America’s report card delivers a failing grade
Image: Ralf Geithe
America’s latest report card is in—and let’s just say, nobody’s putting this one on the fridge.
According to new results from a congressionally mandated exam widely regarded as America’s gold standard, teen students across the US have fallen even further behind in the years following the Covid pandemic.
The test scores from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) are the first of their kind to be released since 2019.
What they found: All three categories covered under the latest NAEP graded out poorly in 2024.
- 8th-grade science: 38% of students scored below “basic,” meaning they likely can’t remember fundamental facts like reproduction being essential for population survival, or that plants need light to grow. That’s the highest such figure since 2005.
- 12th-grade reading: The overall average score stood at its lowest level since at least 1992, with 32% of students lacking basic reading skills—meaning they probably couldn’t determine the purpose of a political speech, or identify a story character’s motives.
- 12th-grade math: Nearly half of students (45%) scored below the basic level and probably haven’t mastered skills like using percentages to solve real-world problems, marking the highest level since at least 2005.
Diagnosis unknown
While the pandemic has played a large role in falling test scores across the US in recent years, analysts say the issue is part of a bigger trend in education that can’t be solely blamed on Covid-related disruptions like school closures and higher absenteeism.
- They cite other potential underlying factors like increased screen time, and shortened attention spans among kids.
- Additionally, the dip in reading scores has appeared alongside a recent nationwide shift in how English language arts is taught in schools, with more emphasis placed on short texts or book excerpts, and less on reading full-length novels or writing longer essays.
And it’s not just kids: A recent paper from researcher Nat Malkus indicates performance declines have also been recorded in tests of adults’ skills, suggesting the problem could lie outside the classroom. In particular, Malkus cites the unprecedented amount of screen time for both children and adults in recent years.
Looking ahead…Studies have established a relationship between a student’s test scores and their later earnings/economic activity, implying that a decline in academic performance could lead to the US economy losing trillions of dollars over time.
📊 Flash poll (long-form): Calling all 25,000+ classrooms using the DONUT: What do you think is needed to get America’s students back on track? The most thoughtful answers will be featured in tomorrow’s newsletter.
See a 360° view of what pundits are saying →
Sprinkles from the Left
- Some commentators argue that the rise of smartphones—and, in particular, the advent of social media platforms targeting youth—is the only sensible candidate to blame for a recent decline in American and global test scores that emerged in the first half of the 2010s.
- Others contend that the temptation to lay blame for low test scores solely on schools is misguided, and instead the focus should be on evidence-based guidance for parents to teach their kids, since they’re who must build the foundation for children’s learning.
- “Student Test Scores Keep Falling. What’s Really to Blame?” –Martin R. West, Education Week
- “Don't Just Blame Schools for Students' Falling Test Scores” –Susan E. Mayer and Ariel Kalil, US News & World Report
- “Parents Don’t Know It but K-12 Students Are Falling Into ‘the Honesty Gap’” –Jessica Grose, NY Times
Sprinkles from the Right
- Some commentators argue that lower test scores can be mostly attributed to a combination of the recent lowering of academic standards for students, worsening child behavior, more screen/social media time, and increased absenteeism.
- Others contend that research has conclusively proven how to get US test scores soaring—if we can get the education “stakeholders” like teachers-unions and other special interests who prioritize everything but getting the kids to learn out of the way.
- “Another K-12 Education Disaster” –WSJ Editorial Board
- “America’s kids keep losing ground in math and reading — though we know EXACTLY what to do” –NY Post Editorial Board
- “5 takeaways from another round of disappointing NAEP results” –Naaz Modan, K-12 Dive
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