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Latest National Assessment Shows Lowest Math, Reading Scores In 50 Years

The National Assessment of Educational Progress released its long-term trend assessment Wednesday, showing the largest declines in the more than 50 years the test has been administered.

The latest national assessment of students shows the continued negative effects of the pandemic on academic achievement. The National Assessment of Educational Progress released its long-term trend assessment Wednesday, showing the largest declines in the more than 50 years the test has been administered.

The math and reading assessment of the country’s 13-year-olds echoed recent declines in similar assessments of math, reading, history and civics at the 4th and 8th grade levels after the pandemic.

The long-term trend assessment is the last in the series of what the National Center for Education Statistics is calling pre- and post-pandemic assessments.

Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, said the long-term trend assessment seeks to maintain a relatively stable assessment to compare across years.

“These findings show consecutive declines for long-term trend math and reading,” she said. “However, it is fair to say that the pandemic may have accelerated some of these declines in that these are the largest math declines we’ve ever seen in this data collection.”

Carr said reading scores dropped to levels not seen since the first assessment in 1971.

“While the previous declines were driven by lower performers, these new data show everyone is declining: lower, middle and higher performing students,” she said. “In fact, the lower performing students with our math assessment are dropping at a faster rate than their higher performing counterparts. In reading, the drop has been uniform across the distribution, but the 10th percentile students are now performing lower than their counterparts in 1971.”

The long-term trend assessment also asked students to respond to a survey questionnaire.

Responses showed the percentage of 13-year-olds who said they “never or hardly ever” read for fun has risen over the past decade; about 31 percent of 13-year-olds said they “never or hardly ever” read for fun in 2023, while 22 percent said they “never or hardly ever” read for fun in 2012.

In math, fewer students are taking algebra. While about 34 percent of 13-year-olds in 2012 said they were currently taking algebra, that figure has declined to 24 percent in 2023.

Unlike the reading and math scores reported last fall, which relied on a sample size of more than 200,000 students, the long-term trend assessment results are based on a nationally representative sample of approximately 8,700 students in each subject that does not allow for detailed, state-by-state analysis. This is a similar sample size to the U.S. history and civics assessment results released in May.

Latest National Assessment Reinforces Academic Decline Post-COVID-19

The latest national assessment of academic ability shows a continued decline in student achievement nationwide.

Eighth graders on average scored five points lower on a U.S. History assessment in 2022 than in 2018, and almost 10 points lower than in 2014, according to test results published by the U.S. Department of Education Wednesday.

Known as the nation’s report card, the National Assessment of Educational Proficiency continually assesses what students in the country know.

The results echo declines in reading and math published in the fall.

Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, presented the assessment results. She said history and civics results further highlight educational issues post-COVID-19.

“The assessment isn’t just about the facts, it’s not just about dates and times and people and all those great things that you and I both know that’s on the assessment,” she said. “It’s about taking that information and conducting some critical thinking and some of the evaluative work relevant to that information. And I think this is where we’re seeing some real problems in these results.”

Unlike the reading and math scores reported last fall, which relied on a sample size of more than 200,000 students, the U.S. history and civics scores are based on a much smaller sample size, about 16,000 students, which does not allow for detailed, state by state analysis.

Carr pointed towards the decline between 2014 and 2018 history assessments to indicate that something beyond COVID-19 is impacting student achievement in the subject.

“I think we can all agree that COVID had an impact in both sets of assessments, reading and math, history and civics, but what was going on in U.S. History in particular, started long before COVID,” she said.

Carr also dismissed reports that instructional time for U.S. history and civics had declined significantly, with 90 percent of students assessed reporting their teachers spent three to four hours a week on U.S. history.

“These subjects are not getting squeezed out I think in the way that people sometimes might imagine,” Carr said. “There’s been a bit of a decline, but nonetheless, a lot of instruction is going on in these areas.”

Focus Groups Identify Issues Causing W.Va’s Low NAEP Scores

he Solutions for Success focus groups were initiated in response to the most recent National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) test scores that ranked West Virginia near the bottom of the list. A series of focus groups were held in Morgantown, Wheeling, Charleston, Beckley and Martinsburg.

The Solutions for Success focus groups were initiated in response to the most recent National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) test scores that ranked West Virginia near the bottom of the list.

A series of focus groups were held in Morgantown, Wheeling, Charleston, Beckley and Martinsburg.

Participants in the forum included teachers, parents, students and even a few lawmakers. Their mission: identify areas of critical need to improve educational outcomes in the state.

“We knew that this would be the first step in identifying the greatest strengths and challenges in our public schools,” said American Federation of Teachers-WV President Fred Albert.

He was joined by West Virginia Education Association President Dale Lee at a joint press conference on Wednesday.

Lee said 66 percent of respondents identified the need for more certified educators. He said more than 1,500 classrooms across the state currently operate without a properly certified teacher present and the state is losing educators to bordering states, like Virginia, for higher pay. Public school shortages are across the board and include school bus drivers, kitchen staff and other school personnel.

To resolve the teacher shortage, the focus groups called for an increase in educator pay and more funding for public schools.

“We heard the governor say in the State of the State [address] that he was proposing another pay raise. We saw the bill that moved out of the House Education [Committee] that brought beginning salaries to $44,000 and it gave an increase to our service professionals so there is some movement; now let’s get it across the finish line.”

The second highest area of concern identified by 37 percent of respondents was discipline, a problem that can lead to harassment, bullying and an unsafe environment.

Twenty five percent of focus group participants said they would like to see schools hiring more counselors, therapists and mental health support professionals. In a state where families are impacted heavily by an opioid epidemic, Lee said hiring these support staff would be the first step to help address behavioral problems.

“If we’re hiring these to address the mental and emotional needs of our students, then we can reach out to the parents and guardians and the community, Lee said. “It’s a multi-pronged mission to do this, and if we address all of those then we can make real significant progress.”

Also of high importance: community, parent and student engagement. Lee said programs like Communities in Schools are a good start but would like to see the program expanded to offer parents or guardians an opportunity to engage with educators. He said this will help parents hone skills lost over the years so they can better assist their children.

“Student achievement levels are highest when there’s a coordinated effort between the home and school environment,” Lee said.

Lee conceded that time, resources and funding are needed to make real change.

American Federation of Teachers-WV President Albert said bills in both the House and Senate that address support in early grade classrooms are encouraging. One of them includes Senate Bill 274. Titled the “Third Grade Success Act,” the bill enacts several changes to how literacy is taught from kindergarten through third grade, which is considered a crucial period for lifetime reading skills.

“If we get them early on, I like to say we are putting them in intensive care, to help them become good readers and fluent readers,” Albert said. “There’s an initiative by the state department right now, literacy initiative, that we’re both on the advisory council for. So those bills, I think, are good. They’re going to cost money, but again, it’s an investment in our students and in our future, and I think that will help with student achievement.”

Albert said he would like to see bills introduced to help fourth grade through high school seniors achieve their full potential.

In a follow up online questionnaire, student behavior was listed as one of the biggest obstacles to educational achievement.

Alternative learning placements, tutoring and remediation programs along with increased time for planning and teacher collaboration were raised, as was more time teaching time, smaller class size and less paperwork requirements. Educators also said they would like to see more respect for their profession.