We have a very serious problem with America's education system, and the University of California - San Diego (UCSD) is sounding the alarm.
In a newly released report, UCSD is warning that there is a "steep decline in the academic preparedness" of its freshmen, including an exponential rise in students who require remedial math. At one time, the number of students requiring remedial math was just one percent; that number is 12.5 percent.
NEW: UC San Diego has released a new report documenting a “steep decline in the academic preparedness” of its freshmen.
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) November 11, 2025
The number of entering students needing remedial math has exploded from 1/100 to 1/8.
They’ve had to create a second remedial class covering elementary and… pic.twitter.com/86yKGQN7M2
This means UCSD had to create a class to cover math skills from middle and elementary school as well as one to fill the gaps from high school mathematics.
Today's incoming college freshman would've been an incoming high school freshman during the COVID pandemic, something the report acknowledges.
“This deterioration coincided with the COVID-19 pandemic and its effects on education, the elimination of standardized testing, grade inflation, and the expansion of admissions from under-resourced high schools.” pic.twitter.com/youiwqGQmk
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) November 11, 2025
That is not a coincidence, yet the need for remedial elementary math skills reveals that our public school system is failing students throughout their entire academic career.
Writing skills aren't much better, either.
The report also shows that nearly 1/5 students fail to meeting entry level writing requirements. pic.twitter.com/nrrhCGYloD
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) November 11, 2025
That's 20 percent of students who cannot write at a basic college level.
The report focuses on the decline of math skills in particular.
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) November 11, 2025
They recently tested a group of their students.
Here are the percentages of students who correctly answered questions at each grade level: pic.twitter.com/SO7ny4BwJi
Just 19 percent of students answered eighth-grade math questions correctly.
But pandemic learning loss isn't the only culprit here. A shift away from standardized testing and grade inflation also play a significant role.
Another reason is the elimination of standardized test requirements coupled with high school grade inflation: pic.twitter.com/BuPczCfWN1
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) November 11, 2025
One in four of the students tested at UCSD got this basic math question wrong.
The UCSD math department administered a test to 138 students in a remedial math class, and 25% of them got this question wrong: https://t.co/JnPtiUa6ua pic.twitter.com/gS39XPmSnk
— Steve McGuire (@sfmcguire79) November 12, 2025
The answer, of course, is three.
UCSD is warning that the decline in academic preparedness is straining its ability to do its mission.
"If we take seriously our mission as an engine of social mobility, we must be prepared to support students who have been underserved by their prior schooling," the university wrote. "But our capacity is not limitless. We can only help so many students, and only when the gaps they need to overcome are within reach."
"Admitting large numbers of students who are profoundly underprepared risks harming the very students we hope to support, by setting them up for failure," the statement continued. "It also puts significant strain on faculty who work to maintain rigorous instructional standards."
This report comes as the Left continues to defend the Department of Education as essential to educating America's youth, while President Trump and his administration seek to shut it down and return education decisions to the states and local governments. It's more proof that the Department of Education has not only not improved America's educational standards, but presided over a catastrophic decline in the quality of American education.
Editor's Note: President Trump is fighting to dismantle the Department of Education and ensure America's kids get the education they deserve.
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