U.S. 13-Year-Olds Show ‘Historic Declines’ in Math and Reading

Susan Berry, PhD

Math and reading achievement for 13-year-olds in the United States is at its lowest level in decades, according to test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) examination, also known as the Nation’s Report Card.

According to results released Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the average mathematics score for 13-year-olds plunged nine points between the 2019‒20 and 2022‒23 school years, while the average reading score declined four points over the same time period.

“The mathematics decline for 13-year-olds was the single largest decline we have observed in the past half a century,” said NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr. “The mathematics score for the lowest-performing students has returned to levels last seen in the 1970s, and the reading score for our lowest-performing students was actually lower than it was the very first year these data were collected, in 1971.”

The math long-term trends data also highlighted that more U.S. students are now rejecting challenging math courses. In 2012, approximately one-third of 13-year-olds were taking algebra at the time, compared to 2023, when only 24 percent of current students of the same age are taking the course.

The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) noted that Sean Reardon, a professor at Stanford University’s Center for Education Policy Analysis, said U.S. schools are failing to provide the tools needed to help students recover, despite the surge in federal relief funding.

Reardon analyzed data from school districts in 41 states and found that, for the average U.S. students, the disruptions in learning caused by the pandemic school closures resulted in a half-year of loss in math learning and a third-year of loss in reading achievement by the spring of 2022.

“The worry is that this pandemic exacerbated educational inequality,” he said, according to WSJ.

Similarly, the new data show what NCES calls “troubling shifts in reading habits” among students, as fewer of them, especially those who are already low-achieving, are reading “for fun” compared to a decade ago. The long-term trends data found only 14 percent of 13-year-olds reported reading “for fun” almost every day in 2023, down from 27 percent who reported the same in 2012.

“There are signs of risk for a generation of learners in the data we are releasing today and have released over the past year,” said Carr, elaborating:

The “green shoots” of academic recovery that we had hoped to see have not materialized, as we continue to see worrisome signs about student achievement and well-being more than two years after most students returned for in-person learning. There are signs of risk for a generation of learners in the data we are releasing today and have released over the past year. We are observing steep drops in achievement, troubling shifts in reading habits and other factors that affect achievement, and rising mental health challenges alongside alarming changes in school climate.

The data were collected during this latest academic year, between October and December 2022. In mathematics, scores declined between 2019‒20 and 2022‒23 for most student groups.

While scores declined in mathematics for black, Hispanic, American Indian/Alaska native, multi-racial, and white students, those for Asian students were not measurably different, reported NCES.

“Scores declined for girls as well as boys, across all regions of the country, and across all school locations,” the data showed. “Mathematics scores for students attending Catholic schools were not measurably different comparing 2019‒20 and 2022‒23.”

NCES acting Associate Commissioner Dan McGrath observed that, “prior to 2012, we had seen noticeable improvements in mathematics achievement and some improvement in reading achievement since the 1970s.”

“Scores for 13-year-olds declined for the first time in both subjects between 2012 and 2020, beginning a downward trajectory that has lasted for more than a decade, and has not been reversed,” McGrath stated. “Middle school is a critical time for students—a time when they are maturing academically as well as socially and emotionally. What happens for students in middle school can strongly influence their path through high school and beyond.”

Biden Education Secretary Miguel Cardona defended the significant increases in federal education spending, despite the current data.

“Today’s results underscore why the Biden-Harris administration remains laser-focused on our plan to Raise the Bar for the academic achievement of all students and maximize the American Rescue Plan’s historic investments in recovery,” Cardona said. “Schools have committed nearly 60 percent of their American Rescue Plan funds to address lost learning time and accelerate academic recovery by hiring more teachers, counselors, and support staff, providing more tutoring and one-on-one support to students, and extending learning time through high quality afterschool and summer learning programs.”

“While this latest data reminds us how far we still need to go, I’m encouraged that the historic investments and resources provided by the American Rescue Plan and the Department of Education are beginning to show positive results, with several states returning to pre-pandemic levels of achievement on their state math and literacy assessments, as well as promising results for the U.S. on a recent international reading assessment,” he added.

During the last 10-13 years, the nation’s students were subjected to the Obama administration-incentivized Common Core State Standards, which 45 states adopted to obtain federal grant money, as well as the COVID pandemic, during which the Biden administration “colluded” with the teachers’ unions to keep schools closed.

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Susan Berry, PhD, is national education editor at The Star News Network. Email tips to [email protected]

 

 

 

          

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