American students publish lower reading scores in decades

Eighth grade students are averaging their lower reading scores since the Education Department began to track progress throughout the country in 1992.

The newly released results For the National Evaluation 2024 of the Student Progress, it paints a dim image of the reading skills among the students who are on the verge of entering the high school, even when the data show that the absenteeism rates have begun to tighten since the Last Naep in 2022.

Reading scores for eighth grade students have fallen In eight states and seven of the 25 largest school districts in the country since 2022. The results are still worse compared to pre-covid-19 pandemic tests—In the 8th grade reading scores were lower in 28 states and 11 of the 25 largest districts compared to the NAEP 2019.

“Naep’s results today reveal a heartbreaking reality for US students and confirm our worst fears: most students not only recovered from the loss of learning related to pandemic, but those students who were more behind and needed The greatest support has become even more backward, “the Department of Education said in an unattered statement published on Wednesday. “Despite the billions of dollars that the federal government invests in education K-12 annually and the approximately $ 190 billion in federal pandemic funds, our educational system continues to fail students throughout the country.”

The latest NAEP reading scores for 4th grade students were also lower than they were in 1992. MThe ATH scores remained level for eighth grade students and rose slightly for 4th grade students compared to 2022, although they are still below the 2019 levels.

In both mathematics and reading, the data show that the students’ scores at the lower extreme of the spectrum are decreasing more, while the scores at the upper end of the spectrum are, in some cases, increasing slightly, which suggests a gap growing between bass and bass and under high performance students.

Chronic absenteeism has been a persistent barrier for student learning in recent years, but NAEP data show some progress: 29% of eighth grade students and 30% of fourth -grade students reported that they were missing At least three days of school in the month before taking the 2024 test, compared to 32% of eighth grade students and 35% of fourth grade students in 2022. However, these rates remain significantly higher than they were in 2019.

But experts point to a variety of other factors that also contribute to poor literacy rates for students, including schools that Push students towards graduation Even when they have not taught basic skills and the generalized use of reading curricula that does not backed by evidence.

The most notable bright point in Naep data of 2024 was Louisiana, which has been close to the bottom of the state classification in Reading, but saw the greatest impulse of the nation in fourth grade reading scores in recent results. Federal and state education officials said that Louisiana’s progress was the result of changes in the way teachers are trained to teach students to read.

“Our intentional approach to equip teachers and leaders is one of the main factors that has resulted in academic growth for Louisiana’s children,” said Jenna Chiasson, superintendent of attached schools in the state, in a statement. “By providing educators significant professional learning, coaching and collaboration opportunities, we have supported them in the use of high quality instructional materials at the service of students.”