New Data Show Link Between School Closures, Plummeting Math Scores
Newly released data shows a correlation between plummeting nationwide academic performance and pandemic-driven school shutdowns.
Reduced access to full in-person instruction during the 2020-2021 school year was correlated with an average drop in math scores across most states, according to a regression analysis of the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress data conducted by economist and Brown professor Emily Oster.
Oster’s assessment relied on data released on Monday by the NAEP, often called “The Nation’s Report Card,” which showed dramatic learning loss for public school children in math and reading since 2019.
Fourth-graders in 43 states and in all four census-defined regions of the country declined in math proficiency in 2022, according to the NAEP report. Students at all math levels suffered as scores for lower, middle, and higher-performing fourth-graders decreased.
Eighth-grade mathematics scores slumped in all 5o states and Washington, D.C., — the largest number of states to experience a decline since 2003. Of these states, 18 scored lower than the national average score for public school students in 2022, 16 had average scores that were not significantly different from the national public average, and 17 scored higher.
While children of all racial backgrounds suffered learning loss in math, the gap between white students and their black and Hispanic peers widened from 2019 to 2022. The gender gap in mathematics also worsened, rising to six points between female and male students in 2022, up from three points in 2019.
While the results in reading were less severe, no state demonstrated significant improvement in reading scores. In 2022, the average reading score in both fourth and eighth grade dropped by three points compared to 2019. Among eighth graders, average reading scores hit their lowest point since 1998, the NAEP report indicates.
The Biden administration addressed the disappointing statistics Monday but failed to mention how Democratic policy responses to the pandemic, like disruptive remote learning and mitigation measures such as universal masking, contributed to the decimation of academic standards over the last few years.
“I want to be very clear: The results in today’s nation’s report card are appalling and unacceptable,” Miguel Cardona, the secretary of education, said. “This is a moment of truth for education. How we respond to this will determine not only our recovery, but our nation’s standing in the world.”
