Employers are finding it difficult to fill professional service jobs and many companies are blaming remote learning for many of the shortcomings because of the lack of real-world training. 

The Wall Street Journal, citing the U.S. Labor Department, reported that the productivity in the country has fallen for the last five quarters, which is the “longest contraction since at least 1948.”

David Cox, the CEO of the National Council of Examiners for Engineering and Surveying, told the paper that scores fell by about 10 percent for the 40,000 people who took the Fundamentals of Engineering exam. He said the result means fewer engineers in the workplace and a lower degree of competency. 

The paper also spoke to Roman Devengenzo, an engineer who has built technology for NASA and Google, who said he worked with a newly hired mechanical engineer who couldn’t make a simple aluminum part that is usually mastered by the second year of college.

“You learn by doing,” he said. “These kids in school during the pandemic, all they’ve done is work on computers.”

NWEA, a research organization, reported that standardized tests that were administered to about 3.5 million students showed slower-than-average growth in math and reading comprehension, according to the paper.

The average student in the U.S. will require about four additional months of schooling to catch up in reading, and about five months in math. Children in grades six through eight are testing the worst and are considered the furthest behind in their studies—especially reading.

The paper said even with lower standards, scores on college admissions exams fell to the lowest level in 30 years. Verbal scores for men younger than 25 dropped by 11 percent, according to Criteria Corp’s Basic Skills Test. The paper said the biggest drop was in communication skills and reading comprehension. 

TRENDPOST: Reports on U.S. school children still suffering from the mandates imposed by power-hungry maniacs in a government near you should surprise nobody and certainly not devoted readers of this magazine. 

The COVID-19 lockdowns were a catastrophe for young people and not one politician will have to answer why locking children out of the classroom was the logical solution to prevent the spread of a virus that was only marginally dangerous to the oldest and sickest among us. (See “AS FORECAST, COVID LOCKDOWNS LEFT KIDS FAT AND DUMB” 27 Jun 2023, “COVID-19 FALLOUT: KIDS HAVING TROUBLE SPEAKING THANKS TO LOCKDOWNS” 23 May 2023, “COVID-19 LOCKDOWNS KEEP KILLING: DRUG OVERDOSE DEATHS HIT NEW HIGH IN 2022” 23 May 2023, and “COVID-19 FALLOUT: SUICIDE RATES IN U.S. JUMP FOR FIRST TIME IN YEARS AMID LOCKDOWNS” 18 Apr 2023.)