A new report highlights that the decline in math and reading scores began long before the COVID-19 pandemic, with schools across the nation grappling to recover from these losses.
AILSA CHANG, HOST:
A recent study reveals that significant reductions in reading and math scores have been occurring for more than a decade. This report, referred to as the Education Scorecard, was created by researchers from Stanford, Harvard, and Dartmouth. NPR’s Cory Turner elaborates on what is being termed a “learning recession” and explores the actions some states are taking in response.
CORY TURNER, BYLINE: Researchers have identified a troubling trend, describing the nation as being caught in a learning recession.
SEAN REARDON: Particularly in reading, test scores were going down for four to six years before the pandemic.
TURNER: According to Stanford researcher Sean Reardon, the decline began around 2013, following an impressive 25-year period of educational advancement.
REARDON: The average fourth-grader in 2013 could perform the same math skills as the average sixth-grader could in 1990.
TURNER: This is significant because it demonstrates that schools have previously achieved remarkable success and could potentially do so again. However, to tackle the learning recession, understanding its origins is crucial. Tom Kane from Harvard suggests two potential causes. The first involves schools no longer being held accountable under a stringent federal law that penalized low test scores.
TOM KANE: Under No Child Left Behind, school leaders every year had to be nervous the day that their test results were being announced.
TURNER: Around 2013, that law was largely disregarded, leading to the first theory. The second theory points to the surge in social media usage among teens, coinciding with the decline in scores.
TURNER: While the exact reasons for the drop are still unclear, there is some positive news. Last year, math scores improved in most states, suggesting a possible turnaround in the learning recession. Although reading recovery remains challenging, there is optimism. Successful states have focused on phonics and the science of reading.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS: C. Cat.
TURNER: Maryland, for example, has adopted this approach.
KIMBERLY LOWERY: C-L-oud.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS AND KIMBERLY LOWERY: C-L…
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS: …Oud. Cloud.
LOWERY: You guys are super-duper what?
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS: Smart.
LOWERY: Kiss your brain.
TURNER: Baltimore City’s schools have shown significant progress in reading. Teacher Kimberly Lowery helped three-quarters of her kindergarteners reach or exceed grade-level reading last year. Sonja Brookins Santelises, CEO of Baltimore City schools for the past decade, has focused on enhancing the district’s literacy strategy.
SONJA BROOKINS SANTELISES: The first thing that it did mean was that we all learn together how young people learn to read.
TURNER: Santelises shifted away from the “whole language” approach to focus on the science of reading, informing her literacy team…
BROOKINS SANTELISES: There are other districts in Maryland that are doing whole language, and you are free to go there. We are not doing that in Baltimore City.
TURNER: During the pandemic, Baltimore students experienced less learning loss compared to peers in similar socio-economic conditions. By 2022, the city’s reading scores had risen significantly.
LOWERY: All righty.
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENT: (Inaudible).
LOWERY: Raymond.
TURNER: In Mrs. Lowery’s kindergarten class, laughter filled the room after a playful lesson on phonics. She asked her students again, “You guys are super-duper what?”
UNIDENTIFIED STUDENTS: Smart.
TURNER: Smart. Cory Turner, NPR News, Baltimore, Maryland.
(SOUNDBITE OF NAS SONG, “I CAN”)
Accuracy and availability of NPR transcripts may vary. Transcript text may be revised to correct errors or match updates to audio. Audio on npr.org may be edited after its original broadcast or publication. The authoritative record of NPR’s programming is the audio record.
Comments are closed.