MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Md. – Pop quiz: “What does it say about our public school system when 82% of high school students in a suburban county fail their Algebra I final exams?”

The question, according Forbes columnist Stuart Anderson, has a simple answer: “It implies quite strongly that our public schools are not doing a good job preparing America’s students in science, technology engineering and math (STEM) fields.”

Anderson highlighted the recent test results in Montgomery County, Maryland schools, a district that “contains 11 schools that received gold, silver or bronze medals in the U.S. News Best High Schools rankings,” according to U.S. News & World Report.

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This year, the Algebra I test results were so bad school administrators simply added 15 percentage points to every student’s test and recalculated report cards so they would better reflect last year’s results, which were also horrible, according to Anderson.

“Overall, 3,713 of 4,545 high school student failed the Algebra I exam in the Montgomery County public school system, according to county records,” he wrote.

School officials blamed the bad test scores on a loss of instructional time due to the weather and preparations for state exams. Regardless, nearly 70 percent of students failed the same test last year, so the problem obviously isn’t anything new.

What’s worth noting is that the top union excuses for poor academic performance of students – poverty and socioeconomic conditions – don’t really apply in this well-to-do suburb of Washington D.C.

In other words, even in a well-regarded school district in a relatively affluent area, students are failing to learn the most basic concepts necessary to move on to college and succeed in life. That’s a fact that 15 additional percentage points can’t fix. It’s also a reality that’s reflected in the U.S.’s continued decline in world education rankings.

Simply boosting students’ scores will not help them understand the basic math concepts in Algebra I, but it will help the district save face from this embarrassing episode. It’s another example of public school officials making decisions to improve the perception of their schools, to make themselves look better, with no real impact on student learning.

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It’s a tactic used by school officials across the country and sets students up for failure.

“What are the chances of someone who fails an Algebra I final exam in high school being prepared to enter college and pursue fields that require a strong math background, such as engineering or computer science?” Anderson questioned.

“Perhaps that question will be on next year’s exam.”