All articles tagged with #test scores
12th-grade student scores in math and reading have hit new lows on national tests, with declines predating the pandemic and continuing, highlighting ongoing challenges in American education.
U.S. high school seniors scored their lowest in reading since 1992 and in math since 2005 on the NAEP, with about a third lacking basic reading skills, likely due to increased screen time and the pandemic.
Harvard University has announced that it will reinstate standardized testing as a requirement for admission, making it the latest highly competitive university to reverse its test-optional policy. Starting from fall 2025, applicants will be required to submit SAT or ACT scores, with a few exceptions for other test scores in exceptional cases. The decision to accelerate the return to testing was based on a study that found test scores to be a better predictor of academic success in college than high school grades, and that they can help identify highly talented students from low-income groups.
Glassbrook Elementary in Hayward, California, spent $250,000 in federal funds on "Woke Kindergarten" training for teachers, resulting in a 4% drop in math and reading scores over two years. The program, aimed at boosting attendance, has faced criticism for its focus on disrupting whiteness and promoting abolitionist early education. Teachers have expressed concerns about the lack of clarity and dissenting voices being shut down, while the school district superintendent defends the program's focus on creating a safe and inclusive environment.
California school districts have made minimal progress in reversing the decline in test scores since the Covid-19 pandemic hit in 2020. Math scores showed a slight improvement, while English language arts scores declined slightly. The proficiency gap between Black and Latino students and white and Asian students remained largely unchanged. The statewide scores are particularly concerning as the proportion of high-need students has increased. The chronic absenteeism rate also remains high, with nearly a quarter of all students being chronically absent. Despite record levels of funding, staffing shortages and student absences continue to hinder efforts to improve student achievement.
Approximately half of New York City students demonstrated proficiency in math and reading exams this year, indicating a rise compared to last year. However, the results cannot be directly compared due to the overhaul of the exams. Experts suggest that a clearer understanding of student progress and achievement gaps will only be possible when students take a federal exam next year. Despite improvements, significant disparities remain between white and Asian students and their Black and Latino peers. The changes in the exams have made it challenging to assess academic recovery and educational progress in the city.
Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has unveiled a plan to address the decline in student test scores and chronic absenteeism. The plan includes an intensive tutoring program, expanding the Virginia Literacy Act to hire reading specialists, and launching a task force to reduce chronic absenteeism. The recently released Standards of Learning (SOL) test scores showed that students are still struggling to recover from the impact of pandemic school closures. The plan, called "ALL IN VA," will allocate $418 million for learning loss recovery, with 70% of the funding going towards high-dose tutoring. However, critics argue that the governor is not taking accountability for the stagnant results and blame previous administrations and school closures during the pandemic.
A new observational study published in the journal Archives of Disease in Childhood found that children who were breastfed for at least 12 months were 39% more likely to have a high pass for both math and English GCSE exams and were 25% less likely to fail the English exam. However, the study only shows a correlation between breastfeeding and test scores, not causation. Families should be encouraged to breastfeed because of multiple possible benefits, but it still may not be best for each individual family. More studies need to be done to confirm the findings.
U.S. children's test scores in social studies, math, and reading have all dropped since the beginning of the pandemic, with eighth graders' scores in U.S. history and civics down to where they were back in the 1990s, according to the Nation's Report Card. Experts attribute the drop to COVID-19, culture wars in schools, and a lack of resources for the subjects. The lack of quality social studies education stems from decades of fights that have prioritized other subjects and caused a lack of resources for civics and U.S. history. The lack of civic education can lead to more divisiveness in the country.
Test scores for eighth-grade students in US history and civics have declined, according to a report from the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The decline follows a fall in reading and math scores for American nine-year-olds last year. The report shows that scores in history have been consistently declining since 2014, with 40% of students scoring “below basic” proficiency in 2022. The percentage of eighth graders taking classes focused mainly on US history also declined from 72% in 2018 to 68% in 2022. The declines in history and civics further illustrate the effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on educating children.