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Mediocrity: 40 Ways Government Schools are Failing Today's Students
In 1983, the National Commission on Excellence in Education warned, “The educational foundations of our society are presently being eroded by a rising tide of mediocrity that threatens our very future as a nation and a people.”
Forty years later, are things better or worse? This book shares forty examples of how poorly today’s government schools are doing to show that the “rising tide of mediocrity” has created a tsunami of low expectations and poor performance, suggesting the need for alternative solutions.
Forty years later, are things better or worse? This book shares forty examples of how poorly today’s government schools are doing to show that the “rising tide of mediocrity” has created a tsunami of low expectations and poor performance, suggesting the need for alternative solutions.
283 pages, Paperback
Published April 26, 2023
4 people are currently reading
116 people want to read
About the author
Connor Boyack
93 books256 followersConnor Boyack is founder and president of Libertas Institute, a libertarian think tank in Utah. In that capacity, he has spearheaded important policy reforms dealing with property rights, civil liberties, transparency, surveillance, and education freedom.
Connor is the author of several books, including the new Tuttle Twins series that teaches the principles of liberty to young children. Other books include Latter-day Liberty: A Gospel Approach to Government and Politics and its companion, Latter-day Responsibility: Choosing Liberty through Personal Accountability.
Connor's work has been publicly praised by former Representative Ron Paul, Judge Andrew Napolitano, Tom Woods, and other nationally recognized figures. He is a frequent commentator on current events and has appeared in local, national, and international interviews to publicize and comment on his work.
Connor is the author of several books, including the new Tuttle Twins series that teaches the principles of liberty to young children. Other books include Latter-day Liberty: A Gospel Approach to Government and Politics and its companion, Latter-day Responsibility: Choosing Liberty through Personal Accountability.
Connor's work has been publicly praised by former Representative Ron Paul, Judge Andrew Napolitano, Tom Woods, and other nationally recognized figures. He is a frequent commentator on current events and has appeared in local, national, and international interviews to publicize and comment on his work.
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Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews
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April 26, 2023Just heard about this book and without even reading it, I KNOW it to be the sad, sad truth.
January 27, 2025
I almost didn't read this book because I'm already not a fan of public school but I'm glad I did. It provides layer upon layer of important evidence of the failure of our government school system. It also rebuts the idea that schools just need more money; politicians are constantly throwing money at mediocre schools and it doesn't help. The problems run much deeper than that.
I like how they use the term "government schools." After trying to go to our school district and individual schools with important issues hoping to effect positive change (later start times, banning YouTube on school computers, requiring school counselors to notify parents when they provide counseling to their children, enacting a policy that teachers can't be alone with students...) I got a good taste of just how inefficiently these government schools are run and how parents are seen as unwelcome intruders rather than valued clients. The terms "neighborhood schools" or even "public schools" give the impression that parents and other stakeholders have a meaningful say in what happens there which is not true.
Although the content is great, I didn't love how the book was organized into 40 sections, I think it got a little repetitive.
One of my favorite sections was about the history of public education and the intent of the prominent founders. When I was getting my degree in education I remember learning about these men and how great they were when in reality they were pretty creepy. "Horace Mann ... was an admirer of the schooling system being developed in Prussia... It was an authoritarian, top-down model that emphasized the collective over the individual. ... What emerged was a new kind of school called the 'factory model school,' where both the design of the school building and the processes used within it were modeled after an actual factory. It was a linear system, moving students through standardized information, regulated processes, and grade levels by age--akin to a conveyer belt process in a factory."
"John Dewey ... a secular humanist who theorized an atheist utopia. Dewey stated in his book 'I believe that every teacher should realize the dignity of his calling; that he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of proper social order and the securing of the right social growth. I believe that in this way the teacher always is the prophet of the true God and the usherer in of the true kingdom of God.' Dewey's 'true kingdom of God' was government.
The schooling system that was still being built across the country enabled Dewey and his like-minded reformers to, in his own words, 'build up forces...whose natural effect is to undermine the importance and uniqueness of family life.' Academics were secondary; social transformation was the key, and families stood in the way. The 'importance of public schools' facilitated, for Dewey and his allies, 'the relaxation of older family ties.' The fundamental intent was to weaken a child's family relationships and strengthen his or her relationship to-and dependence upon-the state. As one prominent official in the National Education Association said in 1934, 'The major function of the school is the social orientation of the individual. It must seek to give him understanding of the transition to a new social order.'"
