National Reading, Math Scores Plummet

Reading and math scores for 13-year-olds have continued to plummet since the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to national test results released Wednesday.

The results, released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), indicate more roadblocks to the middle schoolers’ success in high school and beyond.

The average scores from October to December of the 2022–23 school year for 13-year-olds declined 4 points in reading and 9 points in mathematics compared to the previous assessment administered during the 2019–20 school year.

For mathematics, it was the largest drop for 13-year-olds seen in 50 years, The Wall Street Journal reported.

“These results show that there are troubling gaps in the basic skills of these students,” NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr said, The Washington Post reported.

Carr added that the new data, “reinforces the fact that recovery [from the pandemic] is going to take some time.”

WSJ.com reported that Carr said, “There are signs of risk for a generation.”

Compared to a decade ago, the average scores declined 7 points in reading and 14 points in mathematics.

“This is more than alarming,” said Carey Wright, former Mississippi state superintendent of education and a member of the National Assessment Governing Board, the Post reported. “Thirteen-year-olds are in high schools, and their futures depend on being able to recover from this.

“We really need to be concerned about what is happening here.”

The average math score (271 of a possible 500) reached its lowest point since 1990. The average reading score (256) fell to its lowest point since 2004.

Kevin J. Dykema, an eighth-grade teacher in Mattawan, Michigan, and president of the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics, said fewer students in his classes have been able to master an understanding of fractions and the basics of pre-algebra since returning to in-class learning in 2021.

“We need to rush to cover all this content that they might have missed during virtual learning,” Dykema said, WSJ.com reported. “We’re going faster than what they can comprehend.”

The data also showed that gaps between high- and low-performing students grew during the pandemic.

Carr said students who were in the fourth and fifth grades when the onset of the pandemic occurred were hit particularly hard because they were acquiring important reading and math skills.

Students who have fallen behind by eighth grade are less likely to succeed in high school and graduate on time. Teachers and researchers say that could lead to lower college enrollment and earning potential.