The other day, I was teaching a general physics (algebra-based) lab, and the students needed to measure the length of an object using a meter stick. One group put one end of the object at the 1 cm mark, and the other end was at the 5 cm mark. Then, they reported a length of 5 cm. I told them the measurement was wrong, but they were like, “What? It is right at 5!”
Then, they were supposed to convert their measured length into meters. Having taught the lab a few times, I knew that I shouldn’t have high hopes and expect them to know how to convert from cm to m, so I wrote down 1 m = 100 cm on the blackboard. It didn’t help. The majority of the class were still struggling with the unit conversion.
In the same lab, the students were asked to calculate relative/absolute uncertainties. A formula was provided:
In one of the lab exercise questions, a relative uncertainty was given, and then they were asked to find the absolute uncertainty. A student anxiously raised their hand: “Dr. Ma, how am I supposed to find the absolute uncertainty? There is no formula!” My explanation that it was a simple rearrangement of the given formula was met with a shrug and the admission, “Yeah, I’m not really good at math.”
As I said, I have taught the class multiple times and I know what to expect. Still, from time to time, as I walk around and help them, I ask myself, “Am I really teaching at a university?” I know they are not physics majors and probably have little interest in physics, and as the student said, they are not exactly good at math either. However, you don’t need to be a physics nerd to convert simple units, and you don’t need to be good at math to do a simple equation rearrangement. In fact, such basic skills have been introduced (many times) in K-12 and should have been mastered long before college.
Recently, Governor Evers announced his 2025-27 Executive Budget, which includes billions of additional investments in K-12 education. I have huge respect for Gov. Evers and I support many of his initiatives, but this time I started to wonder: would additional investment solve our problems in K-12 education?
In fact, the United States is known for its significant investment in education, spending more per student than many other countries. In 2019, the U.S. spent approximately $15,500 per full-time-equivalent (FTE) student on elementary and secondary education, which is 38% higher than the average of OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) member countries [1]. However, when it comes to student performance, the U.S. lags far behind. Apparently, funding levels do not correlate with student learning outcomes. So, what’s the point of providing additional funding if the problem is not the lack of funding?
Then what is the problem with our K-12 education? Why do so many students entering college lack even the most rudimentary physics and math skills? To me, it really boils down to two simple reasons.
First, there is a complete lack of student accountability in K-12. In the example of converting m to cm, it is a topic discussed starting in elementary school. Anyone paying the slightest attention should have already known that by the time they show up in a college classroom. Unfortunately, many choose not to learn repeatedly. Yes, they are kids, and they make irresponsible decisions, which is understandable. However, if we keep sending the same signal that nothing would happen if they behave irresponsibly, then why will they ever change their behavior? If they can still graduate from high school and go to college (and in most cases graduate with a college degree!) without learning, why will they even bother with learning?
Second, academic excellence is never a priority culturally. People are serious about sports, prom, or simply being “funny”, but not so much about academics. Education, especially K-12, is a joint effort between schools and families. If parents do not emphasize the importance of academics, it becomes challenging for educators to instill these values in students.
Unless we implement rigorous standards and accountability measures to ensure students are held responsible for their learning, and unless parents are on board with such efforts, K-12 education will not improve regardless of how much funding we provide.
[1] National Center for Education Statistics. (2023). Education Expenditures by Country. Condition of Education. U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 03/15/25 from https://nces.ed.gov/programs/coe/indicator/cmd).
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