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[Order Daniel Greenfield’s new book, Domestic Enemies: HERE.]
Gov. Tim Walz has made much of being a former high school teacher in his political campaigns. The DNC brought out former students of his on stage and the media has rolled out adulatory stories claiming that Walz’s time as a teacher will help him shape America’s education policy.
But what is Walz’s actual educational record? Freedom Center Investigates took a look.
The recent release of the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessments (MCA) test scores for 2024 by Education Commissioner Willie Jett, a Walz appointee, were described by the Minnesota Star Tribune as “stagnant with only about half of students meeting or beating grade-level standards in math and reading.” The paper struggled to describe an empty glass as half-full.
The actual numbers showed that 49.9% of Minnesota students reached grade-level proficiency standards in reading, only 45.5% did so in math and only 39.6% managed it in science: a more accurate description would be that well less than half of Walz’s school students are proficient.
The educational glass in Minnesota isn’t half full, it’s more than half empty.
A majority of Minnesota students aren’t proficient in math or science and a little less than half can read at grade level. These are catastrophic numbers that show a school system that has failed at its most fundamental function despite billions of dollars in runaway spending.
The already terrible 2024 test scores are much worse when viewed in historical context.
In 2017, the year before the election that put Walz in charge of Minnesota, solid majorities of students were proficient in reading and math, and even science scores in the state were passable. Walz however ran as an educator and promised that he could do better.
In 2017, 59% of Minnesota students tested as proficient in math. By 2024, that number had dropped catastrophically by more than 13% down to 45.5%.
In 2017, 60% of students had tested as proficient at grade level in reading. Under Gov. Walz, those numbers have fallen to 49.9%.
In 2017, 54% of students met or exceeded test scores in science. By 2024, only 39.6% did for a decline of 14%.
The respective double digit education declines of 13%, 10% and 14% under Gov. Walz have taken test scores to some of the worst numbers in the state in thirty years.
And these numbers don’t tell the whole story of how bad things are in Minnesota. One analysis found that there were 19 schools in the state where not a single student was proficient in math.
Some of this can be attributed to Gov. Walz’s decision to pander to his teachers’ union allies in EM by shutting down schools and curtailing the education of a generation, but not all of it.
Pre-pandemic test scores were already showing declines and Gov. Walz has had years to turn around pandemic educational failures, but the former teacher who ran twice on fixing education failed to lay out any practical vision for turning around the failed public school system.
Test scores have been consistently falling since Walz took office. Math scores only improved by 1% since the pandemic and reading scores have been in freefall, declining year by year even since the pandemic and last year fell for the first time underwater below the halfway mark.
While Gov. Walz’s decision to close schools was disastrous, but things have gotten worse since. In his 2022 race, he ran on promises to further increase education spending. His campaign featured a commercial claiming that “as a former teacher, Governor Walz does what’s right for our kids.” But doing right meant throwing more money at political allies running a failed system.
The massive $2.2 billion education spending bill passed by Minnesota Democrats last year officially brought up spending to $7,281 per pupil, but not only is there little evidence that the per pupil spending ratio leads to improved education outcomes with some schools in the state that have been spending as much as $31,000 per student producing zero percent proficiency, but much of the money actually went to putting more of Education Minnesota (EM) teachers’ union members along with more administrators, school nurses and social workers on the payroll, and enacting a controversial “ethnic studies” program that critics say brings racism into schools.
A year later, most Minnesota students still can’t handle math, science or reading.
“My messages to families, to students, to teachers, to support staff is, ‘This is the budget for many of us who taught for decades,’ this is the budget we’re waiting for,” Gov. Walz bragged “This is the transformational moment.” It was transformational for everyone except students.
Gov. Walz and his party chose to spend $6 million on ethnic studies while students were struggling with basic skills. $135 million was spent paying ‘unemployment’ for workers off for the summer. Rather than funding schools, much of the new money funded social services, free meals, family social workers and even drug overdose prevention medications on site.
Minnesota Democrats have camouflaged social welfare spending and benefits for union members as educational spending, but there’s no sign that students have benefited from it.
The state’s powerful educational unions have claimed that Democrats are better for education, but test scores in reading hit a high of 74% and math scores hit a high of 64.7% under former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, a Republican, and have been declining ever since.
Gov. Walz was following the policies of a party that took reading test scores down from 74% to 49.4% and math test scores from 64.7% down to 45.5%.
Behind the numbers is the reality that 3 out of 4 students used to be proficient in reading, now less than 2 in 4 are, and 6 out of 10 students could count, now only 4 out of 10 still can.
What will happen to those two illiterate students and those six students who can’t count?
The Walz campaign claimed that he wanted to make “Minnesota the best state in the country for kids.” But in his second term in office, the kids of Minnesota can’t read, count or do anything.
The governor inherited majority proficiency rates in education in Minnesota and brought them down to less than half. That record may have more bearing on his education policy than his past working as a teacher.
Gov. Walz’s actual educational legacy is that a majority of students can no longer read.
Well, illiteracy is a serious problem, people who don’t know the history probably don’t know how widespread illiteracy was, and still is in some areas.
One of my pet projects some decades ago was to get the shoreline park to put up signs in Spanish, so the immigrants would stop breaking the rules and trashing the park. The restrooms were filthy, one would have to see it.
Anyway, my project succeeded! The Park put up signs in Spanish The only problem was, the immigrants, even from Mexico, couldn’t read Spanish either.
They used to wash filthy used baby diapers in the public drinking fountains, so I gave up drinking from those.
What’s the point of knowing how to read? The robot knows absolutely everything and can do everything and Coca-Cola is still flowing from the taps. Come on, let’s go to the movies to see the Avengers who are going to save the planet. And long live life, just do iti It’s my choice!
