American students’ math scores plummeted to an all-time low on a major international exam, according to a December 5 report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development.

• American 15-year-olds dropped an average of 13 points out of 1,000 on the Program for International Student Assessment (pisa) exam, which was taken in 2022 by 620,000 students in 81 countries worldwide. The math scores went from an average of 478 out of 1,000 in 2018 to 465 in 2022, the lowest ever recorded.

These results are another piece of evidence showing the crisis in mathematics achievement. Only now can we see that it is a global concern.
—Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics

covid: The pisa exam marked the first comparison of global achievement since the pandemic radically changed education. The declining scores are one of the many results of America’s pandemic response, proving that the “cure” for covid-19 has been worse than the disease.

A bigger problem: It’s no coincidence that test scores are dropping as United States schools prioritize “woke” ideas and extreme beliefs such as critical race theory. In 2020, the Trumpet warned about the radical views that public school curricula are pushing:

Educators are teaching the next generation leftist views that depict the West, especially America, as oppressive, hate-filled and genocidal. They are exalting wealth redistribution and socialism while condemning free markets. They are encouraging students to become environmental activists. They are teaching radical views about sexuality, normalizing transgenderism, gender fluidity and sexual experimentation.

Learn more: Read “What Is Your Child Learning in Public School?”