US students' reading, math scores lowest in decades

The mathematics and reading abilities of 13-year-olds in the United States today are the poorest in decades, according to a report released on Wednesday.

The last time math performance was this low for 13-year-olds was in 1990. In reading, it was in 2004, according to data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, dubbed "the nation's report card".

The lowest-performing students experienced a larger decline. For them, math scores have regressed to levels in 1978, and reading scores have declined to levels seen before 1971, according to the NAEP.

The National Center for Education Statistics, or NCES, the statistical center of the US Department of Education, collected the NAEP's new data from October to December of the 2022-23 school year. The assessments were made for about 8,700 students at about 460 schools nationwide.

The 13-year-olds scored an average of 256 out of 500 in reading, and 271 out of 500 in math, down from average scores of 260 in reading and 280 in math three years ago.

The average scores for 13-year-old students declined by four points in reading and nine points in mathematics compared to the previous academic year, the test results revealed. Compared to a decade ago, there has been a decline of 7 points in average reading scores and 14 points in average mathematics scores.

The latest data underscore the ongoing setbacks for US students caused by disruptions of the COVID-19 pandemic, which included remote learning, and show no signs of academic recovery.

More than two years after students went back to in-person study, "we continue to see worrisome signs about student achievement and well-being", NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr said in a news release.

"The 'green shoots' of academic recovery that we had hoped to see have not materialized," she said.

National challenge

"This is a huge-scale challenge that faces the nation."

While scores declined across all racial and ethnic groups among both male and female students, as well as in urban, suburban and rural areas, the lowest-performing students experienced particularly significant decreases.

The most significant drops were observed among Native American students, who experienced a decline of 20 points, followed by black students with a decline of 13 points. White students had a decline of six points, while Asian students maintained their scores.

Fewer students than ever say they are reading for fun every day, the report said. About 14 percent of students reported engaging in daily reading for fun, down from 27 percent reported in 2012. And the proportion of students who claimed to never or rarely read for fun increased to almost one-third, up from 22 percent in 2012.

Students' scores have been declining before the pandemic and were further exacerbated during that period.

The federal government in 2021 released historic sums of pandemic funding to the nation's schools, allowing many to expand tutoring, summer classes and other efforts.

The report also revealed that students missing five or more days of school monthly have doubled since 2020. Students with fewer missed school days generally had higher average scores than students with more missed school days.