Reading and Math test scores are heading in the wrong direction. A majority of states saw scores decline for fourth and eighth graders in mathematics and reading between 2019 and 2022, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. The organization is responsible for “The Nation’s Report Card.”
The report released this week shows the average reading score for fourth graders dropped by five points compared to the last assessment in 2019. In Indiana, fourth grade reading scores dropped from 222 to 217; and eighth grade scores dropped from 266 to 261. The numbers are the lowest test scores in Indiana since 2005.
Math scores also dropped in Indiana. The average test score for fourth grades was 245 in 2019. The average score in 2022 is 239. Eighth grade scores were 286 in 2019. The Nation’s Report card shows the average score in 2022 is 270. This year’s math scores are the lowest in Indiana since 2003.
There were no improvements in mathematics in any state since the assessment was last given in 2019, the year prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
Officials say the covid-19 pandemic, which forced many students to be taught on-line, appears to have played a factor in these decreases.
