The American education crisis has become a national emergency that demands immediate correction.
According to the new National Report Card, a staggering 72% of eighth-grade students who took the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) math exam failed to score at the proficient level. In 2019 and before COVID school shutdowns, eighth graders’ math proficiency levels were already at an unacceptable 66% — 6% lower than where they are now.
This report card underscores the need for a seismic shift toward academic excellence over DEI-driven policies, wasteful spending, and misaligned priorities. It also demands that Education Secretary nominee Linda McMahon’s leadership serve as the turning point in reclaiming global math leadership through strategies like those employed by Singapore.
Fortunately, the Senate has a chance to make this vision a reality by confirming McMahon — a remarkably successful entrepreneur with a proven track record of delivering a high-quality product. This time, her mission is even more critical: ensuring American families have every opportunity to access the world-class education they deserve.
McMahon acknowledged during her Senate confirmation hearing that the state of American education falls far short of being world-class, stating, “We have failed in our mission” and emphasized that “we are not delivering the high-quality education our children need.”
Unlike corrupt bureaucrats who spend billions on DEI initiatives at the expense of true student achievement, McMahon embodies the spirit of American exceptionalism and is focused on restoring the once-high standards for U.S. educational institutions. Today, plummeting student achievement demonstrated by recent NRC scores has embarrassingly reduced the U.S. to 34th place in global rankings, lagging significantly behind top-performing countries such as Singapore and China.
The U.S. education system is in desperate need of an examination of conscience, which I elaborated on in my testimony before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce. The previous administration created a dumpster fire by spending over one billion dollars prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives over core subject areas like math.
Much to students’ detriment, identity politics have permeated classrooms across America. Agenda-driven “educators” are brainwashing our nation’s children with gender ideology. Schools have kept parents in the dark about their child transitioning to a different gender. Boys have been allowed to compete in girl’s sports. Schools remain unsafe. DEI initiatives have pitted students, educators, and administrators against each other and placed race above merit at the sacrifice of standards in excellence. Foreign funding from the Chinese Communist Party and the Qatar Foundation threatens U.S. national security, seeks to soften attitudes towards Chinese state-directed communism and antisemitism, and spreads hate among students in schools.
If confirmed as Education Secretary, McMahon will prioritize answering to students and parents over teachers’ unions and education progressive activists—a stark departure from the Biden administration’s approach over the past four years.
Conversely, Singapore’s fundamentally different approach to education — particularly in math — yields measurable success, as reflected in the nation’s consistently best-in-the-world test scores.
McMahon’s leadership at the Department of Education could serve as a model for both federal and state policies, particularly by mirroring Singapore’s approach. In Singapore, the government actively resists identity politics, instead prioritizing national unity and meritocracy. Unlike the U.S., Singaporean schools prioritize academics and character development over social activism. Singapore’s Ministry of Education has made it clear that progressive gender ideology has no place in the curriculum. Parental authority is upheld, and schools are discouraged from withholding information about a child’s gender transition. Likewise, school sports remain sex-based, with no widespread movement to allow men to compete in women’s competitions. Instead of DEI-style initiatives that have led to division in the U.S., Singapore promotes diversity through racial harmony. Lastly, the country remains vigilant about foreign influence, particularly from China and the Middle East, by strictly regulating foreign funding in education.
Moreover, Singapore’s Ministry of Education developed the world-renowned Singapore Math curriculum, which focuses on deep conceptual understanding through a concrete-pictorial-abstract (CPA) approach. This method emphasizes mastery of fewer topics, ensuring a strong foundation for advanced math. In contrast, the failing U.S. Common Core prioritizes multiple problem-solving strategies over mastery, often leading to confusion and a lack of deep understanding. With its broad scope and fast pace, Common Core leaves students without a solid math foundation, while Singapore Math’s structured approach leads to long-term success, as seen in Singapore’s top global rankings.
If confirmed, McMahon should draw inspiration from Singapore’s success in math education to restore U.S. leadership and reignite American exceptionalism in education. Singapore’s approach prioritizes student learning without any indoctrination and an innovative math curriculum. With achievement gaps still unacceptable six years post-COVID, it’s time for an outside-the-box leader like McMahon to close them.
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Nicole Neily is the President & Founder of Parents Defending Education.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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