The results, from what is known as the nation�s report card, offer the
most definitive picture yet of the pandemic�s devastating impact on
students.

U.S. students in most states and across almost all demographic groups have
experienced troubling setbacks in both math and reading, according to an
authoritative national exam released on Monday, offering the most
definitive indictment yet of the pandemic�s impact on millions of
schoolchildren.

In math, the results were especially devastating, representing the
steepest declines ever recorded on the National Assessment of Educational
Progress, known as the nation�s report card, which tests a broad sampling
of fourth and eighth graders and dates to the early 1990s.

In the test�s first results since the pandemic began, math scores for
eighth graders fell in nearly every state. A meager 26 percent of eighth
graders were proficient, down from 34 percent in 2019.

Fourth graders fared only slightly better, with declines in 41 states.
Just 36 percent of fourth graders were proficient in math, down from 41
percent.

Reading scores also declined in more than half the states, continuing a
downward trend that had begun even before the pandemic. No state showed
sizable improvement in reading. And only about one in three students met
proficiency standards, a designation that means students have demonstrated
competency and are on track for future success.

National proficiency levels in math and reading in 2022

Proficient and above

Basic and below

Math, 4th grade

Math, 8th grade

64%

73%

36%

26%

Reading, 4th grade

Reading, 8th grade

33%

66%

31%

69%

Note: Percentages may not sum to 100 because of rounding.Source: National
Center for Education Statistics
And for the country�s most vulnerable students, the pandemic has left them
even further behind. The drops in their test scores were often more
pronounced, and their climbs to proficiency are now that much more
daunting.

�I want to be very clear: The results in today�s nation�s report card are
appalling and unacceptable,� said Miguel Cardona, the secretary of
education. �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.�

The exam, which is administered by federal officials and is considered
more rigorous than many state tests, sampled nearly 450,000 fourth and
eighth graders in more than 10,000 schools between January and March. The
results are detailed for each state, as well as more than two dozen large
school districts.

The findings raise significant questions about where the country goes from
here. Last year, the federal government made its largest single investment
in American schools � $123 billion, or about $2,400 per student � to help
students catch up. School districts were required to spend at least 20
percent of the money on academic recovery, a threshold some experts
believe is inadequate for the magnitude of the problem.

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With the funding slated to expire in 2024, research suggests that it could
take billions more dollars and several years for students to properly
recover.

The test results could be seized as political fodder � just before the
midterms � to re-litigate the debate over how long schools should have
stayed closed, an issue that galvanized many parents and teachers.

The bleak results underscored how closing schools hurt students, but
researchers cautioned against drawing fast conclusions about whether
states where schools stayed remote for longer had significantly worse
results.

Decisions about how long to keep schools closed often varied even within
states, depending on the local school district and virus transmission
rates. And other factors, such as poverty levels and a state�s specific
education policies, may also influence results.

The picture was mixed, and performance varied by grade level and subject
matter in ways that were not always clear cut.

State proficiency levels in math and reading in 2022
States are ranked by proficiency level in fourth grade math. Click or tap
columns to sort by other grades and subjects.

Math Reading
State 4th grade 8th grade 4th grade 8th grade
National average
36%

26%

33%

31%

Wyoming
44%

31%

38%

30%

Massachusetts
43%

35%

43%

40%

Nebraska
43%

31%

34%

29%

Wisconsin
43%

33%

33%

32%

Utah
42%

35%

37%

36%

Florida
41%

23%

39%

29%

Minnesota
41%

32%

32%

30%

New Hampshire
40%

29%

37%

33%

Ohio
40%

29%

35%

33%

Pennsylvania
40%

27%

34%

31%

Show all states +
Source: National Center for Education Statistics
For example, Texas, where many schools opened sooner, held steady in
reading but posted declines similar to national averages in math.

In California, which stood out for its caution in reopening schools,
scores declined slightly less than national averages in several categories
� about in line with Florida, which was a leader in opening schools
sooner. Los Angeles stayed closed longer than almost anywhere else in the
country, according to data by Burbio, a school tracking site, yet it was
the only place to show significant gains in eighth-grade reading.

�Comparing states is tricky and people will likely go to red state, blue
state, which is not the most helpful framing,� said Sean Reardon, a
professor of education at Stanford University who is conducting a deeper
analysis to try to come to more definitive answers.

Image

The Math Problem
Students today are still performing better than they did 30 years ago in
math. For the last decade, math scores had held steady, with small
fluctuations here and there.

But this year, that stability was shattered.

In eighth-grade math, the average score fell in all but one state.
Seventeen states and the District of Columbia experienced double-digit
drops, including higher-performing states like Massachusetts and New
Jersey, and lower-performing states like Oklahoma and New Mexico. Utah was
the only state where the eighth-grade math declines were not deemed
statistically significant.

Places like Delaware, Maryland and Washington, D.C., fell by double digits
in both fourth- and eighth-grade math.

The scores for older students were particularly concerning because �eighth
grade is that gateway to more advanced mathematical course taking,� said
Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics,
the research arm of the Department of Education, which administers the
exam. She said students may be missing foundational skills in algebra and
geometry, which would be needed in high school and for future careers in
math and science.

For example, compared with 2019, fewer eighth graders could measure the
length of a diagonal of a rectangle, or convert miles to yards.

Reading was less affected, perhaps, in part, because students received
more help from parents during the pandemic.

Matthew Chingos, who directs the Center on Education Data and Policy at
the Urban Institute, a research group, said the national results are
consistent with other data that suggests math scores, in general, tend to
be more dependent on what is being taught in school, whereas reading
scores can also be driven by �what happens in the home.�

Still, reading was not spared, and in both grades, more than half the
states saw significant declines. In 2019, reading scores had also declined
in many states.

A Sharp Drop, a Wider Gap
The pandemic laid bare the deep and troubling inequalities that dominate
many aspects of American life � especially in education.

In fourth grade, for both math and reading, students in the bottom 25th
percentile lost more ground compared with students at the top of their
class, leaving the low-performing students further behind.

And Black and Hispanic students, who started out behind white and Asian
peers, experienced sharper declines than those groups in fourth-grade
math.

Black and Hispanic students are more likely to attend schools segregated
in poverty, and those schools stayed remote for longer than wealthier
schools did during the pandemic, deepening divides.