, architects, chemists. scientists and ministers went on to 4year colleges to receive Bachelors Degrees. In 1860 Masters and PhD degrees were offered.
In 1928, the SAT college entrance exam measuring aptitude was introduced.
In 1929, the Iowa test began to test students on math, spelling and reading comprehension.
In 1930, American Studies was introduced as an interdisciplinary field of scholarship that examines American literature, history, society, and culture. It traditionally incorporates literary criticism, historiography and critical theory. It should have included the US history, economy and applied technology.
In 1935, the Iowa Test was developed to test elementary school students and was widely used by 1940.
In 1938, the US adopted Child Labor Laws to limit work rights to age 16. Elementary Schools revised down their requirements for grades 1 through 8. High Schools also dumbed down for grades 9 through 12. Truancy laws required mandatory school attendance. Private High Schools required Entrance Exams.
In the 1940s, Teachers Union membership increased in US Public Schools and peaked at 40% in 1978 in non-right-to-work states. Overall union membership in the US is about 10%.
In 1959, the ACT college entrance exam measuring knowledge was introduced and became the most used exam.
In 1961, ACT scores peaked and leveled out.
In 1965, college graduates still comprised 10% of the US population. After 1965, the numbers of college graduates began to rise and doubled to 20% by 1990 with watered-down, non-occupational, interdisciplinary majors. https://www.statista.com/statistics/184260/educational-attainment-in-the-us/
In 1969. Black Studies was added to American Studies majors. Women’s Studies was added in 1970.
In the 1980s, jobs in electronics increased because of the Personal Computer, Telecom upgrades and Military Equipment upgrades. The housing boom was accomplished by illegal immigrants.
In the 1990s, US manufacturing jobs began to be off-shored.
By 2000, 25% of the US population had college degrees, but off-shoring manufacturing kept occupational degrees at 10%.
In 2007, colleges accepted ACT or SAT entrance exam scores along with Grade Point scores.
In 2008, the Mortgage Meltdown caused the Great Recession causing unemployment to rise.
In 2010 the high school drop-out rate was 8.3%.
By 2022, over 1000 colleges did not require entrance exams and 50% if US students performed under grade level.
US student performance measured in the Program for International Student Assessment is 38th in Math, 24th in Science and 25th in Reading.
US Education costs are high and performance is low. High School classes are boring and most college majors are useless. The US Department of Education grants need to be eliminated and school choice needs to be adopted to allow parents to pay their school property tax to private schools. We cannot expect that those who got us into this mess will be able to fix it. School boards need to stop building schools with Bond money and should use “accrual” for maintenance and upgrades. The Public School curriculum needs an overhaul. Indoctrination needs to be replaced with occupational relevance and more testing for motivated abilities. Teachers should be required to have degrees in the subjects they teach rather than just “Education” degrees especially in sciences like math, biology, nutrition and other sciences.
It may take 8 years of grades 1 through 8 to learn to read, write and comprehend and become proficient at math, They also need courses on how things work and what things cost. It should include the identification of student’s individual skills, introductions to nutrition, medical tests, jobs, motivated abilities, free will, self-reliance, US history, the original US Constitution, US expansion, technological advances and economics. Students need to watch “Story Television” and other documentary channels to begin to understand US history.
High School courses should explain physics, gravity, earth formation history, earth’s unique atmosphere, the solar system and its uninhabitable planets. Courses should also include how and when technical innovations changed the tools we use since the Industrial Revolution. High School grads should have a better idea of what amount of money is required for them to earn monthly in order to live independently and become homeowners. They need to know their skill sets are and what occupations they should consider. They need to know how many US citizens are employed and in what occupations and what they are paid. They need to know US economics history.
College courses should be occupational and directed to immediate needs. Students need to view themselves as Customers who should pick and choose what is relevant to them.
Norb Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea
Party Leader
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