I came across an interesting article recently by a scholar named James Sheets. From his perspective in the United States, schools are not demanding excellence from students. And it is not just secondary schools, but colleges as well. He claims the ramifications are starting to show now more than ever. He says, “we are raising a generation that knows how to use technology but is losing the ability to think clearly, solve problems, and push through difficulty”.
He goes on to say, “If we love our kids and want the best for their future, we have to recover something simple but powerful: high standards are not harmful. Hard work is not cruelty. Real learning takes effort—and effort produces strength. We owe them the tools they need to stand strong in a world that will demand for more than what we’re currently asking of them”.
I tend to agree with James. As teachers, we should look closely at our expectations. Can we reasonably show them that the bar can be raised and it is worth doing so? Perhaps we can give them a few more subtle pushes to dig deeper; to truly help them see what they are capable of. Asking those penetrating questions can go a long way toward mobilizing reasoning skills. Why not push the boundaries toward high level thinking? We may think we do not have the time because it does not happen overnight and it will likely change how we structure our time. But maybe now is the time, to really look at how we structure our time. What do you think?
Here is the full article:
Through The Eyes Of A Scholar:
For the past few years, I have observed that America has been running a giant experiment on its own kids—an experiment nobody planned and that hasn’t gone well. Schools have been lowering expectations, dropping consequences, and raising grades even when students aren’t mastering the basics. Now we’re finally seeing the results, and they’re not good.
A recent UC San Diego report is a wake-up call. A few years ago, only about 30 incoming freshmen were behind in math. This year, that number is over 900. Most of these students don’t understand middle-school math. A majority struggle with fractions and simple algebra. My wife, a 32 year veteran teacher, says 6th-8th-grade students can’t read at a 2nd-grade level. They do not know how to multiply or divide, or memorize the multiplication tables. Tutors say the biggest problem isn’t just memorizing math facts—it’s that students don’t know how to think through a problem. They’re stuck before they even begin.
And this isn’t just happening at one school. Colleges all across the nation are reporting the same thing. Students show up for calculus but can’t do basic algebra. Professors talk about the loss of “number sense”—the ability to see which fraction is bigger, or whether a line on a graph is going up or down.
National test scores paint the same picture. After years of slow, steady progress, math scores began slipping about 10 years ago. When the pandemic hit, they crashed. Today, the average eighth grader is a full year behind where students were in 2013. Those who were already struggling fell even further back.
Why is this happening?
Part of the story involves smartphones and social media. The drop in math scores happened at almost the exact same time teens started carrying phones everywhere. It’s hard to learn math when your attention is pulled in a dozen directions.
Another part is student attitude. Many now assume, “Why learn this? My phone or AI can do it for me.” Teachers say they’ve never seen this level of disconnect before.
But the biggest issue may be simple: schools stopped demanding excellence from students.
More than a decade ago, schools were held accountable for poor performance. If scores didn’t improve, they had to make changes. But after 2015, much of that pressure disappeared. Many districts shifted toward “fun” or “engaging” teaching methods instead of what actually works. In the name of equity or budget cuts, schools often kept students from taking harder math classes.
Then COVID hit, and everything fell apart. Months of online learning left students far behind. Teachers were exhausted. Parents were overwhelmed. Administrators didn’t want anyone to fail (No Child Left Behind). So many school districts removed zeros, raised grades automatically, and passed students who hadn’t learned the material, guaranteeing their future failure.. In most states, almost nobody failed anything during the pandemic. But the work didn’t match the grades.
That’s how UC San Diego now reports that students who earned straight A’s in high-school math—but can’t divide a fraction.
In 2020, the UC system made another big change: it stopped using SAT and ACT scores for admissions. The intention was good—many believed the tests were unfair. But those tests were the only way to see who was actually prepared for college math. Without them, the system admitted more students who weren’t ready. That may feel compassionate, but in reality, it often sets students up for failure.
Some experts say we should bring the tests back. But even that won’t fix the bigger problem: American students aren’t learning the math they need.
Researchers warn this could hurt our economy for decades. Some people argue that students don’t need strong math skills because AI can help them. But professors reject that idea completely. As one Stanford expert put it, “Who would trust an engineer who can’t solve a problem without a computer telling them the answer?” He’s right. Believing we don’t need basic thinking skills is a path to national decline.
Here’s the truth: we are raising a generation that knows how to use technology but is losing the ability to think clearly, solve problems, and push through difficulty. That’s not kindness. It’s not equity. It’s not good teaching. It’s lowering the bar so far that students can trip over it without ever learning to stand.
If we love our kids and want the best for their future, we have to recover something simple but powerful: high standards are not harmful. Hard work is not cruelty. Real learning takes effort—and effort produces strength.
We owe our children more than easy grades and empty praise.
We owe them the tools they need to stand strong in a world that will demand far more than we’re currently asking of them.
Selah!
