Recent data released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) reveals alarming signs of educational risk and setbacks in student achievement and well-being, NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr said in a press release.
“The ‘green shoots’ of academic recovery that we had hoped to see have not materialized, as we continue to see worrisome signs about student achievement and well-being more than two years after most students returned for in-person learning,” said Carr. “There are signs of risk for a generation of learners in the data we are releasing today and have released over the past year. We are observing steep drops in achievement, troubling shifts in reading habits and other factors that affect achievement and rising mental health challenges alongside alarming changes in school climate," she said.
"The mathematics decline for 13-year-olds was the single largest decline we have observed in the past half a century. The mathematics score for the lowest-performing students has returned to levels last seen in the 1970s, and the reading score for our lowest-performing students was actually lower than it was the very first year these data were collected, in 1971," she said.
The NCES administered the NAEP long-term trend assessments to 13-year-old students in the 2022–23 school year. The results revealed a 4-point decrease in reading and a 9-point decrease in mathematics compared to the previous assessment in 2019–20, with the largest drop in math scores in 50 years.
Mental health challenges and changes in school climate have worsened, the report said.
Student attendance percentage has also declined, the report said, with a doubling in the percentage of students missing five or more days of school monthly since 2020, and only 14% reporting reading for enjoyment daily. While the percentage of students taking algebra has slightly decreased compared to a decade ago, there has been no change since 2020, with higher-performing students more likely to take algebra, the report said
The U.S. Department of Education is intensifying its efforts to combat educational disparities and reverse the declining academic performance of students, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said in a press release.
“At the Department of Education, we continue to offer technical assistance, issue guidance, and hold convenings focused on the specific strategies included in our Raise the Bar: Lead the World Plan for improving academic performance and tackling disparities in educational opportunities and outcomes. More action is needed at every level to reverse decades of educational neglect and to Raise the Bar for all students,” Cardona said.
"Schools have committed nearly 60 percent of their American Rescue Plan funds to address lost learning time and accelerate academic recovery by hiring more teachers, counselors, and support staff, providing more tutoring and one-on-one support to students, and extending learning time through high-quality afterschool and summer learning programs," he said.
“While this latest data reminds us how far we still need to go, I’m encouraged that the historic investments and resources provided by the American Rescue Plan and the Department of Education are beginning to show positive results, with several states returning to pre-pandemic levels of achievement on their state math and literacy assessments, as well as promising results for the U.S. on a recent international reading assessment, Cardona said.
