‘Nation’s Report Card’ shows test scores at lowest level in decades

Judy Woodruff:

New national test scores are out today, and the results are grim. Commonly known as the nation's report card, it offers the first comprehensive look at the pandemic's impact on America's students.

As William Brangham reports, test scores are at their lowest level in decades, with steep declines in both reading and math proficiency in nearly every state.

William Brangham:

Judy, this is the first national report card since 2019. Nearly 450,000 fourth and eighth graders from some 10,000 different schools around the country were tested, and the results are alarming.

Only 36 percent of fourth graders and 26 percent of eighth graders were proficient in math, meaning they could demonstrate solid academic performance on challenging subject matter. In reading, it wasn't much better. Just 33 percent of fourth graders and 31 percent of eight graders were deemed proficient and above.

From 2019, the average math score for fourth graders fell five points, with eighth graders dropping by eight. In reading, average scores for fourth and eighth graders fell by three points. Not one state in the country saw significant improvement in these average test scores.

So, for a closer look at these findings, I am joined by Peggy Carr. She's the commissioner of the National Center For Education Statistics, which issued today's report.

Peggy Carr, thank you so much for being here.

Sort of difficult circumstances to talk to about this. I mean, this is almost two decades of educational progress nearly washed away. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona today called these results appalling and unacceptable. Do you agree with that choice of words and that assessment?

Peggy Carr, Commissioner, National Center for Education Statistics: Well, what can say is that these findings represent a defining moment in the history of education in this country.

The pandemic and all of the disruptions that it caused really has put a whole generation of students off their kilter for success. They have been off-tracked and we need to do something about it. We have to act, and we have to act decisively to get these students back on track.

William Brangham:

You mentioned that this is largely, seemingly, an impact of the pandemic. Is that true is? Is that — is this principally because kids were out of school or doing remote school, or are there other factors involved?

Peggy Carr:

They disruptions that we're seeing here today are — you can draw a straight line from those disruptions to student performance.

We are very careful, though, to outline that there's a number of other factors that are at play here, social-emotional issues. Students are emerging from this pandemic with mental health issues, more bullying. They're having trouble behaving in classes go. I could go on. So there are a number of factors. We have to look at the whole challenge, not just the academics.

So, it is complicated. People want to say this is because students were out of school. Well, that may have had some contribution, but it's not the reason why we're seeing — only reason why we're seeing these results that we're seeing today.

William Brangham:

When you look at the data that I cited, and you look at those drop-offs with fourth graders and eighth graders, what are the ones that stand out as the most glaring to you?

Peggy Carr:

Eighth grade math, without a doubt. All of it, of course, is really troubling and sobering. But eighth grade math, that is where we saw the most comprehensive, the most widespread decline, and in some states and jurisdictions across the country, double digits.

And it's important, eighth grade math, because that is a pivotal time where students are moving from their math, their regular math to more advanced math in high school. Students who want to pursue STEM careers, science, technology, and engineering and math, well, they're going to have a tougher time of it without that math under their belt.

We need to help these students get back on track. If we want to be competitive globally, this is where we need to start.

William Brangham:

Your report shows that these declines fell almost all across the country, but it didn't fall equitably. There were some students in some regions that fell behind more so.

Who were those most vulnerable students that seemed to suffer the worst?

Peggy Carr:

Well, thank you for asking that question, because, prior to the pandemic, we were already worried about lower-performing students, students at the 10th and 25th percentile on our test.

And what has happened here, as a result of the pandemic, they are falling, and falling faster than their counterparts, their higher-performing counterparts. Quite honestly, before the pandemic, the higher-performing students were flourishing. They were outpacing the lower-performing students. And the gap was widening.

Now, everyone is declining. Now the bottom is declining faster, meaning the lower-performing students are dropping faster. So, we are worried about them. But, quite honestly, this is a problem for everyone. This is not the other person's problem at this point.

William Brangham:

I mean, I have got to imagine that parents and students and educators have got to look at these results and just be aghast at how awful these declines are.

Is it your sense that these can be made up? We know that the federal government put hundreds of billions of dollars towards educational funding this past year. Some of that is earmarked for education — for academic catchup. Can this be remedied? And are we talking about a years-long project to do?

Peggy Carr:

Well, it's hard to pinpoint exactly how — how long it will take, because, as we just discussed, they were opportunity gaps prior to the pandemic that are now made worse because of the disruptions associated with the pandemic.

So, it's not an easy answer. But I can tell you, if we want it to be more like months or maybe a year or so, we need to act now, rather than many, many years it would take to catch students up.

The good news is that we know what works. We have evidence-based strategies that have science behind them, proven effects, that, if we implement them, we can turn things around. But we can't wait.

William Brangham:

All right, Peggy Carr of the National Center for Education Statistics, thank you very much for joining us with some very, very sobering news today.

Peggy Carr:

Thank you.