This week, America observes Teacher Appreciation Week, acknowledging the dedication and hard work teachers demonstrate in classrooms across the country. However, in New Jersey, the conversation surrounding education extends far beyond appreciation, with ongoing debates over school funding, a teacher shortage, particularly in STEM, special education, and foreign languages; the latter is also a nationwide problem.
Unfortunately, the teacher shortage has not been getting enough attention as it should. Especially when K-12 students are barely passing STEM courses. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress, as shown in their 2024 biannual Nation’s Report Card test, that 44% of students could understand math at a 4th-grade level compared to 37% at the 8th-grade level. Pre- COVID pandemic numbers were much higher than this, peaking at 50% in 2017 for 4th-grade proficiency, as 8th-grade proficiency peaked in 2013 at 49%. While the shortage of STEM teachers does not help the significant drop in proficiency, online learning during the pandemic was not a huge help at all.
Compare those numbers to reading proficiency. Once again in 2024, reading was the same at 38% at the 4th-grade and 8th-grade levels. Pre-COVID, those numbers peaked at 48% in 2017 at the 4th-grade level, and 8th-grade proficiency peaked in 2013 at 47%. The massive drop after the pandemic is very alarming. Online learning deeply affected the students’ ability to maintain good reading habits.
However, what is more alarming is the parents who believe their students are doing okay in the classroom. In a 2025 poll conducted by Gallup, 9 out of 10 parents of K-12 students believe their child is at or above grade level in reading and math. This raises several larger questions: Is the student seeking extra help after school? Does the student need accommodations to succeed in the classroom? The last one, being the most extreme, is: Are schools and lawmakers doing enough to ensure students receive what they need to succeed?
More importantly, once the federal government decides to empower the states to decide what curriculum best benefits their students, the quality of education will naturally increase. Ever since the formation of the U.S Department of Education in 1980, student performance in the classroom has largely been stagnant or declined. Removing the department will save taxpayers money, and the quality of education will start to improve.
Students need to receive the best quality education they can possibly receive. It is even more important for teachers to be held accountable for making sure their students can achieve success in the classroom. To fix the teacher shortages, especially in STEM, a good way to address this is to offer incentives to STEM majors who look to become teachers one day. The future of our nation is currently in our classrooms today; let’s ensure they can become productive members of society.
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I think we can have a good debate on this. And I think we’d both agree that education is failing its mission; it was failing before Covid, and we can and should be doing a lot better.