Education Briefs
The Frederick County, Maryland school board approved changes in December that call for teachers to ‘protect gender diverse students’ by using their ‘preferred pronouns.’ This change is on top of the board’s 2017 Policy 443 that allows male students to participate in girls’ sports if they “identify” as female, and includes 
“numerous definitions” for teacher guidance, such as “transgender, intersex, gender-questioning, and gender non-conforming.” Likewise, students are expected to know and use the preferred pronouns of their peers, and may be targeted as bullies if they fail to do so. According to The College Fix, board member Jaime Brennan called for “the complete dissolution of Policy 443, saying students’ and teachers’ religious rights were being violated, and that it makes no sense that parents are to be notified about their child’s gender identity only if the child agrees.” One like-minded colleague, board member Colt Black, warned logically that Policy 443 “could cost the district $40 million in federal funding due to the Trump administration’s executive order on males competing on female sports teams.” But despite Brennan’s and Black’s bold stand, the new policy changes passed. The College Fix noted that the added burden to teachers will consist of each one having to memorize “the gender identities and pronouns” of approximately 200 students.
On top of the high-profile illegal immigrant fraud and politically fomented unrest in his state, which he currently stands accused of playing a part in, Minnesota Governor Tim Walz is also under fire for allowing ‘ghost students to game college applications.’ The Washington Examiner 
reported that last month, Education Secretary Linda McMahon rebuked Walz in a letter for the number of fraudulent so-called “ghost students” in Minnesota who are applying to universities. These applicants are actually “fraudsters” who pose as students in order to receive taxpayer-funded college grants and loans. McMahon explained that the fraudsters employ “artificial intelligence bots” to organize “through international crime rings, and often use the information of deceased individuals.” McMahon wrote: “In Minnesota, 1,834 ghost students were found to have received $12.5 million in taxpayer-funded grants and loans. They collected checks from the federal government, shared a small portion of the money with the college, and pocketed the rest — without attending the college at all.” She scolded Walz: “Shame on you for allowing this to happen and for benefitting from it,” and urged him to “stop defrauding American taxpayers.” She added that the Trump Administration would ensure that Walz will not be able to continue dodging accountability for his actions.
A new study found that Gen Z college freshmen are unable to do basic math. The findings confirm what has already been established through previous reports and published test scores in both math and reading. This study by the University of California-San Diego shows that “over the last five years, college freshmen are, on average, at a fifth-grade math level 
at best.” This is even the case at UC-San Diego, which reportedly accepts only 30% of its applicants. A CafeMom article quoted the New York Post as speculating: “Considering that high school graduation records are higher than ever, it is evident the country is guilty of inflating grades.” American Enterprise Institute senior fellow and education expert, Robert Pondiscio, told the Post: “You can literally declare a kid a graduate ...The incentives are in the system to make ourselves look good. High GPA, high graduation rate, etc. — when it’s a mirage.” Also muddying the waters is the influence of AI, which experts say both offers promise and raises serious concerns, but which was not considered in the study. The Post noted that grade inflation “seems to be catching up with kids. Over two decades, graduation rates increased by more than 10% and rose nationally from 74% in 2007 to 87% in 2020.” These findings bode ill for young people, employers, and American society in general, because it means that more and more high school graduates are entering college without even the most basic skills necessary to succeed.
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