Democrats blamed for US pupils being five months behind in maths

TEACHING unions and Democrat politicians have been accused of causing an educational “calamity” that has left millions of primary school children in the United States five months behind in learning.

Across the country many schools, mostly in Democrat-controlled areas, were completely closed for more than a year during the pandemic. Some still have not reopened.

A study by McKinsey, the consulting firm, looked at results from assessments of 1.6million primary school children in 40 states this spring.

It found they were, on average, four months behind in reading and five months behind in maths.

Responding to the report, the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal said: “The McKinsey study doesn’t say it, but teachers’ unions were the main architects of this calamity by first refusing to return to the classroom, then insisting on watered-down schedules.”

Torunn Sinclair, spokesman for the National Republican Congressional Committee, said: “Democrats’ fealty to teachers’ unions has caused irreversible damage to students everywhere, and parents will hold them accountable for that travesty.”

According to the McKinsey report children got “Zoom fatigue” from remote learning.

In schools with a majority of black or Hispanic pupils, children were, on average, six months behind in maths.

The report said there were wider effects on well-being, with over one third of parents now “very or extremely concerned about their children’s mental health”.

It said there may also be a “heavy toll” on the economy. “The fallout from the pandemic threatens to depress this generation’s prospects and constrict their opportunities far into adulthood,” the report continued.

“The ripple effects may undermine their chances of attending college and ultimately finding a fulfilling job that enables them to support a family.”

Children who suffered closed schools through the pandemic could expect to earn $49,000 to $61,000 (£35,300 to £44,000) less over their lifetime.

The potential economic impact for the US was estimated at $128 billion to $188billion every year from 2040, after the school-deprived generation fully entered the workforce.

Included in the report was a survey of 16,370 parents across every state. That survey showed 35 per cent of parents were “very or extremely concerned” about their child’s mental health.

Around 80 per cent of parents were in some way concerned about it.

Parents also said that they had seen an increase in social withdrawal, selfisolation, and irrational fears in their children.