Kids’ scores on math, reading tests began sliding way before COVID : NPR

Key Points:

• The decline in U.S. students' math and reading scores predates the pandemic, reflecting a decade-long "learning recession" that began around 2013, after years of steady improvement since the 1990s.
• Two main factors potentially triggered this decline: the rollback of strict test-based accountability policies like No Child Left Behind and the rise in teenagers' social media use, which correlates with lower academic performance.
• Recent data from 2022 to 2025 shows most states are making progress in math, with low-income districts benefiting from federal COVID relief funding, while reading scores remain stagnant except in states that have adopted comprehensive "science of reading" reforms.
• The "science of reading" approach, emphasizing phonics, is linked to reading gains in several states and districts, with Baltimore City Public Schools highlighted as a successful example due to early and consistent implementation of these methods.
• Despite some recovery signs, overall student performance remains below pre-2013 levels, and only Louisiana has returned to 2019 performance in both math and reading, indicating a long road ahead to regain past educational gains.