"As of 2018, American taxpayers were compelled to spend an average of $14,400 for every student in elementary and secondary education... Since 1970, 'the inflation-adjusted cost of sending a student all the way through the K-12 system has almost tripled while test scores near the end of high school remain largely unchanged. Put another way, per-pupil spending and achievement are not obviously correlated.'"
"Farran, a researcher who spent a decade studying over a thousand children who spent a decade studying over a thousand children who went to a government prekindergarten, observed results that ran counter to what she expected. By sixth grade, and compared to a control group of children who didn't get into the pre-K schools, the children who began schooling that early were doing worse all around--scoring more poorly on math, reading, and science. They were also more likely to have both learning disorders and disciplinary problems--including serious ones that got them suspended."
Another study in Germany found: "The graduates of academic kindergartens performed better on academic tests in first grade than the others, but the difference subsequently faded, and by fourth grade they were performing worse than the others on every measure in the study. Specifically, they scored more poorly on tests of reading and arithmetic and were less well-adjusted socially and emotionally than the controls."
"Childhood curiosity and unstructured play time is being pushed aside inappropriately, and at ever younger ages, to make way for rigorous academic standards for four- and five-year-olds."
"Educators looked at MRI scans of students with varying math memorization skills and concluded that 'students are better at math when they've developed number sense, or the ability to use numbers flexibly and understand their logic, which comes from relaxed, enjoyable, and exploratory work.' In other words, a focus on conceptual learning over mere memorization provides better foundational support to the student. 'Drilling without understanding is harmful.'"
"One might argue that this dumbing down of government school standards was intentional--after all, why would those in power favor developing critical thinking and intellectual curiosity? People asking questions is an annoyance to the ruler who prefers obedience and ineptitude; it is easier to govern an ignorant population than an educated one. H.L. Mencken once wrote: 'The most erroneous assumption is to the effect that the aim of public education is to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence, and so make them fit to discharge the duties of citizenship in an enlightened and independent manner. Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all; it is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, the breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is the aim of the United States, whatever the pretensions of politicians, pedagogues, and other such mountebanks, and that is its aim everywhere else.'"
"Thus these extremely outdated government schools require all children to learn the same things at the same time in the same way at the same time in the same way at the same age as everyone else. And yet, so few seem to question it.
'It is said that a fish is the last to find water. In other words, awareness of a certain aspect of reality is elusive when there is nothing else to compare it to. This aphorism fitting to the way most of us think about school. Like the air we breathe, we take for granted that schools are organized into classes of students of the same age or with similar abilities, that classes are led by teachers, and that teaching involves telling students what to do and learn.'"
"Government schools don't facilitate deep, meaningful learning about topics that students are individually passionate about--material that connects to their personal lives and the lives of others. ... True education should inspire and elevate; it should enhance the individual instead of encouraging conformity. It should be a process of discovering and developing values that serve as a roadmap through your life, enhanced with the ability to think critically and act entrepreneurially, thereby responding to problems by bringing together resources and knowledge that will produce a solution. A root word of education--educere, in Latin--means to draw out, to lead out. It is a process of awakening and becoming, helping the student to learn who they already are and can become. Instead of filling their minds with knowledge decided by someone else to be essential, it first focuses on the student and help them discover themselves as they discover the world around them."
"Politicians like Warren often claim that they want to help low-income families and minorities and improve the schools to better serve students' needs, yet they fight tooth and nail against any alternative options--competitive forces that would pressure the government's schools into actually improving."
"No Child Left Behind, Common Core, and so many other national initiatives have made it clear that the idea of 'local neighborhood schools' so often touted by teachers' unions and PTA members is a myth. These institutions are 'now merely local outposts of a large, metastasized conglomerate controlled from the top, largely by unelected bureaucrats who elected representatives refuse to control.' This produces massive inefficiencies and waste--in both time and taxpayer treasure--by inhibiting innovation."
"'Gifted children are a precious human-capital resource,' he points out--and a severely underutilized one, since the government school system does not adequately support and challenge these students."
I like how they use the term "government schools." After trying to go to our school district and individual schools with important issues hoping to effect positive change (later start times, banning YouTube on school computers, requiring school counselors to notify parents when they provide counseling to their children, enacting a policy that teachers can't be alone with students...) I got a good taste of just how inefficiently these government schools are run and how parents are seen as unwelcome intruders rather than valued clients. The terms "neighborhood schools" or even "public schools" give the impression that parents and other stakeholders have a meaningful say in what happens there which is not true.
