The ACT and the SAT have long been considered the gold standard of tests for colleges to look at when considering prospective students. Though these tests do change with the times, they are not getting harder. Sadly, students who took the ACT this year did not achieve. In fact, according to Axios, test scores have fallen to their lowest point in 32 years (since 1991).

The average score for this year’s hopeful graduate was 19.5 out of 36. This indicates that students aren’t even meeting the college readiness benchmarks in most or all of the academic areas tested. Most colleges and universities are looking for at least an average score of 21, private institutions closer to a 26, and elite institutions a 32-36.

This drastic drop in ACT performance is yet another indicator that our students are not being educated for success. In recent years, we have seen a pointed loss in math proficiency, reading, and overall standardized test scores for all ages. Instead of taking responsibility, schools and administrators are blaming it on COVID-19.

They are only partially right. Public schools did our children a great disservice when they decided to shut their doors during the pandemic and foolishly turn to online learning as a “suitable” alternative to in-person. Children’s mental health declined, and even upon returning, the learning loss experienced by these students seems like an insurmountable slog.

However, notice the powers that be don’t blame their policies that led to the learning loss; they blame the virus, as if the virus made all the decisions, and the likes of Randi Weingarten in collusion with the CDC did not.

On the other hand, this decline in our students’ academic performance started long before the pandemic shutdowns. The story of the downward spiral in our public education system is a complicated one that shifts with the political winds and cultural fads of the zeitgeist. Our particular cultural moment is by far the most confused and confusing. And the leftists who run the institutions — such as our public schools — are happy to put academics last and social emotional agendas, anti-racism training, and gender ideology front and center.

Ultimately, however, this freakout over falling college admissions test scores is probably a waste of energy. Many universities are opting to sidestep the need for ACT and SAT scores in their admissions processes in the name of making college more “equitable” for everyone. This is not a good strategy.

For the students, it does them a disservice by thrusting them into the rigors of college academia before they are academically ready. They are going to struggle and ultimately end up leaving the major they started with and opting for a fluff major like gender studies. These students are paying for this education — which they aren’t ready for — through the nose. It is a disservice to the colleges and universities because they have to dumb down their content to suit the academic needs of their incoming student body. In other words, finishing a high school teacher’s job.

Worst of all is that these student are being denied something truly beautiful: a love of learning and the great satisfaction when they achieve their own goals fair and square. The majority of these students are going to be put into the hamster wheel of lower standards, not able to be challenged, because they are perpetually behind. It truly is a shame.