The scores for the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), a standardized test referred to as the “Nation’s Report Card,” were released on Wednesday. Worryingly, civics scores for eighth-grade students fell to the lowest point since they were first administered in 1998.
Senior figures in the Biden administration blamed Republican state governments and the pandemic for the declining test scores. “The latest data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress further affirms the profound impact the pandemic had on student learning in subjects beyond math and reading,” Department of Education Secretary Miguel Cardona noted in an official statement.
“It tells us that now is not the time for politicians to try to extract double-digit cuts to education funding, nor is it the time to limit what students learn in U.S. history and civics classes,” Cardona added.
However, National Parents Union, an organization that advocates for better parental rights in schooling, condemned the state of education.
“This morning, our Nation’s Report Card released the U.S. History and Civics results for 2022 and they are the LOWEST since 1994. This is unacceptable. The future of our democracy requires us getting this right,” the group tweeted alongside the announcement.
“These results are yet another red flag for lawmakers across the country about just how far behind our children are. This should be a call for them to GET FOCUSED on improving academic outcomes so that our children are prepared for the future.”
This morning, our Nation’s Report Card released the U.S. History and Civics results for 2022 and they are the LOWEST since 1994. This is unacceptable. The future of our democracy requires us getting this right. See our full statement below. pic.twitter.com/X01c4OiiBY
— National Parents Union (@NationalParents) May 3, 2023
American students, on average, also shed five points in history, marking the lowest point in nearly three decades of testing.
Peggy Carr, the commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), a research arm within the Department of Education, said the findings left her “very, very concerned, because it’s a decline that started in 2014 long before we even thought about Covid.”
“Teachers, practitioners need to get this content in front of students,” Carr added. “When you look at what they don’t know, and it’s not just about reading, it’s about content, facts, information about our constitutional system. Students don’t know this information. That is why they’re scoring so low on this assessment.”
Nearly 40 percent of eighth-graders were deemed “below basic” in their knowledge of American history, an unwelcome increase from 29 percent in 2014. Meanwhile, barely over a fifth of test-takers were found to be proficient in civics, down two percentage points from 2018.