Since the Covid-19 pandemic, children in America have been struggling with their education, specifically with reading and math. According to the latest results of a national exam, their skills in these subjects are continuing to decline.
According to the results of a national exam known as the nation’s report card, children in the US are struggling with their reading skills and making little progress in math. These results likely reflect the struggle kids in America have been having since the Covid-19 pandemic.
School closures from the pandemic, mental health struggles among America’s youth, and high rates of chronic absenteeism were cited by CNN as some of the biggest reasons kids are continuing to struggle in school. There are increases on both ends, meaning higher-performing students are continuing to progress while the lower-performing students are regressing.
The exam is called the National Assessment of Educational Progress and is given every two years to a sample of children across the country. This assessment is considered one of the best representations of academic progress of the US school system.
The most recent examination was given in the beginning of 2024 throughout every state, and it tested students from fourth to eighth grade on math and reading.
“The news is not good,” said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees the assessment.
“We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic.”
There were some improvements shown in the recent exam, such as an improvement in fourth grade math scores with average scores increasing by 2 points on a scale of 500. While the average score is still 3 points lower than the 2019 pre-pandemic average, it is an improvement.
Some states and districts made advances as well. CNN reported that in Washington, D.C., the average score for math increased by 10 points.
However, for the most part American schools haven’t been progressing. Average math scores for eighth graders remained the same from 2022 with reading scores falling by 2 points. One-third of the eighth graders scored below the “basic level” in reading.
Students are considered to be scoring below the basic level if they’re missing fundamental skills.
The biggest takeaway that officials took from the recent results is just how big of a divide there is between the highest performing students and the lowest performing students. While the highest scores showed a major increase from the previous exam results, the lowest performing students are scoring even lower, showing that they’re falling further behind.
“We are deeply concerned about our low-performing students,” said Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board.
“For a decade, these students have been on the decline. They need our urgent attention and our best effort.”
Carr said that while the pandemic can be blamed for these results, it’s no longer the sole reason US students are falling behind, and that America’s education system is facing some “complex challenges.”
A survey that was taken alongside the exam showed that less students are reading for enjoyment, likely leading to the low reading scores, and students who are often absent from class are struggling the most.
“The data is clear, students who don’t come to school are not improving.”
CNN reported that some studies showed that longer school closures caused by the pandemic led to bigger academic setbacks in certain areas. Carr stated that the new results don’t show a “direct link” to the reasoning, but obviously students will always do better when they’re in school.
Florida and Arizona saw reading scores fall in the recent exam, and they were some of the first states to reopen the schools during the pandemic. Los Angeles and New York City had longer closures and saw math scores increase, so the data isn’t always as directly connected.
“The success of big urban districts — 14 of which saw notable improvement in fourth-grade math when the nation as a whole saw only minor gains — can be credited to academic recovery efforts funded by federal pandemic relief,” said Ray Hart, executive director of the Council of Great City Schools.
“Investing in efforts like intensive tutoring programs and curriculum updates is really proving to make a difference,” he said.
“I would not say that hope is lost, and I would not say that we cannot turn this around. It’s been demonstrated that we can,” Carr said.
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.
