Weekly Commentary: Israel Cannot Afford Educational Mediocrity
Dr. Aaron Lerner 14 November 2025

Our scores on international tests have declined.

And that's only the tip of the iceberg.

Since we adopted the policy of automatically advancing students through
school, we find ourselves with a significant number of junior-high students
who are lacking fundamental reading, writing, and math skills.

Since we adopted the policy under which a disruptive student cannot be
removed from a mainstream classroom unless the parents agree - or unless the
child has actually sent someone to the hospital with broken bones - teachers
find themselves struggling to teach their students despite the interference
of children who have no business being in the class.

Since the educational system insists that teachers of all subjects receive
the same compensation and bear the same responsibilities, there is a
critical shortage of science, math, and English teachers.

Since the educational system is top-heavy with supervisors and supervision,
school principals find themselves seriously limited in their ability to
shape and direct their schools to excellence.

Since the red tape is so heavy, the senior management of the Ministry of
Education finds itself facing a self-imposed uphill battle to make any
serious improvement from the top down.

We cannot afford this mediocrity.

"The Israeli economy is like a small speedboat sailing among large ships.
It's easier to change the direction of a nimble speedboat than of a large
ship."
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, 31 March 2009 at the swearing in of his
government

We cannot be nimble with a mediocre educational system.

Not nimble in business.

And not nimble in defense.

Our "edge" in smarts is what brought us to where we are today.

And that "edge" will be more critical than ever in the rapidly developing
world of AI.

A world that could leave the mediocre in the gutter of history.

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Arab-Israeli relations

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