Friend,
It’s hard to find a news story that doesn’t mention President Trump these days. And rightfully so. Every day, he deals a new blow to decency, good government, and core American values.
But all the focus on Trump’s White House has distracted us from confronting a myriad of other crises. Here’s a story [[link removed]] that I don’t think got enough attention: the annual National Assessment of Education Progress was released last month, and the percentage of eighth graders who have “below basic” reading skills is the largest it has been in the exam’s three-decade history.
33 percent of eighth graders score “below basic” in their reading skills. 40 percent of fourth graders receive that same score. This is a disaster. Failing to address this crisis head on will hamper American competitiveness for decades.
While Trump threatens to shut down the Department of Education (and, by extension, the agency that measures reading progress), we should be laser-focused on giving students and teachers the resources they need to reverse this trend.
Though Connecticut shows some silver linings [[link removed]] – most students surpassed the national average – local fourth graders from economically disadvantaged households scored below the national average in both reading and math. Moreover, 18.7% of Connecticut students are chronically absent [[link removed]] from school, meaning they miss 10% or more of school days.
There’s no shortage of reforms that could reverse this trend. We need to increase teacher pay, modernize classrooms, bolster after-school opportunities, bring down the cost of early childhood education, invest in science-based educational practices, and wean students away from their cell phones.
Eliminating the Department of Education, on the other hand, will only make matters worse.
— Jim
Paid for by Himes for Congress
Himes for Congress
857 Post Road
#312
Fairfield, CT 06824
United States
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