One in five U.S. adults are functionally illiterate. Through the years, the average U.S. adult’s reading, math and problem-solving skills have gotten worse. In order to solve the U.S. education crisis, increased pay and benefits must be provided for teachers.

U.S. adults are getting dumber. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, from 2017 to 2023, the number of U.S. adults scoring in the lowest category of literacy increased by 9%, while the number of high-performing adults decreased by 4%. Numeracy skills are decreasing as well, with the number of low-performing U.S. adults increasing by 5%. The U.S.’s adaptive problem-solving skills are below the international average, with 32% of adults not demonstrating understanding and proficiency in problem-solving. 

Without basic skills like reading, math and arguably the most important, problem-solving, Americans are less capable in every facet of life and will easily fall behind in many areas. The average American’s ability to understand politics and their rights is highly dependent on education and the ability to access critical thinking. These rates of proficiency could mean more Americans being easily taken advantage of in economics to politics. In order to understand why these numbers are popping up and how to fix them, the current U.S. education system must be examined.

For students, school can be taxing and annoying, but teachers deal with much more. As reported by the National Education Association (NEA), more than 50% of states in the U.S. have an average salary for teachers lower than the cost of living in their state, and all states’ average starting teacher salary was lower than the cost of living in their state. In order to afford to live, many teachers must get second jobs, on top of everything that comes with teaching. 

From grading, lesson plans, dealing with student behavior, phones, electronics, dealing with the continued effects of the pandemic in classrooms and more, teaching is already extremely stressful, and adding a second job just to scrape by leads to searching for a new career.

According to the NEA, 32% of NEA members are planning to leave teaching earlier than hoped and previously planned, and there is more job-related stress and depression seen and reported in teachers than in the general working population. All of these factors lead to teachers leaving the profession, and the next generation hesitant to pursue it. 

Without teachers and proper support for students, reading, math, problem-solving and critical thinking skills dwindle, as seen in recent years. To reverse this damage, there must be a better teaching environment for educators. It is time for an increased minimum wage for teachers and federal funding for schools. Teachers already deal with so much, looming inflation, second jobs and economic troubles should not be added to their plate.

While the current administration has already made cuts to education support and made plans to end the Department of Education in the name of saving money and benefiting communities, this is the last thing that would help students, teachers and families. Without federal regulation, teacher pay would vary significantly, more than it already does, leading to pay cuts in some areas and even more teachers leaving the field. 

Teachers are essential to education, and education is essential to freedom. How can an American citizen defend themselves against violations of the Constitution or the Bill of Rights without knowing how to read, think critically, or ask questions? They can’t. As the saying goes, knowledge is power, and public education is a lifeline for students all across the nation. Without it, those students grow up to be the one in five who can’t read, or the supporter of a bill that saves some taxpayer money now, but continues a cycle of poor education access that leads to adults who can’t make sense of the world and are easily defrauded of their rights.

There must be an increase in pay and benefits for teachers, as well as federal funding for schools, to give Americans the rights they deserve. Read between the lines, think deeper and don’t take education for granted. America is founded on the idea that power is with the people. It is too easy to watch that power slip away as education access circles the drain. Education and educators are some of the most important people in America, and they must be treated as such.