US test scores hit damning new lows

Knight

Knight

Well-known Member
US test scores hit damning new lows in math, reading since COVID school closures, ‘nation’s report card’ shows.

The writing’s on the wall — if you can read it.

Sobering national test results show more high school seniors are struggling with math and reading than at any point in recent decades, with Education Secretary Linda McMahon calling out a “devastating trend” Tuesday.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) — commonly referred to as the Nation’s Report Card — showed just 35% of high school seniors were proficient in reading, the lowest score since the assessment began in 1992.

US test scores hit damning new lows in math, reading since COVID school closures, ‘nation’s report card’ shows

U.S. Department of Education (.gov)
aaec › about-the-us-department-of-education
ED's 4,400 employees and $68 billion budget are dedicated to: Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education, and distributing as well as ...

Their Mission Statement.

About ED
Overview and Mission Statement
ED's mission is to promote student achievement and preparation for global competitiveness by fostering educational excellence and ensuring equal access.

ED was created in 1980 by combining offices from several federal agencies. ED's 4,400 employees and $68 billion budget are dedicated to:

Establishing policies on federal financial aid for education, and distributing as well as monitoring those funds.
Collecting data on America's schools and disseminating research.
Focusing national attention on key educational issues.
Prohibiting discrimination and ensuring equal access to education.
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

IMO they are failing in their mission.
 

Even before covid the US was starting to lag other countries in test scores. Could be a lot of variables but too many schools let the kids skip or avoid what should be the basics no matter how bad they might be at it.

If one doesn't have to work to improve the results will be the same. I don't know if it's putting students on a track too soon or too many teachers can't teach. I never had good math teachers until college, in high school they would just make you do extra problems a few chapters back. College teachers could trouble shoot what a student was doing wrong.
 
Haven't students been back in class for 3 years after school closures due to Covid? How long does it take to catch up? Sorry, but I won't buy into the politics of the headline.

In actuality, perhaps this is due to the shortage of teachers and kids being allowed to be on their phones 24/7?

Perhaps the parents have some responsibility in this as well? From what I've seen every time I've visited a public place the parents are also on their phones and seem to have no interest in what their kids are doing. And before someone mentions mothers also holding down jobs, I live adjacent to an area where mothers don't work, have 2 blue-eyed blonde haired kids, go to Orange Theory and drive huge SUVs to haul 2 kids around. They are some of the most ill-behaved kids I've seen, and the mothers just go on in their coffee clutch and ignore it. Some send their kids to the mall with their nannies to look after them so they don't have to. IMO they are the worst offenders. Okay, I'll get off my soapbox.

Again, I think teacher shortages have a lot to do with this.

2025 Update: Latest National Scan Shows Teacher Shortages Persist
 

At least part of the lower USA student test score issue is also the one, those discussing the subject are least likely to address because it puts a light on politically sensitive ethnic and immigrant issues.

Google AI:

In the 2022–23 school year, about 26% of children in the U.S. had at least one immigrant parent, and the vast majority of these children were U.S. citizens. While around 1 in 4 children have an immigrant parent, only a fraction are non-citizens. The remaining students are U.S.-born citizens from immigrant families, or they are immigrants themselves, but most children in immigrant-origin families are U.S. citizens.

Over 18 million U.S. children under 18 had at least one immigrant parent in 2023, representing 26% of all U.S. children. Citizenship Status: Most children of immigrants are U.S. citizens. Among children of immigrants in 2022–23, 64.2% were U.S. citizens with at least one U.S.-citizen parent. Another 25.5% were U.S. citizens with only noncitizen parents. A smaller percentage, 10.3% or more, were noncitizens.

