EDUCATION IS IN A DOWNWARD SPIRAL
On January 29th, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also called the Nation’s Report Card, released the 2024 test results for 4th grade and 8th grade students nationwide in all 50 states and territories. It reports on the state of K-12 education in the country. Despite intense post-pandemic recovery efforts, this year’s NAEP results have plummeted again and show a continual decline. In 2024, the average reading score for the nation at Grade 8 was 2 points lower compared to 2022 and 5 points lower compared to 2019 results. Almost 70% tested are not ‘proficient’ in reading. We must reverse the curve: https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/reports/reading/2024/g4_8/
Specifically, school districts in all 50 states saw a decline on at least one assessment and 21 states (40%) had declines in all assessments. Only the Department of Defense Education Activity (DODEA) showed improvement. Established in 1941, the DODEA operates 161 educational districts in 11 foreign countries, in 7 states, and 32 territories across 10 time zones. It’s the umbrella educational organization for military families and provides a world-class education that prepares 64,000 K-12 students for success in the 21st Century. They have more than 14,000 employees. All schools within the DODEA are fully accredited by USA accreditation agencies. The DODEA successfully provides a top-notch education for all military-connected students and proudly echoes their motto: Excellence in Education for Every Student, Every Day, Everywhere. https://www.dodea.edu/
Also, in response to an attack on Pearl Harbor, December 7th, 1941, the DOD developed and implemented the Army Specialized Training Program (ASTP) and SQ3R Study Skills and Learning Strategies to prepare for WWII. Based on IQ’s, 150,000 military personnel were selected to participate in a 25 week-long technical and tactical leadership training program rolled out at 225 colleges across the nation. The goal was to quickly accelerate the learning curve of the military leaders we needed to fight and win WWII in Asia and Europe. As a result, workload productivity increased, reading comprehension improved, and student-soldiers gained greater skill using complex maps, charts, and databases. The program was a big success and some historians attribute SQ3R as the ‘reading formula’ that helped win WWII. https://remembereverything.org/the-sq3r-method-of-studying/
Given the educational success of the DOD since 1941 with ASTP & SQ3R, and the DODEA with NAEP this year, we should be using the proven authentic learning capabilities of 21st Century Study Skills based on SQ3R. Based on more than 80 years of rock-solid research we’ve added ‘computer note-taking skills’ and ‘whole brain memory techniques’ to make the most effective study skills and learning strategy even better. Contact me to learn more: http://www.21stcenturystudyskills.com/testimonials.html
