Report: US Math, Reading Scores Plummet During Pandemic

Facts

• According to a National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) report released on Thur., the COVID pandemic contributed to the largest drop in reading and math scores among 9-year-olds in more than 30 years.
• NAEP — which began tracking student achievement in the 1970s — is known to be the gold standard in testing.
• The report shows that average math scores in 2022 decreased by seven points compared to 2020, while average reading scores dropped by five points.
• US Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona attributes the drop in scores to the lack of in-person learning due to the pandemic, and says the scores are alarming but not surprising.
• Some of the biggest drops were seen in Black and Hispanic students, with a decrease of 13 and eight points in math respectively. A greater disparity was also seen among low-income students. Researchers accredit the discrepancy partly due to their schools continuing remote learning for longer.
• Cardona says there needs to now be more focus on in-person learning to address what he believes is an education crisis in the US.

Sources: New York Times, Nations Report Card, CNN, and Washington Post.

Narratives

• Democratic narrative, as provided by Daily Kos. While the overall report is alarming, the most concerning part is the discrepancy in scores among minorities. The latest data is further evidence of an ever-increasing racial gap in education that will likely extend throughout these students’ academic careers and will have long-lasting effects. Something needs to be done.
• Republican narrative as provided by FOX News. This recent report shows how lockdowns and school closures set back millions of American students, and parents should be outraged. The Biden admin. overrode common practice at the command of intransigent teachers’ unions, and students are now paying the price.
• Cynical narrative, as provided by The Washington Post. Public education has been declining for quite some time. Scores have been down while violence in schools has been increasing, and remote learning due to the pandemic was the nail in the coffin. All of these issues had a hand in what is now a struggling education system that may not rebound for years to come.