National Review
Elementary school students’ math and reading scores plummeted to the lowest level in decades amid the school shutdowns implemented in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, national test results released Thursday show. In math, the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which has dubbed itself the “nation’s report card,” reported a first ever score drop among nine-year-olds since it was first administered in 1973. Their reading scores dropped by the largest margin since 1990, the New York Times reported, indicating a serious setback for literacy acquisition. The assessment also measured the window between 2020, when Covid-19 erupted, and 2022. Average scores for nine-year-old students in 2022 declined five points in reading and seven points in mathematics compared to 2020.
