Texas students' reading skills are dropping
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If you're reading this, congratulations. A new report shows U.S. students had record-low reading comprehension scores last year.
- It's a learning loss trend exacerbated by the pandemic, according to the national education report released Wednesday.
Why it matters: Students across age groups demonstrated continued declines in reading comprehension, despite efforts to reverse the slip. Gaps between high- and low-achieving students have also widened.
- The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often called the Nation's Report Card, is administered under the umbrella of the U.S. Department of Education.
What they're saying: "Not only did most students not recover from pandemic-related learning loss, but those students who were the most behind and needed the most support have fallen even further behind," the U.S. Department of Education said in a statement.
By the numbers: The average reading score for fourth and eighth graders nationwide in 2024 was two points lower than in 2022 and five points lower than 2019.
- In math, fourth graders performed two points higher than 2022 and three points lower than 2019. Eighth graders didn't show a significant difference from 2022 to 2024, but they dropped eight points between 2019 and 2024.
Zoom in: Texas fourth graders' average reading score dropped two points from 2022 to 2024, according to the report. The 2024 average score was four points lower than in 2019.
- The 2024 average reading score for Texas eighth graders was three points lower than in 2022 and 2019.