A new survey by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) has shown that American students and their learning capabilities took a big hit due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Reportedly, students saw a big decline in their reading and mathematics scores. NAEP said reading scores had dropped to 1992 levels while four in 10 eighth-grade students failed to have a basic understanding of mathematical concepts.
38 per cent of students scored ‘below basic’ scores in mathematics which was significantly worse than the 2019 figures when it stood at 31 per cent. In the state of Cleveland, the drop was the steepest as fourth-grade reading saw a decline of 16 points.
Moreover, not a single state saw any major improvement in the average test scores of the students.
According to NAEP. the survey was conducted on hundreds of thousands of fourth and eight graders and showed that decades of academic growth were erased and racial disparities widened.
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Notably, this was the first time the data was released since 2019 after the 2021 exams were postponed.
“In NAEP, when we experience a one or two point decline, we’re talking about it as a significant impact on a student’s achievement. In math, we experienced an eight point declinehistoric for this assessment,” said eggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics
Commenting on the drastic drop in the learning capabilities of the kids, Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said it was a sign for schools to redouble their efforts.
“This is a moment of truth for education. How we respond to this will determine not only our recovery, but our nation’s standing in the world,” said Cardona.
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(With inputs from agencies)
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