Although the content is great, I didn't love how the book was organized into 40 sections, I think it got a little repetitive.
One of my favorite sections was about the history of public education and the intent of the prominent founders. When I was getting my degree in education I remember learning about these men and how great they were when in reality they were pretty creepy. "Horace Mann ... was an admirer of the schooling system being developed in Prussia... It was an authoritarian, top-down model that emphasized the collective over the individual. ... What emerged was a new kind of school called the 'factory model school,' where both the design of the school building and the processes used within it were modeled after an actual factory. It was a linear system, moving students through standardized information, regulated processes, and grade levels by age--akin to a conveyer belt process in a factory."
"John Dewey ... a secular humanist who theorized an atheist utopia. Dewey stated in his book 'I believe that every teacher should realize the dignity of his calling; that he is a social servant set apart for the maintenance of proper social order and the securing of the right social growth. I believe that in this way the teacher always is the prophet of the true God and the usherer in of the true kingdom of God.' Dewey's 'true kingdom of God' was government.
The schooling system that was still being built across the country enabled Dewey and his like-minded reformers to, in his own words, 'build up forces...whose natural effect is to undermine the importance and uniqueness of family life.' Academics were secondary; social transformation was the key, and families stood in the way. The 'importance of public schools' facilitated, for Dewey and his allies, 'the relaxation of older family ties.' The fundamental intent was to weaken a child's family relationships and strengthen his or her relationship to-and dependence upon-the state. As one prominent official in the National Education Association said in 1934, 'The major function of the school is the social orientation of the individual. It must seek to give him understanding of the transition to a new social order.'"
"As of 2018, American taxpayers were compelled to spend an average of $14,400 for every student in elementary and secondary education... Since 1970, 'the inflation-adjusted cost of sending a student all the way through the K-12 system has almost tripled while test scores near the end of high school remain largely unchanged. Put another way, per-pupil spending and achievement are not obviously correlated.'"
"Farran, a researcher who spent a decade studying over a thousand children who spent a decade studying over a thousand children who went to a government prekindergarten, observed results that ran counter to what she expected. By sixth grade, and compared to a control group of children who didn't get into the pre-K schools, the children who began schooling that early were doing worse all around--scoring more poorly on math, reading, and science. They were also more likely to have both learning disorders and disciplinary problems--including serious ones that got them suspended."
Another study in Germany found: "The graduates of academic kindergartens performed better on academic tests in first grade than the others, but the difference subsequently faded, and by fourth grade they were performing worse than the others on every measure in the study. Specifically, they scored more poorly on tests of reading and arithmetic and were less well-adjusted socially and emotionally than the controls."
"Childhood curiosity and unstructured play time is being pushed aside inappropriately, and at ever younger ages, to make way for rigorous academic standards for four- and five-year-olds."
"Educators looked at MRI scans of students with varying math memorization skills and concluded that 'students are better at math when they've developed number sense, or the ability to use numbers flexibly and understand their logic, which comes from relaxed, enjoyable, and exploratory work.' In other words, a focus on conceptual learning over mere memorization provides better foundational support to the student. 'Drilling without understanding is harmful.'"
"One might argue that this dumbing down of government school standards was intentional--after all, why would those in power favor developing critical thinking and intellectual curiosity? People asking questions is an annoyance to the ruler who prefers obedience and ineptitude; it is easier to govern an ignorant population than an educated one. H.L. Mencken once wrote: 'The most erroneous assumption is to the effect that the aim of public education is to fill the young of the species with knowledge and awaken their intelligence, and so make them fit to discharge the duties of citizenship in an enlightened and independent manner. Nothing could be further from the truth. The aim of public education is not to spread enlightenment at all; it is simply to reduce as many individuals as possible to the same safe level, the breed and train a standardized citizenry, to put down dissent and originality. That is the aim of the United States, whatever the pretensions of politicians, pedagogues, and other such mountebanks, and that is its aim everywhere else.'"
"Thus these extremely outdated government schools require all children to learn the same things at the same time in the same way at the same time in the same way at the same age as everyone else. And yet, so few seem to question it.
'It is said that a fish is the last to find water. In other words, awareness of a certain aspect of reality is elusive when there is nothing else to compare it to. This aphorism fitting to the way most of us think about school. Like the air we breathe, we take for granted that schools are organized into classes of students of the same age or with similar abilities, that classes are led by teachers, and that teaching involves telling students what to do and learn.'"
