In 2022, the National Assessment for Educational Progress (NAEP) announced a historic decline in math and reading scores for American students across the country due to the pandemic. These scores are based on standardized testing. Tests were completed in 2019, before schools were shut down or moved to online learning. Testing was completed again in 2022 once students were back to in-person learning.
Three Takeaways and What You Can Do To Help Your Student Succeed
1. The decrease in math test scores effected all races, genders and incomes. This is a nation-wide problem that needs dedicated attention to resolve.
Peggy Carr, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which administers the NAEP, stated "Normally, for a NAEP assessment at the national level, we're talking about significant difference of two and three points. So, an eight-point decline that we're seeing in the math data is stark; it is troubling; it is significant." (Sparks, Two Decadees of Progress Nearly Gone, 2023)
2. The Pandemic made things that weren't great, significantly worse. The need for more focused math education has been a need for a long time.
"Let's be very clear here: The data prior to the pandemic did not reflect an education system that was on the right track. The pandemic simply made it worse. It took poor performance and dropped it down even further. As an educator and as a parents, that's heartbreaking and it's horrible. It's an urgent call to action." U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona, speaking in a briefing with reporters on the NAEP results.
Mathnasium was founded in 2003 and has been helping improve math scores for its students for the past 20 years. We saw, as a company, the need before the pandemic and now it is even more important after the pandemic.
Only 37% of 4th graders and 27% of 8th graders are proficient in math, according to the NAEP results. Those are very low numbers for proficiency ratings. And over 25% of 4th and 8th graders cannot meet the NAEP's basic math levels. (Sparks, Two Decades of Progress Nearly Gone, 2023)
4th Grade Results by State
8th Grade Results by State
Remedial math classes are becoming impacted due to students not understanding the basics of math at their grade level. "13% of 8th graders attend schools where more than a fifth of students are taking multiple remedial math classes." (Sparks, Explaining that Steep Drop in Math Scores, 2023)
3. Teachers are overwhelmed and need help!
42% of 4th grade students now have teachers with a full or part-time math coach to support their instruction. That is almost half of 4th grade students. Additional math tutoring is not a new concept, but now is a concept that needs to become a norm. NAEP data shows that nearly 70% of 8th graders attend schools that offer supplemental math instruction weekly to nearly every day.
Mathnasium is a great place to support your child individually, but if you're looking to support the school, your student's teachers and other students in the classroom, talk to your principal about partnering with Mathnasium to bring the tutoring center to your school. We can work with the teachers to focus on specific topics and subjects to improve fundamental understanding.
"State education leaders are committed to accelerating learning and recognize it will take years to fully recover from the impacts of the pandemic. States have put intervention in place...We are grateful to have another two years of federal CONVID-19 relief funding that will allow these interventions to have their full effect on student learning," said Carissa Moffat Miller, CEO of the Council of Chief State School Officiers.
Works Cited
Cardona, M. (2022, October). U.S. Secretary of Education.
Miller, C. M. (2022, September). CEO of the Council of Chief Stat School Officers.
Press, A. (2022, September 1). Reading and Math Scores Fell Sharply During Pandemic, Data Show. Retrieved from NPR: https://www.npr.org/2022/09/01/1120510251/reading-math-test-scores-pandemic
Sparks, S. D. (2023, October). Explaining that Steep Drop in Math Scores. Retrieved from Ed Week: https://www.edweek.org/teaching-learning/explaining-that-steep-drop-in-math-scores-on-naep-5-takeaways/2022/10
Sparks, S. D. (2023, December 15). Two Decades of Progress Nearly Gone. Retrieved from Ed Week: https://www.edweek.org/leadership/two-decades-of-progress-nearly-gone-national-math-reading-scores-hit-historic-lows/2022/10
