Plunging test scores are a slow-moving catastrophe

Give the test to adults older than 40 first, then politicians or even the reporters that write the stuff and see how many will pass. Hardly anybody retains complex material as they get older unless it is in the field of their interest. Testing mantra has gone too far. I recall that I looked up university tests from decades ago and the tests were pretty much pedantic compared to much of grade 12 stuff now. Look it up and avoid getting suckered into the testing hysteria that has made kids hostages of high expectations of adults. People with interest in any subject can study and learn anything they want these days at any age.

Cheap shot so take it for what it's worth: Maybe the tests measure the wrong things in 2026. Also maybe the tests pre-suppose that the entrenched format of schooling is right.