Are you sure we're not conflating memorization with repetition, at least in certain domains? These debates focus a lot on early childhood education and core ski

Are you sure we're not conflating memorization with repetition, at least in certain domains? These debates focus a lot on early childhood education and core skills like math and literacy – but I think for, say, math competencies expected at an 8th-grade level (which these NAEP scores focus on) like ordering fractions or working with linear equations, I'm not sure "memorization" is more applicable than "repetition" (and, in any case, memorization isn't a significant subgoal – e.g. formulae or rules for determining concavity etc. where remembering them isn't comparable to bulk memorization.) You could certainly argue that this is more about foundational skills like reading and writing, but it does limit the scope of how we're thinking about things. (Personal caveat: I was taught elementary school math using a "reform curriculum", so my memory might be faulty.)