Earlier this month, 2024 NAEP scores came out for 8th grade science and 12th grade reading and math, and the results were not good, with students losing ground in each subject. But these declines are not new and they are not only the result of the pandemic: Across a number of tests and subjects, scores have been declining for over a decade, especially for low-performing students. Indeed, while achievement for the top 10 percent of students has remained roughly flat, achievement for the bottom 10 percent of students has fallen precipitously—on many assessments, by well over a year.

What might be causing these declines? Is it the rise of phones? The fall of No Child Left Behind? The aftereffects of the Great Recession? A change in the culture of schooling? On this episode of The Report Card, Nat Malkus explores these questions and more with James Wyckoff and Chad Aldeman.

James Wyckoff is the Memorial Professor of Education and Professor of Public Policy Emeritus at the University of Virginia.

Chad Aldeman is the founder of Read Not Guess, the author of Aldeman on Education, and a regular columnist for The 74.

Show Notes:

Testing Theories of Why: Four Keys to Interpreting US Student Achievement Trends

Puzzling Over Declining Academic Achievement

Interactive: See How Student Achievement Gaps Are Growing in Your State

Don't Blame the Subgroups

Student Achievement Is Down Overall—But Kids at the Bottom Are Sinking Faster