Stupidization: A Long-Term Trend in US Education
May 22, 2026
Another dinobaby post. No AI unless it is an image. This dinobaby is not Grandma Moses, just Grandpa Arnold.
I read “‘Learning Recession’ in US Schools Predates Pandemic: Report.” Usually I skip school-related articles. I am a dinobaby, and I am not sure I can remember my grade school teachers’ names or where my grade school is located. But this write up had a snappy phrase: Learning recession. I interpreted the two words in my lingo. I think “stupidization” better expresses the state of American grade, high, and college educational entities.
Thanks, Midjourney. Good enough.
This write up is more educated than I, so we have a “learning recession.” It sounds okay, but it does not communicate the issues in the US educational social construct. The write up states:
A new analysis of student test scores reveals that American schools were in a “learning recession” for seven years before the COVID-19 pandemic, with student test scores in math and reading on a steady decline since 2013…. The study reframes the narrative of pandemic-era learning loss, arguing that the crisis of the last few years was an acceleration of a problem that was already underway.
Okay, Covid, you did not cause stupidization. What did? What made “educated” people think that a computer in a middle school would improve a student’s ability to read, write, and do arithmetic? Why did people believe that a student would learn watching a lousy video delivered with amateur sound and poor lighting make clear how the Appalachian Mountains were formed?
The write up reports:
This long-term decline challenges the notion that a return to 2019 performance levels is the ultimate goal, as the data suggests those levels were already part of a downward trend. Today, eighth-grade reading scores on national assessments are at their lowest point since 1990. Compounding the problem, chronic student absenteeism remains a major obstacle to improving learning. Though down from its pandemic peak, 23% of students were chronically absent in the 2024–25 school year, far above the pre-pandemic rate of 15%.
The write up trots out the notion that the better education is enjoyed by those with the most money. Those without these resources and those in the big, plump middle of the bell curve are the folks who cannot make change, navigate a city without a mobile phone map, and read cursive.
Even the one bright spot comes with a caveat:
Nonetheless, the researchers caution that this is far from conclusive evidence that simply adopting “Science of Reading” policies will lead to improvements in reading skills. “There’s no silver bullet,” noted Reardon. “We need more research to understand what specific teacher training, coaching, and reading instruction practices are most effective, and for whom, and under what conditions. And we need the same for math.” The researchers also identified 108 “Districts on the Rise,” school systems of all income levels that are outpacing their peers. “Our hope is that people will learn from these states and districts and use them as models for improving our schools,” Reardon said.
I like my term stupidization. I know you are going to be thrilled with my personal observations:
- Learning requires the parentheses of a stable family and friends who want to learn and contribute to the community.
- Distractions make it very difficult to complete a task to the best of the student’s ability. The harder the task, the greater the need for a distraction free environment.
- School curricula should be anchored in the basics, not trends.
When an educational system cannot produce individuals who cannot read, make change, and engage in life-long learning — it is back to basics time. It is not time to buy every student a Mac Neo.
Net net: Skip jargon like learning recession and use plain, direct words like stupidization. That’s a small step forward in my opinion. Also, knock off the Covid thing. It’s getting long in the tooth.
Stephen E Arnold, May 18, 2026
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