LONE STAR VALUES Two big challengers to the current edu- cational paradigm hail from Texas: the University of Austin (UATX) and the new School of Civic Leadership at the University of Texas. Both are in the process of complet-
ing the first academic year of their existence and are already drawing the national spotlight for their traditional- values approach to education. Savannah, Georgia-based Ralston
College, meanwhile, welcomed its first student class in the fall of 2022. Its Board of Visitors includes noted con- servatives Heather MacDonald, Roger Kimball, and Jordan Peterson. The upstart institutions join vener-
able schools like Hillsdale College in Michigan and St. John’s College in Maryland, both of which have spent well over a century instilling a thirst for open debate, constitutionally pro- tected free speech, and the “Great Books” curriculum. Higher education experts say the new champions of traditional values reject characterizing the United States as a colonial enterprise, defend the pillars of Western thought, and focus on civics, the “Great Books,” the Enlightenment, and America’s founding documents. They also openly and unapologeti-
cally call out what they see as the rank intellectual bias and distortion com- mon to “elite” higher education. In September, the Trump admin-
istration turbocharged the tradition- al-values movement by launching a new civics education coalition under the purview of Secretary of Education
predictors of success for students who are underrepresented minorities, first generation, or low income.
“In other words,
test scores remain the best indicator for continued performance in college.”
Princeton said its
move stemmed from data analysis. “A review of
five years of data found that academic performance was stronger for students who chose to submit test scores than for students who did not,” Princeton said.
High Schools Flunk Nation’s Report Card
W
hat letter grade would you
give the quality of U.S. education? If you answered “F,” you might be right. This year’s national
educational assessment, conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) in collaboration with the Department of Education, reflects some of the worst marks ever recorded. High school seniors’ reading
comprehension is the worst it’s been since the early 1990s. More high school seniors were deficient in math and reading than in any previous NAEP assessment ever. High school seniors recorded their
lowest scores ever recorded. Only one in three U.S. high school seniors is adequately prepared for college math. Why the failing grades for U.S.
education? Parent-activists say too many school systems are downplaying fundamentals, instead focusing on DEI and other ideologies. — D.P.
Linda McMahon. It boasts over 40 partner organi-
zations, including the America First Policy Institute, Hillsdale College, The Heritage Foundation, and TPUSA. It aims to elevate civics in K-12 edu-
cation, as the administration prepares to recognize the 250th anniversary of America’s founding next year.
FEELING FIRE The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE) recently published its 2026 College Free Speech Rankings, a survey of over 68,000 students at 257 colleges and universities. The results were stunning. Based on the responses, 166 of the
257 schools were awarded an “F” grade for free speech. Only 11 institutions received a C or higher. An all-time high number of students
felt it would be perfectly fine to shout down a speaker or block an entryway to prevent disfavored speech.
An all-time high number of students felt it would be perfectly fine to shout down a speaker or block an entryway to prevent disfavored speech.
One alarming finding in the after-
math of the Charlie Kirk assassination: 34% of the students surveyed saw vio- lence as a perfectly reasonable tactic to shut down campus speech, up from 24% in 2021. The clear target of higher education intolerance: conservative viewpoints. Based on FIRE’s massive survey, 76% of students insist that no one should be allowed to utter the view that Black Lives Matter is a hate group. Another 74% felt any speech sug-
gesting transgender individuals suffer from a mental disorder — a view held by several prominent psychiatrists — should be banned. UATX Dean Benjamin Crocker
tells Newsmax that the University of Austin is open to faculty and students professing any point of view, but with one important caveat: They must be able to offer evidence in defense of their opinion. “The heart of the project is an intel-
lectual one and, dare I say, a moral one that we are unapologetic about,” declares Crocker. “It’s the reopening of the American mind and the reengage- ment of the American soul.” One clear sign of this year’s resur-
gence of traditional values in U.S. high- er education: the Manhattan Institute’s July publication of “The Manhattan Statement on Higher Education.” It called on Trump to draft a new
public contract with U.S. universities, requiring them to “advance truth over ideology, with rigorous standards of academic conduct.”
DECEMBER 2025 | NEWSMAX 17
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