How Progressives Ruin Education

Progressive policies, driven by identity politics and diversity quotas, are ruining education by prioritizing ideology over merit, leading to declining test scores, limited opportunities for American students, and social breakdown. This article examines the systemic and cultural failures undermining education, drawing on data and insights from prior analyses.

Racism in Diversity Policies

In the article How Diversity Punishes Asians, Poor Whites and Lots of Others by Russell K. Nieli, the racist nature of diversity policies is clear:

When lower-class Whites are matched with lower-class Blacks and other non-Whites, the degree of the non-White advantage becomes astronomical: lower-class Asian applicants are seven times as likely to be accepted to the competitive private institutions as similarly qualified Whites, lower-class Hispanic applicants eight times as likely, and lower-class Blacks ten times as likely.

Definition of racism: holding differing standards or treating people differently due to race, a product of biology. Examples today include affirmative action and diversity quotas, which value race over merit or individual achievement. Claiming non-Whites can’t be racist due to “lack of power” is irrational nonsense. Attributing characteristics to entire groups, not individuals, is racism. Claiming merit and equal treatment are racist—because Whites and Asians achieve while non-Asian minorities struggle with the same tasks—is equally irrational. It implies non-Whites can’t achieve what Whites can, a racist notion. They can—unequal outcomes are part of the human condition, and denying this is irrational.

Racism isn’t criticism of culture, politics, or behavior. Islamic politics-religion or Latino culture, for example, isn’t a race, nor is Hinduism or Christianity. As discussed in Cultural Excellence, cultural values—not race—drive disparities, with Asians achieving despite low poverty rates (6% in 2022) compared to Hispanics (15%).

World’s 50 Most Violent Cities: A Cultural Link

The Mexican Council for Public Security (2024) lists the 50 most violent cities globally, with 37 in Latin America. Mexico dominates with 11 cities, including Tijuana (1st, 218 homicides per 100,000), Ciudad Juárez (5th), and Culiacán (8th). U.S. cities include St. Louis (13th), Baltimore (20th), Detroit (25th), and New Orleans (30th)—all with significant Black and Hispanic populations. South Africa has three: Cape Town (15th), Durban (40th), and Port Elizabeth (45th). This pattern, also seen in 2014 data, reflects cultural issues, not race, as discussed in Educational Failures in Diversity-Driven Systems, where Baltimore’s educational failures (zero math proficiency in 13 high schools in 2023) correlate with high crime rates (343 murders in 2017).

Neglecting High-Achieving, Low-Income Students

The *New York Times* (March 16, 2013) revealed:

Only 34 percent of high-achieving high school seniors in the bottom fourth of income distribution attended any one of the country’s 238 most selective colleges…despite a stated desire to recruit an economically diverse group of students, [colleges] have largely failed to do so…

Among high-achieving, low-income students, 85% are White or Asian, per a 2023 Thomas B. Fordham Institute study—yet efforts focus on lower-achieving Black and Hispanic students. The *New York Times* noted:

Colleges currently give little or no advantage in the admissions process to low-income students, compared with more affluent students of the same race…

Whites and Asians face exclusion based on race, with differing standards—the essence of racism. Elite colleges fear the end of affirmative action, seeking new excuses to admit less-qualified non-Whites, despite most poor students being White by sheer numbers.

Diversity for Non-Whites Only

In Nieli’s article, “diversity” excludes most Whites:

Most elite universities seem to have little interest in diversifying their student bodies when it comes to the numbers of born-again Christians from the Bible Belt, students from Appalachia and other rural and small-town areas, people who have served in the U.S. military, those who have grown up on farms or ranches, Mormons, Pentecostals, Jehovah’s Witnesses, lower-middle-class Catholics, working-class “White ethnics,” social and political conservatives, wheelchair users, married students, married students with children, or older students first starting out in college after raising children or spending several years in the workforce…

White positions often go to rich legacy students sharing the institution’s ideology, while others go to international students or diversity quotas. This excludes the majority of White Americans, particularly from Appalachia, as I’ve experienced in Southwest Virginia.

ACT Scores Slip Due to Diversity

Progressives claim all cultures are equal, labeling critics as racist, but instead of equipping poor non-White children with tools for success—literacy, work ethic, and cultural assimilation—they promote victimization indoctrination, ensuring failure. Nowhere is this clearer than in test scores.

The 2023 national average ACT composite score was 19.5, the lowest in over 30 years, down from 19.8 in 2022. English scores fell to 18.6 (down 0.4), reading to 20.1 (down 0.3), math to 19.4 (down 0.3), and science to 19.6 (down 0.2). Only 21% of students met all four benchmarks, down from 22% in 2022, with 63% meeting English, 45% reading, 38% math, and 35% science benchmarks. This decline mirrors the math crisis discussed in Why Learning Programming and STEM is Difficult, where only 28% of eighth-graders were NAEP Proficient in math in 2024, a nightmare for STEM preparation.

In Seattle Public Schools, passage rates from 2014–15 to 2016–17 reveal persistent gaps despite progressive policies:

Passage Rates on State Tests (Grades 3–8) in Seattle Public Schools, 2014–15 to 2016–17
Group	Subject	2014–15	2015–16	2016–17
Seattle Public Schools Average	Reading/English Language Arts	63%	67%	67%
Seattle Public Schools Average	Math	60%	64%	64%
White Students	Reading/English Language Arts	79%	83%	84%
White Students	Math	75%	79%	79%
Black, Latino, Native American, and Pacific Islander Students	Reading/English Language Arts	31%	34%	32%
Black, Latino, Native American, and Pacific Islander Students	Math	28%	31%	31%

Despite progressive efforts, the gap between White students and Black, Latino, Native American, and Pacific Islander students widened, with non-White passage rates stagnating around 31% in math and 32% in reading by 2016–17. This reflects a broader failure of diversity-driven education, as seen in California (70% of Black students failed English in 2024) and Baltimore (zero math proficiency in 13 high schools in 2023).

Economic and Social Consequences

Knowledge and intelligence drive success in the new economy, but lower-skilled workers face automation and competition from unskilled immigrants, as discussed in Arizona’s Immigration Enforcement Success. Arizona saved $400 million annually by 2023 by reducing non-English-speaking students, a model for redirecting resources to American students. Meanwhile, visa programs like H-1B displace American STEM graduates—74% of whom can’t find STEM jobs despite an oversupply of talent, as noted in Why Learning Programming and STEM is Difficult. Many students attending four-year colleges shouldn’t be, ending up with worthless degrees and debt.

Identity politics has a long and ugly history under its proper name—fascism… David Horowitz

A Path Forward: Merit Over Ideology

Progressives must abandon identity politics and diversity quotas, which perpetuate failure by prioritizing ideology over merit. Schools should focus on literacy, work ethic, and cultural assimilation, as Asians demonstrate success through these values despite challenges. Immigration enforcement and visa reform can reduce systemic burdens, ensuring American students and graduates have opportunities to succeed. Education must return to Western principles of reason, merit, and individual liberty, as advocated in The Role of Western Culture in Pioneering Modern Science and Technology.