New federal data - the first comparing academic achievement from before the coronavirus pandemic to now - shows unprecedented drops in math and reading scores and the largest setbacks for students in more than half a century.
"These are some of the largest declines we have observed in a single assessment cycle in 50 years," said Daniel McGrath, the acting associate commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, the Education Department's research arm. "Students in 2022 are performing at a level last seen two decades ago."
Declines in math and reading hardly come as a surprise given the significant academic setbacks that have been widely documented as a result of interrupted learning during the coronavirus pandemic. But the results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress - the first and only report with a nationally representative sample of students - confirms many school leaders' worst fears and highlights how devastating school disruptions have been, particularly for those already the furthest behind.
"During the pandemic, NCES continued and enhanced other data collections on education challenges, and they paint a sobering picture," said NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr. "School shootings, violence, and classroom disruptions are up, as are teacher and staff vacancies, absenteeism, cyberbullying, and students' use of mental health services. This information provides some important context for the results we're seeing from the long-term trend assessment."
Average math scores declined 7 points since 2020, with the lowest performing students posting a 12-point decline compared to the highest-achieving students, who posted just a 3-point decline. Meanwhile, average reading scores for 9-year-olds declined 5 points from 2020 to 2022, with the lowest-performing students posting a 10-point decline compared to the highest achieving students, who posted just a 2-point decline.
Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the results "bring a stark light" to what school leaders, teachers and families experienced over the last two years.
"The pandemic had a significant impact on our children's progress and academic well-being," he said. "This data should remind everyone that we cannot let up in our efforts to accelerate student learning, support their mental health needs, and invest in our educators who are serving students in classrooms every day."
Scores declined for white, Black and Hispanic 9-year-olds in both math and reading between 2020 and 2022, but Black and Hispanic students scored significantly worse in math, including among the highest-performing Black students.
Math scores declined 5 points for white students, 8 points for Hispanic students and 13 points for Black students. Reading scores declined 6 points for white, Black and Hispanic students. In reading, both Black and white lower-performing students declined, while higher-performing students across all racial and ethnic groups showed no change in scores.
Changes in math and reading scores for Asian/Pacific Islander students, American Indian/Alaska Native students and students who were two or more races were not statistically significant, compared to 2020.
Notably, math and reading scores also fell for students in every geographic region - no matter whether schools were faster to reopen for in-person instruction - and every type of school district, be it urban, rural or suburban.
"The results confirm our fears that students have not made adequate academic progress," said former North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue, chairperson of the National Assessment Governing Board. "Fewer 9-year-olds now have the basic reading and math skills they need. This puts their futures - and our nation's - at great risk and should spur us all to action. We can't keep blaming COVID. We need to accelerate their learning."
Later this year, NCES will release a more comprehensive look at student achievement when it releases the so-called Nation's Report Card, which showcases math and reading results for students in grades four and eight from across the country and in 26 urban school districts.
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