"Government schools don't facilitate deep, meaningful learning about topics that students are individually passionate about--material that connects to their personal lives and the lives of others. ... True education should inspire and elevate; it should enhance the individual instead of encouraging conformity. It should be a process of discovering and developing values that serve as a roadmap through your life, enhanced with the ability to think critically and act entrepreneurially, thereby responding to problems by bringing together resources and knowledge that will produce a solution. A root word of education--educere, in Latin--means to draw out, to lead out. It is a process of awakening and becoming, helping the student to learn who they already are and can become. Instead of filling their minds with knowledge decided by someone else to be essential, it first focuses on the student and help them discover themselves as they discover the world around them."
"Politicians like Warren often claim that they want to help low-income families and minorities and improve the schools to better serve students' needs, yet they fight tooth and nail against any alternative options--competitive forces that would pressure the government's schools into actually improving."
"No Child Left Behind, Common Core, and so many other national initiatives have made it clear that the idea of 'local neighborhood schools' so often touted by teachers' unions and PTA members is a myth. These institutions are 'now merely local outposts of a large, metastasized conglomerate controlled from the top, largely by unelected bureaucrats who elected representatives refuse to control.' This produces massive inefficiencies and waste--in both time and taxpayer treasure--by inhibiting innovation."
"'Gifted children are a precious human-capital resource,' he points out--and a severely underutilized one, since the government school system does not adequately support and challenge these students."
August 21, 2023
Good book that highlights many of the problems with government schools and the need for school choice before students fall further behind in academic and career outcomes and parents lose opportunities to meet their kids’ unique needs.
May 14, 2023
I want to be straight forward and say this book was excellent and I would recommend it to anyone. That said, I want to say my ONE issue with the book.
This book is VERY negative of rote memorization. For those who may possibly be confused by such terms, let me help-The typical definition of rote memorization is learning something by repetition. This is usually used by kids to memorize alphabets, numbers, poems, spellings, and multiplication tables.
In my own experience with homeschooling, I've read both sides of this particular argument, so I'm going to come in swinging on this topic.
First up, my daughter in third grade was in a dance class that I had to attend with her. As I sat bored, I started talking to another mom, and me being as weird and homeschoolerly (if that isn't a word, it should be) I started asking another mom and daughter what they are doing in their public school. The daughter said she is doing multiplication and I said "Oh so are you working on memorizing your times table?" The mom looked sheepish and said "Her school actively discourages memorizing the tables, but has this new program where they learn it through doing it. I am slightly confused by this because I remember working hard on it, but I guess they have a better system now". This conversation stuck with me years later because I remember her total trust in the system, even when her gut was telling her it was dumb. "Mediocrity" has a part that implies that it is less effective to have kids memorize math facts, and I couldn't disagree more. It doesn't offer clear alternatives, and I have to say the modern school system IS NOT working on rote memorization any more, and implying that it is is false (at least in schools in WA).
As a homeschooler, I have been very influenced by Andrew Pudewa (look him up on YouTube if you would like to be encouraged). His point on rote memorization is the total opposite of "Mediocrity". He encourages memorization of poems, facts etc. The reason why is the more you memorize, the more you can memorize. You want to know what is impressive and persuasive in a debate? Knowing facts right off the top of your head. That doesn't just happens, but takes practice. Some people are naturally blessed with great memory, but most of us have to work hard at it. It starts young and learning to memorize spelling words, math facts and scripture (if you are a christian). Our current digital age is taking this skill away from children. How many phone numbers can you recall off the top of your head? Can you remember your best friends from childhood's numbers still? Can you remember your home number? Now ask a kid now how many numbers they know. It's low. Spell checker, smart phones, internet and all these modern wonders are out sourcing our brains, and the memory part isn't being flexed. PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILDREN WORK ON THIS! Do not believe "Mediocrity" that rote memorization is part of the problem. Back in the day with one room school houses, they would "say their lessons". What could that mean? It meant RECITING memorized things. We all have seen the YouTube videos of guy on the street asking people basic facts about US history and math and people failing miserably. Clearly people aren't being forced to memorize things when they can't name one continent, what country Hawaii is apart of, or what the capital of the US is. The public school isn't over using rote but UNDER using it.
