Teachers in America are unintelligent, and as a result, students are becoming less intelligent.

Outdated and Ineffective Instruction: The Real Reason⁢ for Learning Loss

More than three⁤ years after Covid-19 began, ​explanations abound ‌for ongoing “learning loss” in schools. But these‌ discussions often ⁢miss one of ‍the most obvious explanations: outdated and ineffective instruction.

It’s been‍ repeatedly‌ shown that teacher quality is⁤ the ​primary⁣ thing affecting student achievement. Shouldn’t teacher ​quality be our primary ‍concern? Given how far behind ⁣we’ve fallen in teacher⁣ quality, you ‌would think so.

The Decline of Teacher⁤ Quality

If you aren’t convinced that teacher quality has gone down,⁣ I would ask you to “briefly state the result and effect of‍ the battle‌ of Waterloo.” If you’re⁢ anything like me, you could say something,⁤ right?‌ It just wouldn’t be amazing. What ‍is‌ amazing, though, is that the question‌ above was taken from Michigan’s public ​grammar schoolteacher-licensing ⁢ exam in history from 1900. ⁢In other words, a competent‌ high school graduate in 1900 was expected ⁢to know the answer and to teach the answer to ⁤eighth graders. In other words, teachers‍ back in the day knew‍ their stuff.

Teaching Without Studying

By 1997, the Department of Education was forced to admit ‌that a staggering 59 percent of ‍social studies teachers were teaching subjects they ⁣hadn’t even studied. Not surprisingly, that year 57 percent of high school seniors scored “below basic” in U.S.⁢ history, according to Diane Ravitch’s NAEP ‌report. It’s like the blind leading⁣ the blind.

Fast ⁢forward to⁢ 2006: 62 percent of teachers agreed that their‌ training didn’t​ prepare them well⁣ for their jobs. Teacher training programs have not only been a ​ waste, but they may actually ‌make⁢ teachers⁤ less competent at their jobs. That’s ⁤why no matter how much money you throw at them, ⁤modern teacher certification ⁢programs still⁢ do not improve ⁣teacher quality and student achievement.

Putting Teacher Quality First

So if teacher ‍quality is so‌ important, then why isn’t ‌it at the forefront of every conversation about learning loss? Because, unlike calls⁤ to abolish⁢ the Department of Education, improving ⁤teacher quality ⁣is remarkably practical — but not​ easy.

Education Reform Begins ⁤with Teachers

No ‍law,‌ executive edict, funding package, or curriculum restriction will fix the teacher quality problem. In any case, ⁣you would still have teachers in⁣ the ​classroom who ⁤can’t do what⁣ you want them to do: competently teach ⁢their ⁢students.‍ Telling a history teacher⁤ educated on Howard Zinn or Paulo Freire to teach a competent class on the⁤ U.S. Constitution​ from the framers’ point⁢ of view would be like telling a chef he can cook anything on the ‌menu but only​ giving him the ingredients for pasta. You’ll ⁣get something,⁣ sure. It’ll probably be pasta.

Improving ‌teacher quality in America’s schools ‌will take much ‍time ⁢and hard ‍work. You would have to start from the ground‌ up, training new teachers from scratch ⁢based on ​partially lost knowledge. You would have to raise college admission⁣ standards and require four years of academic work in the teacher’s core⁣ subject. Studies⁢ show that ​subject-matter knowledge is ⁤the ⁢best predictor of a student’s achievement. Educationally high-achieving countries like Finland‌ have ⁣already taken such steps in that direction.

Education degrees and ‌teacher licensing, by the way, should be⁤ done away with. They are expensive and ineffective. Undergraduate education licensing can be used to⁤ keep some people in the profession and other people out. It may also discourage​ the ⁣right people from going⁢ into teaching in the first place. In the end, teacher certification requirements ​may ​ultimately ​contribute to intellectual mediocrity in ⁤America.

Teachers Must ‍Keep Learning

In ​the meantime, school​ administrators should focus⁤ on ⁤providing teachers with ⁣meaningful feedback, ⁣gathered from fellow administrators, peers, and students, to help them improve professionally. Schools should encourage professional development in light of‌ the feedback ‍received⁣ and shore ‍up ​weaknesses in​ their‍ teachers’ knowledge.⁣ Schools should reward exceptional teachers with mentorship roles that allow them to continue teaching. All easier said than done, of course.

Strengthen ‍the curriculum and ‌strengthen ‌the quality of the academic teaching force.⁤ The formula is simple, but the ‍work⁤ is challenging. I’m proud to be the head of an institution leading the charge ⁤in ⁢that direction. We happily do ‌our work because we know that if we fail,⁢ America’s students soon may not have any learning at all to lose.