News & Brews September 10, 2025
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12th-grade math & reading scores plunge to new low
According to latest results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, “American high-school seniors’ scores on major math and reading tests fell to their lowest levels on record,” the Wall Street Journal reports. “Twelfth-graders’ average math score was the worst since the current test began in 2005, and reading was below any point since that assessment started in 1992. The share of 12th-graders who were proficient slid by 2 percentage points between 2019 and 2024—to 35% in reading and 22% in math.” And lest we rush to blame COVID, the declines began before the pandemic. However, “U.S. studies have found that schools that were closed for in-person instruction for longer during the pandemic tended to experience larger learning declines.”
Philly SD begs for money, but spent on this?
When you claim you’re cash-strapped, every dollar spent deserves scrutiny. Well, Broad + Liberty reports that the School District of Philadelphia spent more than $300,000 “for several hundred of its employees to attend a union conference in March.” About $14,500 of this went to dozens of hotel rooms, even though the conference was in Philly (ummm). “At a minimum, the hotel expenses would seem to conflict with part of the district’s travel policies, one of which urges employees to attend conferences by virtual means, seemingly with expenses in mind.” Is $300K a lot compared with the district’s total budget? No. But as GOP state Rep. Martina White of Philadelphia stated, “Taxpayers must have accountability for every dollar.”
Shapiro’s ‘moderate’ veneer hides far-left operative
A few weeks ago, the Philadelphia Inquirer ran an op-ed written by a Democrat operative and titled, “Underneath Stacy Garrity’s veneer of apolitical moderation is a far-right operative.” The following day, we submitted an op-ed to the Inquirer by our president and CEO, Matt Brouillette, positing that underneath Gov. Josh Shapiro’s moderate veneer lies a far-Left operative. Well, the Inky rejected Matt’s piece almost faster than you can say, “The Inquirer is a far-left hack job.” But not to worry! You can read Matt’s piece in the Delaware Valley Journal, which offered to do what the Left-wing Inquirer refused to do.
How Pa. colleges rank on free speech
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) released its annual College Free Speech Rankings yesterday, and it includes fifteen colleges in Pennsylvania. In nothing to brag about, our average grade was “F,” which is the same as the national average. “Gettysburg College ranks 91 overall and is the top-ranked school in the state. Carnegie Mellon University and Penn State–Main Campus follow closely at 98 and 109, respectively. All three schools hold ‘yellow light’ ratings in FIRE’s Spotlight database, meaning their written policies contain at least one provision that threatens student expression.” Meanwhile, “Four Pennsylvania schools — Drexel, Lafayette, Villanova, and Haverford — hold ‘red light’ ratings, meaning they maintain at least one policy that clearly and substantially restricts protected expression.”
Who benefits most from automatic voter registration?
The Erie Times-News reports that per data provided from the Pa. Department of State, “In the nearly two years since automatic voter registration took effect, Republicans have fared better than Democrats with the method.” Specifically, “Some 92,707 new voters registered with the GOP between Sept. 19, 2023, when the automatic registration process kicked in, through Sept. 1, compared to 87,926 Democrats.” However, “More than 100,538 voters have chosen political independence or a minor third party through automatic voter registration in Pennsylvania, through Sept. 1.”