According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), test scores in math and reading for the 2022-2023 school year are worse than in the 2019-2020 school year, when schools closed due to COVID-19.
Out of 500 possible points, reading scores fell from 260 to 256.
In math, scores dropped from 280 to 271 out of 500 possible points.
The results indicated that reading scores are 1-point above average scores in 1971 and math scores are 5-points above 1971 scores.
Founder of The Edvocate, Matthew Lynch, believes many students “were not exposed to quality curriculum and instruction” during school closures.
“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,” said Commissioner of the National Center for Educational Statistics Peggy G. Carr.
“For far too long, parents just sent their kids to school and expected their kids to come out proficient in reading, writing, knowing science, and knowing history,” said Alex Nester, the Political Director for Parents Defending Education.
Reporting from The Epoch Times:
This decline probably is a result of the widespread use of Common Core curriculum implemented in 2010, said Alex Nester, political director for Parents Defending Education. Common Core is a set of education standards developed in 2010 by the National Governors Association. The federal government encouraged states to adopt the standards by offering grants. Common Core has been largely unpopular among parents, many of whom claim it dumbs down standards, uses a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching, and gives the federal government too much power over instruction.
