There is a new “cliff” in American higher education, and it is not the demographic cliff. Rather, it is the dramatic cliff in math knowledge, skills and abilities. Let me be clear that other discipline deficiencies are found in this new generation of college students, however they are dwarfed by those in math. These have most recently been quantified in a report from the University of California San Diego. The official “Senate-Administration Workgroup on Admissions Final Report” (released November 6, 2025) contains disturbing findings. This widely discussed report revealed that nearly one in eight incoming freshmen couldn’t meet middle school math standards!
