RECENT NATIONAL STUDY SHOWS STEEP DECLINES IN TEST SCORES
By Huntington Learning Center Leadership
The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released an initial report, known as the “Nation’s Report Card”, results show US students experienced the steepest decline in test scores on record since 1990.
Skills gaps caused by the COVID-19 pandemic contributed to an average decrease of 5 points in reading and 7 points in math. Anne Huntington Sharma, President and Board Member for Huntington Learning Center states:
“For 45 years we’ve been working with families and schools to focus on academic progress. This initial report from NAEP demonstrates how much attention needs to be given to our students; however, the declines have been happening for decades. For example, the initial results from 2022 almost mirror those from a 1983 report in “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Educational Reform”. The 2022 NAEP initial report provides us with data that shows us how meaningful our work is every day.
The NAEP test is administered nationwide to students aged nine, which generally correlates to the 4th-grade mark. The evaluation of these test scores is one of the various analytical pieces Huntington Learning Center monitors to continue to provide the best education possible to our students across the country.
By age nine, students should have a strong foundation in the basics of learning, which includes phonics, reading and arithmetic for example. Reading comprehension will go undeveloped without phonics and the fundamental skills, which then puts students at risk of falling behind throughout their academic careers. Identifying if there is a skills gap before this critical age of nine is key.
The full NAEP report will be released later this Fall and Huntington is here to help families and schools with individualized tutoring and test prep programs to make sure students do not fall behind.
It is critical that Huntington, parents, educators, and school districts take action to intervene as early as possible for current and new students to remediate the growing skills gaps in the fundamentals of learning.
At Huntington, we create individualized tutoring and test prep programs that build skills, confidence and motivation for students to achieve in and out of the classroom. Huntington Learning Centers across the country have programs in person at our locations and online in addition to partnerships with schools. Huntington is accredited by Middle States Association of Schools and Colleges and our tutors are certified. For more information check out Huntington’s free webinar series and call us to learn more. Please circle back here for additional information as we learn more about the full NAEP 2022 results later this year.