NOW, that was a long rant for a book that was actually very good. Thanks for attending my TED rant on rote.
This book is VERY negative of rote memorization. For those who may possibly be confused by such terms, let me help-The typical definition of rote memorization is learning something by repetition. This is usually used by kids to memorize alphabets, numbers, poems, spellings, and multiplication tables.
In my own experience with homeschooling, I've read both sides of this particular argument, so I'm going to come in swinging on this topic.
First up, my daughter in third grade was in a dance class that I had to attend with her. As I sat bored, I started talking to another mom, and me being as weird and homeschoolerly (if that isn't a word, it should be) I started asking another mom and daughter what they are doing in their public school. The daughter said she is doing multiplication and I said "Oh so are you working on memorizing your times table?" The mom looked sheepish and said "Her school actively discourages memorizing the tables, but has this new program where they learn it through doing it. I am slightly confused by this because I remember working hard on it, but I guess they have a better system now". This conversation stuck with me years later because I remember her total trust in the system, even when her gut was telling her it was dumb. "Mediocrity" has a part that implies that it is less effective to have kids memorize math facts, and I couldn't disagree more. It doesn't offer clear alternatives, and I have to say the modern school system IS NOT working on rote memorization any more, and implying that it is is false (at least in schools in WA).
As a homeschooler, I have been very influenced by Andrew Pudewa (look him up on YouTube if you would like to be encouraged). His point on rote memorization is the total opposite of "Mediocrity". He encourages memorization of poems, facts etc. The reason why is the more you memorize, the more you can memorize. You want to know what is impressive and persuasive in a debate? Knowing facts right off the top of your head. That doesn't just happens, but takes practice. Some people are naturally blessed with great memory, but most of us have to work hard at it. It starts young and learning to memorize spelling words, math facts and scripture (if you are a christian). Our current digital age is taking this skill away from children. How many phone numbers can you recall off the top of your head? Can you remember your best friends from childhood's numbers still? Can you remember your home number? Now ask a kid now how many numbers they know. It's low. Spell checker, smart phones, internet and all these modern wonders are out sourcing our brains, and the memory part isn't being flexed. PLEASE HAVE YOUR CHILDREN WORK ON THIS! Do not believe "Mediocrity" that rote memorization is part of the problem. Back in the day with one room school houses, they would "say their lessons". What could that mean? It meant RECITING memorized things. We all have seen the YouTube videos of guy on the street asking people basic facts about US history and math and people failing miserably. Clearly people aren't being forced to memorize things when they can't name one continent, what country Hawaii is apart of, or what the capital of the US is. The public school isn't over using rote but UNDER using it.
NOW, that was a long rant for a book that was actually very good. Thanks for attending my TED rant on rote.
August 16, 2025
Very very enlightening and makes sense why our society is so messed up. Money is not a solution to fixing the issue of public schools. The history behind the model of public schools is so out of date and lacks coherence with modern times. Actually boggles my brain.
“it is easier to govern an ignorant population than an educated one”
“Albert Einstein once wrote that it is "nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of in-quiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimula-tion, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wreck and ruin without fail. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty."
“it is easier to govern an ignorant population than an educated one”
“Albert Einstein once wrote that it is "nothing short of a miracle that the modern methods of instruction have not yet entirely strangled the holy curiosity of in-quiry; for this delicate little plant, aside from stimula-tion, stands mainly in need of freedom; without this it goes to wreck and ruin without fail. It is a very grave mistake to think that the enjoyment of seeing and searching can be promoted by means of coercion and a sense of duty."
March 4, 2025
A good book about what schools are doing.
September 18, 2025
Just what the title says with lots of evidence. The stats are not in the governments favor. Well written, quick and easy read.
June 30, 2023
This book was not a fun read, but necessary to consider the sad reality of how low performing, political and corrupt the government school system has become. I thought the authors thoroughly explained 40 examples contributing to poorly performing government system and I highly recommend anyone that sends their children to public schools read this book, or anyone that cares how their tax dollars are being allocated. Understanding the monopoly public schools maintain and why, the massive increase in over paid administrators while class sizes balloon and teacher shortages persist, how and why the NEA began, the tech businesses profiting at the expense of poor curriculum and the blatant misrepresentation of children's comprehension are among a few of the dire topics covered. And yes, highly rated schools fit this bill, too! Our children deserve better. I hope more parents demand changes or simply pull their kids out of this system.
Displaying 1 - 8 of 8 reviews