New PRI book examines the great classroom breakdown that leaves students unprepared for college and careers

Book portraits of parents, students, teachers and politicians who are fighting to improve American schools

SACRAMENTO, California., July 9, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Student test scores show that academic achievement among American schoolchildren in core subjects is at a record low. The nonpartisan Pacific Research Institute released today The Great Classroom Breakdown – a new book that examines the decline in aspirations and willingness to learn in schools across the country and profiles courageous individuals fighting for change so that every student is prepared for college and careers.

The Great Classroom Breakdown is now available at Amazon.com or from your favorite online bookseller.

Watch a short video of Izumi discussing the book Here.

Lance Izumiexecutive director of the PRI Center for Education and author of the book, asks in the book’s introduction: “Why are students across the country performing so poorly in core subjects like reading and math?”

“These reasons,” he writes, “range from schools that prioritize equity and social justice over equal opportunity and meritocracy, to teaching methods and curricula that are not supported by empirical evidence, to teacher training programs that fail to teach prospective teachers what really improves student learning, to bureaucratic compliance with failed educational programs.”

The Great Classroom Breakdown Portraits of students, parents, teachers and tutors, college faculty, and politicians who are witnessing the breakdown of learning in America’s classrooms and fighting to change things for the better. People profiled in the book include:

• A mother who grew up in the small West African country Sierra Leone and who, in the name of equality, has resisted her school district’s efforts to reduce the pressure to perform at her children’s school;
• A mother and former teacher who exposes the deficiencies in her teacher training and the tragic consequences for her students.
• A top engineer at the famous Jet Propulsion Laboratory who fought against the inadequate reading and math curricula at his children’s school; and
• A California State representative, daughter of immigrants from Mexicowho is committed to helping children acquire the basic reading skills they need to succeed.

Through personal stories and data analysis, The Great Classroom Breakdown describes in detail the conflicts and changes taking place in schools across the country.

“In too many places in America,” Izumi writes, “classroom education has broken down, but it can be improved so our children have a better chance at a successful future.”

The Pacific Research Institute (www.pacificresearch.org) advocates for freedom, opportunity, and personal responsibility by advancing free-market ideas. Follow PRI on Facebook, ÞjórsárdenAnd LinkedIn.

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Emeline Bogle
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Source: Pacific Research Institute