The newest Nation’s Report Card results have come down to earth 12th-grade reading and math scores have plummeted to their lowest point in over two decades, extending a decline that preceded the pandemic. The stats are daunting 32% of seniors now read at or below the “basic” threshold, and 45% fall short in basic math. For education leaders, it’s not merely a stat it’s a red flag flashing for the nation’s educational well-being and workforce preparedness.
1. The Decline Was Long in the Making, Not Just a Pandemic Narrative
Though COVID-19 has amplified the issue, professionals emphasise that the decline began years ago. Changes in instructional practices, decreased exposure to sustained reading, and increased screen time have eroded students’ capacity for sustained attention and processing of complicated content. Carol Jago, associate director of the California Reading and Literature Project at UCLA, came out and said it “To be a good reader, you have to have the stamina to stay on the page, even when the going gets tough. we’re not building those muscles in kids.”
2. Reading Stamina Is Collapsing
The decline in reading scores is reflective of a cultural transformation. Few high school English courses now have students read as many as three books in a year, versus 20 in the past 20 years. Surveys indicate 60% of students find it moderately or very difficult to read long texts, a loss of skill that starts in late elementary school. Research summarised in evidence-based stamina-building strategies recommends beginning with short, responsible daily reading intervals and then incrementing length like training for a marathon.
3. Math and STEM Gaps Are Growing
In mathematics, only 33% of seniors are ready for college-level work, a decline from 37% in 2019. The STEM gender gap, previously almost closed, has reopened. In 2023–24, boys scored higher than girls in math in close to 9 out of 10 school districts. As Michelle Stie of the National Math and Science Initiative cautions, “When society is disrupted, you fall back into bad patterns.” Girls fell behind during remote learning as hands-on, inquiry-based programs fell away, and rote methods, less effective for many girls, became dominant.
4. The Science Setback
The science scores of eighth graders have fallen to 2009 levels, with only 31% achieving proficiency. Science interest has also suffered, and the gender gap has reemerged. The Museum of Science in Boston’s Christine Cunningham observes that “if we are serious about helping kids to learn science, we need to carve out the time for it” and connect it to their lives.
5. Equity Gaps Are Deepening
Socioeconomic chasms are deeper than ever. NAEP’s revised socioeconomic index reveals 77% of wealthiest fourth graders read above the national average, while only 34% of their lowest-SES counterparts do. Chronic absenteeism, which doubled over the pandemic, hits lower-performing students hardest, exacerbating learning loss.
6. Restoring Engagement and Confidence
School districts such as Irving ISD in Texas are testing hands-on STEM instruction from Kinetic Energy lessons that use Legos to genetics projects that ignite interest and persistence. “Sometimes we can’t give up,” teacher Tenisha Willis instructed her students. “Sometimes we already have a solution. We just have to tweak it a little bit.” Such programs, particularly when implemented in earlier grades and balanced by gender, have been found to increase girls’ engagement and confidence in STEM.
7. Integration of Recovery Strategies
Practice recovery with engagement strategies recommends integrating core skills recovery with engagement strategies:
- For reading: Expand in-class accountable reading, extend text segments incrementally, and include “challenge drills” with more challenging material to develop resilience.
- For math/STEM: Reestablish inquiry-based, authentic problem solving, and promote gender-balanced gender participation from early grades.
- For science: Incorporate NGSS-aligned practice into literacy and math, particularly for English Learners, to maximise instruction minutes.
8. Policy and Leadership Levers
State and district administrators can speed recovery by reserving funds for reading endurance initiatives, STEM participation programs, and NGSS-adopted science teaching. California’s early implementation districts, for instance, sustained better science programs during online instruction due to pre-pandemic leadership frameworks and teacher leader professional development. Administrators familiar with and committed to these standards can safeguard science from being marginalised.
The statistics can be daunting, but it’s also a blueprint. With focused, data-driven action more time devoted to deep reading, hands-on STEM work, targeted assistance for students who need it, and leadership that puts all core subjects on an equal footing, schools can turn back the tide and ready students for the future that requires both knowledge and flexibility.
