According to new data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, the average test scores of 13-year-olds in the United States have dropped in reading and plummeted in math since 2020.
The average score, from tests given last fall, is down 4 points in reading and 9 points in math, compared with tests given in the 2019-2020 school year, and is the lowest in decades. The decline in reading was more pronounced for lower performing students, but decreased in all percentiles.
Math scores were even more disappointing. On a 500-point scale, reductions range from 6 to 8 points for average and high students, to 12 to 14 points for poor students.
The mathematical results also show a widening gap based on gender and race. Scores are down 11 points for girls compared to the 2020 results, compared to a 7-point drop for boys.
Among black students, math scores fell 13 points, while white students dropped 6 points. Compared to the 35-point gap between Black and White students in 2020, the gap has increased to 42 points.
“Planning continues to weigh heavily on students in all grades and subjects,” he said Denise Forte, president and chief executive officer of The Education Trust, a nonprofit advocacy group. “And this is especially true for Black and Latino students, English language learners, and students from low-income backgrounds who have experienced the brunt of the upheaval and uncertainty associated with the pandemic, ”
The latest results are from NAEP Long-term Trend Assessmenttraditionally administered every four years by the National Center for Education Statistics.
In releasing the data, US Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the scores strongly reflect the losses caused by the COVID-19 pandemic disruption, which has in many cases forced schools to close for more than a year. . He said in a statement that the results confirmed predictions that “the pandemic will have a devastating impact on student learning across the country and it will take years of effort and investment to reverse the damage.” harmful.”
While the scores show a decline from pre-pandemic years, the results also suggest that other factors are at play. The decline was even more dramatic when compared with scores a decade ago: The average score dropped by 7 points in reading and 14 points in math.
The Department of Education says plans are underway to address learning disabilities.
“Schools have committed nearly 60 percent of funds in their Rescue America Plan to address lost learning time and accelerate academic recovery,” Cardona said in a statement Wednesday. Those funds can be used for things like hiring more teachers, counselors, and support staff, or increasing tutoring and one-on-one support for students.