https://cis.org/Report/US-Immigrant-Performance-International-Tests

First-generation immigrants score consistently lower than the native-born in the United States. For example, on the PISA science test, Americans who are foreign-born would rank 33rd among the 36 participating OECD countries, while native-born Americans would rank 16th.
Second-generation immigrants score generally around the same level as the native-born as a whole. However, the average hides a disparity between immigrant groups. The scores of Asian Americans (a rough proxy for higher-skill immigrants and their children) are usually among the best in the OECD, but the scores of second-generation Hispanics (a rough proxy for the children of lower-skill immigrants) still lag behind.
To illustrate that disparity, the United States as a whole ranks eighth among 27 participating OECD countries on the TIMSS math test for fourth-graders. But U.S. Asians would have the second-highest score in the OECD, while the children of Hispanic immigrants would rank 17th.
Hispanic-Americans who are in the third-plus generation continue to score below average. For example, they would rank 22nd among OECD countries on the PIAAC literacy test — essentially the same score as second-generation Hispanics, and 15 places below the U.S.-born as a whole.
These results are a reminder that skills differ among immigrants, and that the differences persist to some degree over multiple generations. Continuing our current immigration policy, which accepts a large share of adults with low levels of education, is likely to further strain the U.S. school system and add to the challenge of educating children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
 
The thing that I can’t wrap my head around is the large difference of quality education between suburban schools, inner city schools and rural schools.

Years ago when public schools were funded with local property tax dollars it was easy to understand those differences but today so much funding comes from State and Federal sources that the quality should be as consistent as a McDonald’s hamburger in all areas of the country.

IMO we spend too much time, and money, looking for excuses and not enough time looking for ways to improve the system.

Maybe it’s time to scrap the traditional public middle and high schools, along with the bloated bureaucracy, and give parents a tuition credit that allows them to select a privately run school that will prepare young people for a solid future in a competitive job market.

It might require a boarding school model to level the playing field for students but that might not be a bad thing if it helps young people break a negative cycle associated with their current socioeconomic situation.
 
My DIL in California has been a teacher/vice Principal/Principal/ back to teacher for over 25-30 years.

She is teaching currently and having a lot of stress due to new guidelines/testing to rate children
as being Special Needs. She says I know Special Needs and most of these young ones are slower
due to language spoken at home. They are capable of learning..in their language but the rating scores
put them at Special Needs and the schools get extra funding for those classified as such.

She is ready to quit, she feels forced to basically lie ( as tick boxes are so black and white in the answers)
and label these children for the rest of their lives.
So are children being used for the almighty dollar in no regards to the self worth that is stripped from
these children? These sneaky ways to cheat for extra funding is why she stepped down from Principal
she says.
I wish I could find documented proof for those who would like to see it, but don't think I can find it.
I take the word of the soldier in the field on this one, a lady who has loved her job for many years
and been in the middle of the changes.
 
Pepper said:
Get rid of the phones in school. Will be a world of difference. We are doing this here in NYState and I look forward to better results because of it.
Click to expand...

Hm. I remember back in ye olde days when Calculators were a new thing. There was a call to ban their use from classrooms.

As a child, they were a tool. Why learn something I can solve at the press of a button? Old school thinking was, it's better to learn THE METHOD.

Fast forward today, and it's all on computers now.

I think the answer to the phone dilemma is to incorporate it into the curriculum. To adjust, and teach kids what they truly need to know. For example, too often I see people claim to "have done my research", but have come up with the incorrect solution or reasoning. So I'd suggest concentrating on research, and what that means, is vitally important today.

I'm reminded that back in the day, most people could rattle off multiple phone numbers from memory. Today? I don't even know my Smartphone number. I don't need to - the phone is always with me. In other words, what we need to know changes.

We need progressive learning. We need to adjust. IMO.
 
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Remember: No talking in class, watching the TV (though it was usually a boring documentary on history) was once a month
if lucky, no open books during a test, no distractions like passing notes so all this made the classroom distraction free?
You paid attention or fell asleep, one of the two.
Seems to me distraction is the main activity in a classroom now.
 
VaughanJB said:
Hm. I remember back in ye olde days when Calculators were a new thing. There was a call to ban their use from classrooms.

As a child, they were a tool. Why learn something I can solve at the press of a button? Old school thinking was, it's better to learn THE METHOD.

Fast forward today, and it's all on computers now.

I think the answer to the phone dilemma is to incorporate it into the curriculum. To adjust, and teach kids what they truly need to know. For example, too often I see people claim to "have done my research", but have come up with the incorrect solution or reasoning. So I'd suggest concentrating on research, and what that means, is vitally important today.

I'm reminded that back in the day, most people could rattle off multiple phone numbers from memory. Today? I don't even know my Smartphone number. I don't need to - the phone is always with me. In other words, what we need to know changes.

We need progressive learning. We need to adjust. IMO.
Click to expand...
Yes, I still know all my family and friends numbers by memory. Even the old ones from my youth. I make it a habit not to take my phone with me everywhere I go. (Hardly ever actually). It forces me to use my brain.
 
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IrishEyes said:
So are children being used for the almighty dollar in no regards to the self worth that is stripped from
these children? These sneaky ways to cheat for extra funding is why she stepped down from Principal
she says.
Click to expand...
Good question.
I think that & as was posted teacher shortages are some of the problems. 4,400 employees and $68 billion budget & seemingly no real effort to identify what works & what doesn't. Surely there are pockets of education that are working.
 
My opinion is that when they started the ‘no child left behind’ programs years ago …. it just eroded the whole learning system.

Back in elementary school, when my grandkids were that age, I got vested in how the kids were being taught. It drove me crazy!
…especially Math.
 
I don't think education is seen as important today as it once was. Not from the kid's or parent's perspective. I'm not sure what goes on at the college level these days either. I don't have any statistics to back that. The only serious statistics available show a steady decline in student knowledge. The cause is up for discussion.
 
David777 said:
At least part of the lower USA student test score issue is also the one, those discussing the subject are least likely to address because it puts a light on politically sensitive ethnic and immigrant issues.

Google AI:

In the 2022–23 school year, about 26% of children in the U.S. had at least one immigrant parent, and the vast majority of these children were U.S. citizens. While around 1 in 4 children have an immigrant parent, only a fraction are non-citizens. The remaining students are U.S.-born citizens from immigrant families, or they are immigrants themselves, but most children in immigrant-origin families are U.S. citizens.

Over 18 million U.S. children under 18 had at least one immigrant parent in 2023, representing 26% of all U.S. children. Citizenship Status: Most children of immigrants are U.S. citizens. Among children of immigrants in 2022–23, 64.2% were U.S. citizens with at least one U.S.-citizen parent. Another 25.5% were U.S. citizens with only noncitizen parents. A smaller percentage, 10.3% or more, were noncitizens.

https://cis.org/Report/US-Immigrant-Performance-International-Tests

First-generation immigrants score consistently lower than the native-born in the United States. For example, on the PISA science test, Americans who are foreign-born would rank 33rd among the 36 participating OECD countries, while native-born Americans would rank 16th.
Second-generation immigrants score generally around the same level as the native-born as a whole. However, the average hides a disparity between immigrant groups. The scores of Asian Americans (a rough proxy for higher-skill immigrants and their children) are usually among the best in the OECD, but the scores of second-generation Hispanics (a rough proxy for the children of lower-skill immigrants) still lag behind.
To illustrate that disparity, the United States as a whole ranks eighth among 27 participating OECD countries on the TIMSS math test for fourth-graders. But U.S. Asians would have the second-highest score in the OECD, while the children of Hispanic immigrants would rank 17th.
Hispanic-Americans who are in the third-plus generation continue to score below average. For example, they would rank 22nd among OECD countries on the PIAAC literacy test — essentially the same score as second-generation Hispanics, and 15 places below the U.S.-born as a whole.
These results are a reminder that skills differ among immigrants, and that the differences persist to some degree over multiple generations. Continuing our current immigration policy, which accepts a large share of adults with low levels of education, is likely to further strain the U.S. school system and add to the challenge of educating children from disadvantaged backgrounds.
Click to expand...

Shouldn't there be extra resources/classes for immigrants instead of simply pointing out that they are deficient?
 
During Covid and facetime classrooms my 3 grandkids were with me. The oldest one is Special Needs which basically he never
will mature past age 3 mentally. His classroom was kids of all different ages and types of Special needs.
Long story short, I am in the room with him and can hear the teacher and her aid (an aid for a video class??)

They began talking about student rights, yes student rights. How they had the right to apply for an after school meeting room for a club/group of other children with the same interest and if they were in within the guidelines of appropriate topics.. Ok so far right?
Then she adds, "IF you get turned down did you know you have the right to protest! Yes!! You can be outside on the sidewalk with signs
you can make and walk with your signs and show how unfair you are being treated. Can you imagine that!"
She then addresses each child and asks them "Would you like to carry a sign?"
I can imagine what many of you would have done, but with my son there being in Law Enforcement I did not want to by chance
bring him any grief due to my wanting to curse this nut out so badly. So I told him when he picked them up what I heard. From his reaction
I am very glad I heard it and he got it second hand. He had time to think it over, best course of any action rights he had and handled it.

During the school looking into it, how surprising is this? Her video camera for some reason was malfunctioning that day and the class
was only partially taped. The other grandson during his classes it was requested adults be in another room to not distract them or hinder
them from participating. That teacher was dismissed, for what reason I have no idea. But you can't help but wonder how many more
like her are out there teaching.
 
Paladin1950 said:
Many years ago, when I was living in New York City, I applied for a job, and the man interviewing me said that he never asks to see a person's high school diploma, was because it wasn't worth it. He found a lot of high school graduates, illiterate and couldn't do simple math.
Click to expand...

Yes, the finger should be pointed at the people educating the “educators” … what goes in, comes out.
 
It seems like it is just the high school kids that are doing poorly, the younger kids are still doing better than my generation in spite of having dropped from where they were. I've noticed that news reports only compare 20 or up to 35 years ago, so I got curious about my own generation. Its funny (sort of) that in spite of the terrible fall of scores the younger students are still better than us oldies did.

Bottom Line​

  • High school seniors (12th grade) are scoring worse now than any time since the assessments began—definitely worse than in the 1960s and 1970s.
  • Younger kids (ages 9 & 13) are still performing better or similar to the 1970s overall—but have declined sharply from early-2020 highs.
  • The COVID-related learning loss has pushed some younger grades downward, though not necessarily below historic 1970s levels.
 
HoneyNut said:
It seems like it is just the high school kids that are doing poorly, the younger kids are still doing better than my generation in spite of having dropped from where they were. I've noticed that news reports only compare 20 or up to 35 years ago, so I got curious about my own generation. Its funny (sort of) that in spite of the terrible fall of scores the younger students are still better than us oldies did.

Bottom Line​

  • High school seniors (12th grade) are scoring worse now than any time since the assessments began—definitely worse than in the 1960s and 1970s.
  • Younger kids (ages 9 & 13) are still performing better or similar to the 1970s overall—but have declined sharply from early-2020 highs.
  • The COVID-related learning loss has pushed some younger grades downward, though not necessarily below historic 1970s leve
Click to expand...
Back in the 80s or 90s teachers at my sons school were more concerned with selling things. I wasn't buying into it and the teacher wrote a letter. It was so bad I circled the mistakes in red ink and gave her an 'F' and sent it back. Last time the school bothered me about that stuff.
 
Here's a graph view of how well the schools are educating the children, it looks like for seniors the best happened in the year 2000 and for the younger students the best scores were in 2010. I wonder what we did differently in education before, because it is clear from the graph that scores were improving consistently through the 80s and 90s to the high peaks of the 2000/2010s. What did we change after 2010?

education results over time.jpg
 

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