(TotalConservative.com) – Reading and math average test scores for 13-year-old students continue to decline, a trend that began almost a decade ago.
Average test scores have fallen since the beginning of the pandemic, according to a newly released National Assessment of Educational Progress report. Comparing test scores from the 2019-2020 school year to test scores from tests administered during the fall of the 2022-2023 school year indicate a 4-point decline in reading scores and 9-point decline in math scores.
Reading scores for students considered to be middle- and high-performing declined 3-4 points, while reading scores for low-performing students declined 6-7 points, according to the report. The largest decline from the 2019-2020 school year however was in the math scores. Low-performing students’ math scores declined by 12-14 points, while math scores for middle- and high-performing students declined 6-8 points.
According to the report there is an increasing gap in math scores between male and female students. Math scores for female students indicated an 11-point decline, while math scores for male students indicated a 7-point decline.
Math scores indicate a widening gap between Black and white students, with a score gap increase to 42 points for the 2022-2023 school year, up from 35 points in the 2019-2020 school year. Math scores declined 6 points for white students and 13 points for Black students.
The report also indicated that since the 2019-2020 school year, the percentage of students who missed more than 5 days of school has doubled.
According to the U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona, the report shows the loss of learning that occurred when schools were closed during the pandemic. Plans are underway to address the loss of learning, according to the Education Department.
However, the decline in scores can be traced back further. In the last decade, average test scores show a 7-point decline in reading scores as well as a 14-point decline in math scores.
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