Lowering School Standards Threatens Human Progress

In recent decades, there has been a troubling trend in American education. Policies that remove honors, AP, and advanced math classes are gaining traction, often under the banner of equity. Advocates say these changes will help struggling students, but the reality is the opposite. Watering down education does not lift anyone up. It simply pushes everyone down to the same mediocre level and leaves ambitious students with no room to grow.

Some school districts in California are prime examples. Honors Biology and Honors English are being eliminated from public high schools in places like Palo Alto. The justification is always the same: by “de-laning” classes and putting everyone on the same track, administrators claim they are fighting inequality. In practice, these policies only hurt the very students who rely on public schools to climb the social ladder. The families who can afford it respond by pulling their children out and enrolling them in private schools, hiring tutors, or moving to other districts. Families who cannot afford these options are left with less.

None of this is new. Removing accelerated programs and raising the minimum passing grade does not motivate students who are already disengaged. A poor immigrant family that places a high value on education will see their children succeed regardless of the school’s resources, while a middle-class family with every advantage will watch their children fail if there is no emphasis on discipline or effort at home. Academic achievement is driven by family culture and personal priorities, not by the number of administrators on the payroll or the size of the district’s budget.

There are always students who do not care about school and parents who do nothing to change that. No amount of funding, technology, or after-school programs will alter this fact. Instead of catering to those who have no interest in learning, school systems should focus resources on students who show initiative and want to challenge themselves. Pushing everyone to the lowest common denominator does not solve educational inequality. It locks out the kids who would benefit from rigorous instruction and meaningful academic competition.

Advocates for lower standards often claim they are fighting racism or bias. Some have even argued that expecting minority students to meet high expectations is unfair. This is insulting to students of all backgrounds, and is quite a racist belief. Lowering the bar for everyone sends the message that real achievement is out of reach, and if you do achieve it, it’s because of your race. Policies built on these assumptions only widen the gap between families who care about education and those who do not.

There is also a class of people who benefit from the push for “equity.” These are the credentialists, people who treat degrees as proof of superiority, regardless of actual knowledge or skill. Their world rewards showing up and collecting titles, not mastery or hard work. The new policies make it easier to move students along the conveyor belt, hand out diplomas, and congratulate everyone for participating. This serves administrators and politicians, not students.

Meanwhile, children are set up for failure and praised for mediocrity. In this upside-down system, a person with a degree in journalism or psychology is assumed to be more educated than a self-taught mechanic, HVAC technician, or aircraft worker who actually understands their trade. Instead of recognizing real knowledge, the system creates an illusion of achievement. I have witnessed this myself. People assume that having an Economics degree means I am far smarter, even if I have not demonstrated anything yet. I think their minds go back to the economics classes they were required to take as electives in college and how stressful those classes were. I am not complaining about this—I am intelligent—but I doubt I would get the same response if I said I was a plumber or had studied English. Using a degree as a barometer for intelligence or virtue has become a shortcut for status, but it ignores the real value of knowledge, skill, and character.

As public school standards decline, enrollment in many places is dropping as well. Parents with the means are voting with their feet, leaving behind districts with shrinking populations and rising costs. The only ones who benefit are the growing ranks of administrators, consultants, and bureaucrats who manage to keep their jobs regardless of student outcomes.

Funding requests for public schools are often justified by claims that more money will help struggling students. In reality, much of the new spending goes to salaries, benefits, and construction contracts. The core issue is ignored: the willingness to set high expectations and hold students accountable.

Real equity does not mean everyone gets the same outcome. It means everyone gets the same opportunity. If some students do not make the cut, that is how nature works. Some will always be better, and some will not care at all. The answer is not to drag down those who want to excel. It is to offer challenging programs for those who seek them, and let others follow their own path.

Lowering standards is not compassionate or progressive. It is a threat to human achievement. If this trend continues, the real losers will be the children who could have gone farther if only the system had not decided to hold them back.