The University of California at San Diego has released a new report documenting a “steep decline in the academic preparedness” of its freshmen. The number of entering students needing remedial math has exploded from 1/100 to 1/8. It's so bad that a full 13% of incoming students cannot do math at even the 1st grade level!
They’ve had to create a second remedial class covering elementary and middle school math skills in addition to the one covering gaps from high school.
The report also shows that nearly 1/5 students fail to meeting entry level writing requirements.
The report focuses on the decline of math skills in particular. The University of California at San Diego (UCSD) recently tested a group of their students. Here are the percentages of students who correctly answered questions at each grade level:
The chart above, showing 87% of incoming Freshmen can do "Grade 1" math, is talking about First Grade . . . you know, the Grade immediately after KINDERGARTEN. Yes, you read that right; if 87% CAN do 1st Grade math, that means a full thirteen percent (13%) CANNOT do even 1st grade math. Worse, the chart also proves that only 19% of these incoming freshmen can do math at an EIGHTH GRADE Level! That means that a full 81% of them CANNOT do eighth grade math ! ! ! ! ! - - - these are incoming college Freshman the report is talking about!
REMEDIAL MATH
In the year 2016, the situation was so worrisome, UCSD created a Remedial Math class for incoming freshmen. “Math 2" was designed in 2016 to remediate missing high school math knowledge, but when they did that, they found that most students had knowledge gaps that went back much further, to middle and even elementary school.
To address the large number of underprepared students, the Mathematics Department redesigned Math 2 for Fall 2024 to focus entirely on elementary and middle school Common Core math subjects (grades 1-8), and introduced a new course, "Math 3B" so as to cover missing high-school common core math subjects (Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II or Math I, II, III; grades 9-11).
This chart documents the increasing number of students placed in remedial math (math 2 and math 3b):
The UCSD report makes clear the situation is growing worse, and putting a strain on UCSD being able to actually accomplish its mission of higher education, because so many resources have to go into covering for the failures of prior schools:
To be clear, this isn’t UCSD’s fault, and it looks like the faculty have been doing what they can to address the issues but they can’t sustain it. The math department and the report’s authors deserve a lot of credit for documenting the issues.
Here is the full - horrifying - report: LINK HERE
Hal Turner Brief Analysis
It appears we need a whole slew of "Joe Clark" type educators to come save our schools. Joe Clark was appointed Principal of East Side High in Paterson, NJ in the 1980's. He took a school that had totally failed in every regard, whose students couldn't even pass a state Minimum Basic Skills test, and turned it into a place of real education.
A movie "Lean on Me" starring actor Morgan Freeman, was made about it. It's a great movie. It's also a great story of redemption and hope.
Because if we here in the United States don't take immediate corrective action, our nation will collapse from ignorance.
All these kids who are not being educated (for whatever reasons) will find themselves LOCKED OUT of a future. All those shiny new cars, gadgets, and gizmos they see advertised on TV, will be out of their reach.
Having a home, marrying, raising a family, will be impossible for them.
For you and me, we are facing having to turn over a country to these folks, and when we do that because we've become old, sick, and frail, they won't be able to keep the country going.
We have to start taking action. Right now. To save these kids and by doing so, to save the future - for them, and for our country.
Here's a famous 4 minute scene from the movie "Lean on Me" as Joe Clark took control of the failing school. It's amazing because it's true:
