What the new, low test scores for 13-year-olds now say about American education
What’s new
Like the results of recent tests of younger students, the math and reading achievements of 13-year-olds in the United States have reached their lowest level in decades, according to test scores released today by the gold-standard National Assessment of Educational Progress. federal exam.
The last time 13-year-olds’ math performance was this low was in 1990. In Reading, 2004.
Performance has dropped significantly since the 2019-2020 school year, when the coronavirus pandemic wreaked havoc on the country’s education system. But the downward trends reported today began years before the health crisis, raising questions about a decade of disappointing results for American students.
The federal standardized test, known as NAEP, was given last fall and focused on basic skills. The 13-year-olds averaged 256 out of 500 in reading and 271 out of 500 in math, compared to average scores of 260 in reading and 280 in math three years ago.
Performance fell across the lines of race, class, and geography. But especially in math, vulnerable children — including Black, Native American, and low-income students — experienced bigger declines.
Why it matters: 13-year-olds have missed a crucial time in school.
A large body of research shows that most American children have experienced academic difficulties during the pandemic. It is also clear that low-income students of color were hardest hit by school closures and distance learning, which lasted more than a year in some districts.
The latest NAEP results are the latest major release of data from the federal government on pandemic learning loss. The scores help teachers understand the challenges ahead for children of different ages and demographics.
The 13-year-olds who took this version of the NAEP exam last fall were 10 years old — and in fourth or fifth grade — when the pandemic began. Many were old enough to participate in distance learning without the help of a minute-by-minute adult, as younger children often require.
But age 10 to 13 is also a crucial time to master basic skills, from multiplication to recognizing a character’s feelings in a short narrative passage.
“The bottom line is that these results show that there are troubling gaps in the basic skills of these students,” said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which administers the NAEP exam. “This is a huge challenge facing the nation.”
Background: The test allows comparisons over years.
In the highly decentralized U.S. education system, NAEP is one of the few consistent tests taught across state lines over many years, making results easily comparable.
Scores on the exam result in no rewards or punishments for students, teachers, or schools, making them especially useful for research purposes, as there is less incentive to cheat or teach for the test.
Still, some education experts believe that too much attention is being paid to NAEP. They point out that, in many cases, the content of the exams has little overlap with the material actually taught in classrooms across the country.
What’s next
A student survey given alongside the test yielded other interesting results that will keep educators busy. The percentage of 13-year-olds enrolled in algebra has dropped from 34 percent in 2012 to 24 percent. In some districts and states, especially Californiathere has been an effort to equalize math education by placing fewer eighth graders in advanced math.
The percentage of 13-year-olds who say they read for fun has also decreased. Last fall, 31 percent said they “never or almost never” read for fun, compared to 22 percent in 2012.