Two years of pandemic-related school disruptions have set back student achievement more than 20 years. Results from the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)—informally referred to as The Nation’s Report Card—showed math and reading scores fell to levels not seen since the early 1990s.

Normally the assessment is administered every two years to 4th and 8th grade students nationwide. But in 2021 it was postponed due to Covid, meaning the current NAEP is the first national indicator comparing pre- and post-pandemic achievement. 

It’s not a pretty picture.

 Deep declines were seen across the board—in a majority of states, among both boys and girls regardless of race, ethnicity, and income level. “These results should surprise no one and alarm everyone,” said U.S. Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona. “They’re appalling and unacceptable.”

Troubling Results

The assessment reports outcomes in the following terms:

• below Basic (below the basic achievement level)
• at Basic (partial mastery)
• at Proficient (solid academic performance)
• at Advanced (superior performance)

While student performance in the general population was worse than in 2019, the results for students with disabilities is particularly disheartening. In all categories, from one-half to three-quarters of students with IEPs did not meet even the most basic level of achievement: 

• Grade 8 math: 78% of students with disabilities performed below Basic
• Grade 8 reading: 70% performed below Basic
• Grade 4 math: 57% performed below Basic
• Grade 4 reading: 74% performed below Basic

A Call for Change

While the pandemic is blamed for the 2022 historic low scores, several experts have been quick to point out that there is nothing in the data to indicate schools that reopened early had better results. Peggy Carr, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which administers the NAEP, noted, “We have massive comprehensive decline everywhere, whether some were in remote learning longer or shorter than others.”

While it will take time to assess the factors responsible for the disappointing outcomes, it’s clear that schools, communities, families, state leaders, and policy wonks will be scrutinizing these results and proposing solutions for the foreseeable future. 

In the words of former Florida governor Jeb Bush, who is the founder of the education advocacy groups ExcelinEd and Chiefs for Change, this is a wake-up call: 

This is not just nerdy education policy stuff. This is really about the future of young people. The world we’re moving towards is one that requires significantly higher skills to be successful, to live lives of purpose and meaning. If we allow these learning gaps to grow, and if we allow for the decline in learning to just stand pat … a lot of dreams are gonna be shattered over the long haul.