Woke society continues to take aim at the nation’s education systems, insisting that minority students are simply incapable of meeting the academic standards that other students are expected to reach.

 

One example: Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed Senate Bill 744 into law in July. The governor’s deputy communications director said in an email that suspending the reading, writing and math proficiency requirements while the state develops new graduation standards will benefit “Oregon’s Black, Latino, Latina, Latinx, Indigenous, Asian, Pacific Islander, Tribal, and students of color.”

 

This statement implies that minorities are inherently unable to achieve the same level of success as other student populations, solely because of the color of their skin. In addition, according to a 2019 legislative report, Oregon’s public schools were reported to have one of the worst graduation rates in the nation. Lowering standards will not lead to higher student success; it will lead to far worse economic and social outcomes for the very students that this policy seeks to help.

 

Meanwhile, school districts in cities like Philadelphia have lowered educational expectations for student populations, while New York has proposed plans to hold students to different standards in accordance with their race.

 

The fact is, we are doing our children a great disservice by lowering standards. While lowering education standards or inflating grades might mask the problem, educators ultimately set up their students for failure and impede their ability to be a functioning member of society.