Who or What Should Be Blamed

You may have read recently in The Wall Street Journal or elsewhere that the reading skills of American students are deteriorating further, according to new national test scores. Compared with 2019 results, eighth grade reading scores are now down eight points. Reading scores are down five points in both grades. And in fourth grade math, scores are down three points. Some point blame on the pandemic where education was halted in many cases for a significant periods of time. Yes, there may have been zoom meetings instead, but that is no way to learn about reading and math. The best way to learn these skills is through practice, practice, and some more practice. You learn by doing!

The results discussed next come from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, an exam administered by the Education Department. The test is often referred to as the Nation’s Report Card, which is given to representative sets of fourth-and eighth-graders from across the U.S. in the beginning of 2024.

The Wall Street Journal reports that 67% of affected students who scored at a basic or better reading level in 2024 was the lowest share since testing began in 1992. Only 60% of fourth-graders hit that benchmark, nearing record lows. While the lowest achieving students fell further behind everyone else, the slides were broad, affecting students across different states, school types, races and economic backgrounds.

There are differences of opinion about the reason for the decline and persistent low scores. The easiest thing to do is blame the pandemic; shuttering of schools for long periods of time, and learning online rather than in the classroom. However, this is only part of the story.

Peggy Carr, an Education Department Official, stated that “there has been a decline in students’ joy for reading; fewer teachers asking for essay responses; and a rise in reading on devices.

According to a story in Education Week, “the poor results overall obscure trends below the surface, including deepening divides between the highest-and-lowest-performing students-a gap that has been growing since before the pandemic.

Carr said that: “We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic, and when we are seeing signs of recovery, they’re mostly in math, and largely driven by high-performing students. Low-performing students are struggling, especially in reading.”

U.S. v. International Kids

Much has been written about the low achievement scores of U.S. high-schoolers when compared to those of other countries. The chart below shows how badly U.S. students lag behind their peers in foreign countries. When comparing achievement scores in reading, math, and science, U.S. 15-year-olds rank 24^th, 36^th, and 28^th respectively. This puts them behind students in countries such as Poland, Liechtenstein, and Estonia. I find this intolerable.

What Do U.S. Kids Want to Do When They Grow Up?

It is not surprising to me that American kids choose social-media-oriented "jobs" after they graduate or Asian kids choose more rigorous fields. Why is this? It's a matter of a work ethic. In my experience, having taught Asian-college-students for many years, they work much harder than American kids. It is a cultural dynamic.

What Can Be Done, if Anything?

We have to get passed the notion that throwing more money at the problem will solve it or better teachers are needed. While both may be true, the education has to become more, not less, rigorous in the U.S. The standards of achievement have to be strengthened. Kids shouldn't jut be pushed up from one grade to another even if they haven't developed the skills necessary to be successful in higher education and when they go out in the working world. This is largely dependent on developing life-long learning skills.

Finally, parents have to become more involved. They should demand better results on these tests by increasing the standards for performance and holding teachers accountable for the results in the classroom and on assessment tests.

Posted by Steven Mintz, aka Ethics Sage, on February, 5, 2025. You can sign up for his newsletter and learn more about his activities at: https://www.stevenmintzethics.com/.