“…We are the world
We are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day, so let’s start giving
There’s a choice we’re making
We’re saving our own lives
It’s true we’ll make a better day, just you and me…”
“Well, illiteracy is a serious problem…”
Really? I think otherwise. I think illiteracy is one of the goals of the democrats/progressives agenda and the evidence is more than anecdotal. Moreover, they’ve been at it for several decades and have got it down to a science.
So much so that even most elementary, Jr. & Sr. high school teachers at best are semi-literate (e.g., the California CBEST exam is an effing joke but I digress.) Based on the demonstrable declining literacy of most high school graduates these days, that fact becomes obvious to anyone who’s paying close attention and objectively evaluates the matter.
Bottom line: an illiterate populace serves the interests of the democrat party. Illiterate ignorant people are easily frightened into and/or convinced to vote democrat. It’s why the dems are busy importing mostly illiterate ignorant illegal aliens and signing them up for a panoply of US government & state government “goodies” at tax payers expense.
What luck, for governments, that the people are stupid! —Adolf Hitler
Close, but is pretty much what he said.
In Minnesota reading test scores down from 74% to 49.4%”
In Somalia literacy rate for 2022 was 41.03%,
Minnesota by 2002 harbored the largest population of Somalis in North Ameria.
Welcome to Somalia.
Enjoy visiting Lil’ Mog, an easy ride on the light rail away!
And no doupt Wallface wants to cumb down the youth so they can be used and serve Big Brother
This is the result of Brazilian Communist Paulo Freire’s concept of “critical pedagogy.”. His thought was that teaching standard academic subjects would only prepare students to replicate the existing ” oppressive structures” of society. Instead, teachers should be inserting “generative themes” into teaching to instill in students a “critical consciousness” which would prepare them to become activists and revolutionaries. This was spread into virtually all U.S. teaching colleges through the efforts of the communist Canadian-American Henry Giroux. And that is why Johnny can’t read or add.
Paulo Freire co-founded the Worker’s Party (Brazil) with Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva and co-wrote “A Pedagogy for Liberation” with Ira Shor, a Democratic Socialists of America operative. As for Henry Giroux, he was one of several thousand college professors, academic staff and students who signed a statement in solidarity with former Weather Underground terrorist, and continuously unrepentant communist, Bill Ayers.
America’s education system is so bad it has affected in nations IQ test scores as well as achievement test scores. with a 2 point standard deviation decrease. That’s averaged out for the population as a whole. How much lower they be when the older generations dies off. Democrats see Huxley’s Brave New World as a desirable outcome.
From a democrat’s perspective, what’s the problem an illiterate, low IQ populace? They’re the ideal democrat voter!
Students in Tampon Tim’s school system can’t read…maybe its by design and planning…maybe being able to read just isn’t so important in KKKamala’s AmeriKKKa.
But the important thing is that they always vote D on election day…is what the child indoctrination system (school) IS supposed to teach them.
The priorities are putting tampons in boy’s bathroom and letting men into women’s bathroom.
And of course the participation trophies. And overlooking the criminal behavior.
Real education is very low down on the list.
In the fascist world of progressives, you don’t need to know how to read, the government takes care of everything. Stupidity = excellence, excellence = mediocrity. Be woke and shut the fuck up!
The same smug, upscale Progressive—whose inner Totalitarian these days is fully capable of being out, and about, and on the rampage—sends her kids to private school! There, her kids get all the proper left wing indoctrination —but they CAN still read, and do math and science.
The Progressive then dominates the culture—such as it is—because the pipeline into the better colleges and universities—and ultimately into the echelons of the chattering class —starts with schools where, of course (!), all the kids are academically capable.
And THE best way to kick out the rungs for anybody NOT from such an upscale, Progressive background IS to do away with standards and testing—while concentrating just on the left wing indoctrination component.
This has been the program—certainly throughout my lifetime. It has its roots way further back than that. I would peg it to some 19th-century Oxbridge Fabian socialism. There’s always been a certain kind of social-climbing, virtue-signaling American whose socks have traditionally been knocked off by what some well-educated socialist—with the Allistair Cookie accent (!)—has to say about something!
At this time, however, the image that comes to mind is the ouroboros. The serpent eating its tail. The upscale Progressive doesn’t know it, but the very means by which she dominates ensures her own demise.
It’s always been a potent strategy. Keep a population unde-reducated so they’ll be unable to put two and two together. A totalitarian state can only exist if the peasants are unaware that they’re mere livestock to be harvested for the benefit of their betters. Tyrants know well that a mind is a dangerous thing to cultivate.
Further this is a real problem. Illiteracy about our government. I am 83 now and went to school when they carefully taught us how our government works, the checks and balances, and so forth along with the reasoning of our forefathers when laying it all out. Not perfect, just the best yet. Kids these days! It is not their fault. Children of 55 and 60 years old have little clue how things are supposed to be done in our country and then came the hippie dipsters, decrying all sanity re governance.
So I am ecstatic to see Elon and others who are running for office and some across the board who are speaking very frankly about what communism is. They really don’t know. Someone’s got to tell them.
Starting with John Dewey from Columbia who was the architect of modern education whose vision after traveling to Russia was to replicate it here. Several decades later the peanut farmer tied the final knot by creating the US Department of Education. This last guy never met a tyrannical dictator that he didn’t live. Onward to Odumbo whose main emphasis was teaching kids how to put a condom on a cucumber. Parents, products of this education system themselves have no clue. Isn’t it amazing that when you turn back the clock, at least viewing rural America, parents had 8 years or less and yet they could read, write, and do math. Most dreamed their children would finish high school. In my own experience in a small rural fly over community we were reading in the first grade. Diagraming by the third grade. No kindergarten back then thank God. Now the State wants your kids by 3 years old to indoctrinate for life.