Headline Roundup • October 24th, 2022
Test Scores Fell Nationwide Amid COVID-19 Pandemic, School Closures
Summary from the AllSides News Team
U.S. schools recorded nationwide drops in reading scores and the largest-ever drop in math scores this year, with fourth- and eighth-grade students in nearly every state showing notable declines, according to new National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) data.
Key Quotes: The commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the Education Department, said that "In NAEP, when we experience a 1- or 2-point decline, we're talking about it as a significant impact on a student's achievement. In math, we experienced an 8-point decline."
For Context: The COVID-19 pandemic was a huge disruption for U.S. education, with many teachers quitting and schools shifting to remote learning. According to the NAEP data, no state or large urban district showed improvements in math.
Where the Media Agreed: The drop in test scores was a major story from news sources across the political spectrum Monday.
Where the Media Disagreed: CNN highlighted teacher shortages and said the data showed "the devastating effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on America’s children," while also noting that the "declines are only partly attributable to the dynamics of schooling during the pandemic." Conversely, the Washington Times highlighted efforts "to help students recover from missed classroom hours during the pandemic," and said "Democrats often sympathized with teachers’ unions who demanded better virus controls before reentering the classroom."
Featured Coverage of this Story
CNN Digital
Fourth- and eighth-graders fell behind in reading and had the largest ever decline in math, according to a national educational assessment showing the devastating effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on America’s children.
The alarming findings are based on the National Assessment of Educational Progress reading and math exams, often called the “Nation’s Report Card” and conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics, a branch of the Education Department.
“If this is not a wake-up call for us to double down our efforts and improve education, even before it was – before the...
Kelley Smith/La Porte County Herald-Dispatch via AP
Students across the country saw marked drops in reading and math scores following the pandemic, according to a “report card” on Monday that will reignite scrutiny of virus-induced disruptions to classroom learning.
Drops in math scores were particularly upsetting and amounted to the biggest decline since the National Assessment of Educational Progress started taking a sample of scores from fourth graders and eighth graders in 1990.
A paltry 26% of eighth graders were considered proficient in math in 2022 — down from 34% in 2019, which was prior to the...
PHOTO: REBECCA DROKE FOR THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
The nation’s schools recorded the largest drop in math scores ever this year, with fourth- and eighth-grade students in nearly every state showing significant declines, according to Education Department data released Monday.
In the most sweeping analysis of test scores since the start of the pandemic, the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress, known as the Nation’s Report Card, also revealed a nationwide plunge in reading that wiped out three decades of gains.
Prepandemic declines in academic achievement intensified nationwide, and many longstanding gaps in student achievement grew.
Low-performing fourth-grade students...
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