EL PASO, Texas (KTSM) — A new report from the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) highlights an alarming trend, showing that 12th and eighth-grade students are failing to meet proficient testing results in core curricula.
According to the National Report Card, average scores were lower in 2024 compared to 2019 across mathematics and reading assessments for high school seniors. Scores were also lower in science assessments for eighth graders.
“We’re seeing in all of those areas that the students seem to be falling further behind when we do our initial assessments, and that is taking them longer to catch up, particularly those students that missed a lot of the foundations during the COVID time and the online instruction,” said Ian Rydholm, executive director at Sylvan Learning.
According to data from NAEP, in 2024, average 12th-grade scores in both reading and mathematics dropped to a historical low. The NAEP also reveals that the gap between the highest and lowest performing students continues to widen. These results ultimately mean students cannot use mathematics to solve real-world problems and draw general conclusions based on concepts presented in text, according to NAEP.
For experts and educators, online learning as a result of the pandemic is partially to blame.
“It has been more difficult for them to catch up and they seem to be sliding back. Reading particularly affects everything and we’re seeing a lot of those students that are coming in that should be reading fluently, that are just struggling to read right now,” Rydholm said.
For parents, these numbers can be concerning as students generally continue to produce lower scores, but Rydholm says catching up is not impossible.
“It’s really important that, as parents, that we look for the positive things with our children and help them feel good about whatever they’re doing. If they’re behind, it doesn’t mean they can’t catch up,” she said.
Rydholm offered several ways parents can begin getting more involved with their child’s learning, starting with spending quality time and interacting with children without devices.
She also said parents can try to make learning fun, suggesting that Sylvan has free resources available for parents where they can utilize learning games to enhance academic retention outside the classroom.
Additionally, Rydholm suggested parents look for outside resources, like Sylvan Learning, where students can benefit from extra support and tutoring to prevent falling further behind in subjects.
“The sooner a parent can get help with their child, the better, because the earlier you can catch this and work with it, that is a very important. The student builds on what they’ve learned before and so it’s really important to go in and start working with that, you know, long-term effects,” Rydholm said.
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