The shocking rise of Gen Z college freshmen who can’t even do basic math — as grade inflation means graduation rates are rising
Recent research shows that a growing number of Gen Z students are heading into college without the foundational math skills they should have earned in high school, as SAT scores continue to fall. Even more disturbingly, a large portion of these freshmen can’t manage maths that would normally be taught in middle school, meaning their abilities sit at fifth‑grade level or lower.
Experts explain that this decline, coupled with a steady rise in high‑school graduation rates, points to a widespread inflation of grades across the country. “A lot of data in education is subject to manipulation. You can raise graduation rates. You can give a kid a grade he or she may not really have earned,” says Robert Pondiscio, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute. He adds, “You can literally declare a kid a graduate.” “The incentives are in the system to make ourselves look good,” he told The Post, describing the high GPA and graduation rate metrics as a mirage.
UC San Diego’s own figures are striking: in 2020, only 30 incoming freshmen had math skills below high‑school level; by 2025 that number had leapt to 900, according to a study cited by The Atlantic. That represents one in eight new students who fail to meet simple high‑school math benchmarks, despite the university admitting only a 30 % acceptance rate. Out of the 900, an alarming 70 %—roughly one in 12—could not even handle middle‑school mathematics.
“The picture on our campus is truly troubling,” the report noted, warning that the community “is increasingly unprepared for the quantitative and analytical rigour expected at UC San Diego.” The report calls the situation “serious” and demands an immediate institutional response.
The issue is not limited to UC San Diego: many other UC campuses and schools nationwide are recording failing math proficiency, with basic writing and language skills also slipping below high‑school standards. The university attributes these gaps to the COVID‑19 lockdowns, the removal of standardized testing, increased enrolment from historically underserved schools, and widespread grade inflation. The latter practice—boosting students’ grades to satisfy state or federal graduation‑rate targets and secure funding—boomed after the 2002 No Child Left Behind act, which penalised states that failed to improve graduation stats. Analysts note that national graduation rates have risen from 74 % in 2007 to 87 % in 2020, yet average SAT scores have dropped by nearly 100 points over the same span, revealing a stark disconnect between graduation credentials and actual learning.
Pondiscio warns that “You can’t fool the workplace.” “If you graduated high school and didn’t really earn it, that catches up to you in the workplace,” he explained. “This is not the kid’s fault,” he added, “They didn’t ask to be put in that situation.” “Shame on the adults who put that kid in the position of having to use these mechanisms to finish.”
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