WASHINGTON — High school students in the United States continue to experience a decline in reading and math performance, with 12th graders achieving their lowest scores in over 20 years. This trend, highlighted in results released Tuesday from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), shows that the challenges have persisted through the COVID-19 pandemic. Eighth graders also demonstrated significant losses in science skills, marking the first assessments since the pandemic for these grade levels.

Matthew Soldner, acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, stated, "Scores for our lowest-performing students are at historic lows. These results should galvanize all of us to take concerted and focused action to accelerate student learning."

Experts suggest that while the pandemic has had a profound impact on student achievement, the decline in scores is part of a longer trend in education. Factors contributing to this decline may include increased screen time, shorter attention spans, and a reduction in reading longer texts both in and out of school. Carol Jago, associate director of the California Reading and Literature Project at UCLA, noted a shift in English and language arts instruction, emphasizing shorter texts over comprehensive reading. Jago remarked, "To be a good reader, you have to have the stamina to stay on the page, even when the going gets tough. You have to build those muscles, and we’re not building those muscles in kids."

Education Secretary Linda McMahon pointed to the scores as evidence for the need to give states more control over education spending. She stated, "Despite spending billions annually on numerous K-12 programs, the achievement gap is widening, and more high school seniors are performing below the basic benchmark in math and reading than ever before."

The latest test scores reveal that a growing number of students are not achieving what is considered "basic" proficiency in core subjects. Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, explained that while NAEP’s definition of "proficient" is high, it is based on what students should be able to achieve by the end of high school. She said, "These students are taking their next steps in life with fewer skills and less knowledge in core academics than their predecessors a decade ago. This is happening at a time when rapid advancements in technology and society demand more of future workers and citizens, not less."

In reading, the average score in 2024 was the lowest since the assessment began in 1992, with 32% of high school seniors scoring below the "basic" level. In math, the average score was the lowest since 2005, with 45% of seniors falling below the basic achievement level. Only 33% of high school seniors were deemed academically prepared for college-level math, a decrease from 37% in 2019.

The assessments also revealed widening achievement gaps. The disparity between the highest- and lowest-performing students in eighth grade science reached its widest point ever, indicating increasing inequality in the education system. Additionally, a gender gap has re-emerged in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) courses, with girls experiencing a steeper decline in scores compared to boys since 2019.

Christine Cunningham, senior vice president of STEM learning at the Museum of Science in Boston, noted that the pandemic disrupted hands-on learning experiences critical for understanding scientific concepts. She emphasized that declines in performance began before the pandemic, stating, "We don't know exactly what the cause of it is, but it would be incomplete to assume that if we hadn't had COVID, the score would not have gone down. That's not what the data showed even before the pandemic."

The new scores reflect tests administered in schools nationwide between January and March 2024, and they underscore the ongoing challenges facing U.S. education.