Back to First Grade. One in eight college students can’t do basic math

Posted For: Rotorblade

A new report from the University of California, San Diego’s Senate–Administration Workgroup on Admissions (SAWG) has uncovered alarming declines in math proficiency among incoming college students.

According to UCSD faculty, the share of first-year students requiring remedial math instruction has surged dramatically over the past five years. In 2020, roughly one in 200 incoming freshmen needed remedial coursework. By 2025, that figure had risen to as many as one in eight—an increase of nearly thirtyfold.

Traditionally, remedial college math courses are intended to address gaps left by high school instruction. However, UCSD instructors found that many students enrolled in these courses lacked even basic mathematical skills. As a result, the university’s Mathematics Department was forced to redesign courses entirely, shifting their focus to elementary and middle school Common Core material, including concepts taught as early as first grade.

The report cites multiple factors contributing to widespread innumeracy among college students. These include disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the elimination of standardized testing requirements, grade inflation, expanded admissions from underresourced high schools, and the growing reliance on artificial intelligence. David Randall, Director of Research at the National Association of Scholars, has identified another contributing issue: insufficient subject-matter expertise among educators themselves, which he argues leaves many teachers unable to effectively teach foundational skills.

Regardless of the underlying causes, SAWG warns that universities are not equipped to reteach large numbers of incoming students elementary-level math.

“Admitting large numbers of students who are profoundly underprepared risks harming the very students we hope to support, by setting them up for failure,” the report stated. “Especially now, when our resources become more constrained, we cannot take on more remedial education than we can responsibly and effectively deliver.”

The problem is not confined to public universities. Even elite institutions such as Harvard have introduced remedial math courses in recent years, following their adoption of test-optional admissions policies during the pandemic. Harvard has since reversed that policy.

For observers familiar with the long-term decline of K–12 public education in the United States, these findings come as little surprise. The Nation’s Report Card (NAEP), which tracks student performance in reading and math nationwide, has documented steady declines for years. Its most recent report shows that only 22 percent of high school seniors are proficient in math.

Despite these outcomes, lack of funding is often cited as the primary cause. However, spending trends challenge that explanation. Pennsylvania, for example, spends more than $37 billion annually on public education—over $22,000 per student—yet 69 percent of eighth graders are not proficient in math, and the same share cannot read at grade level. These results persist despite a $4.1 billion increase in education spending over the past four years. In Illinois, only one in four eleventh graders meets grade-level math standards on the ACT, even after proficiency benchmarks were lowered. Meanwhile, Chicago Public Schools carries nearly $10 billion in debt, amounting to roughly $28,000 per student.

Since its creation, the U.S. Department of Education has spent trillions of dollars, yet the United States now ranks 28th in math proficiency among 37 developed nations.

“UCSD is in some ways the canary in the coal mine,” said Akos Rona-Tas, co-chair of the SAWG and a sociology professor. He explained that the findings reflect a broader, systemic failure to teach children basic academic skills.

Rona-Tas emphasized that the stakes extend beyond college readiness or career prospects. “Teaching math is not just teaching numbers,” he said. “It is also teaching how to think.” By that measure, he added, the education system has failed on both fronts.

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