Graphic Truth: Losing the numbers game

The Trump administration is working to dismantle the Department of Education, a long-time conservative goal rooted in the belief that education is best managed at the state and local levels. Most decisions — especially regarding curriculum — already are made locally, but the department plays a key role in setting standards, assessing student performance, and supplementing where states are falling short. Critics worry that eliminating it could widen educational inequalities.

This could hurt US competitiveness, which is already slipping. In 2022, the US ranked 34th in global math performance, according to the OECD PISA assessment of 15-year-olds in 81 countries. Canada ranked ninth, despite also seeing a decline. The impact is evident in other surveys as well. In IMD Business School’s 2024 Competitiveness Report, the US dropped to 12th place among global economies, its lowest ranking ever — down from 1st in 2018.

The US and Canada aren’t alone. Math scores have been trending downward globally since the OECD PISA assessments began measuring them in 2002 – falling between one to three points every four years. But scores took a sharp tumble between 2018 and 2022, falling an alarming 16 points globally, likely because of education disruptions and school closures during the COVID-19 pandemic.