WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), chair of the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, released a statement following the publication of the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results, which show that students have not recovered to pre-pandemic levels of achievement, and in some cases have declined further.
Reading among 4th and 8th graders declined 2 points from 2022, and 5 points from 2019 pre-pandemic levels. In math, 4th graders saw a 5-point decline, and 8th graders saw an 8-point decline since the pandemic. The decline was particularly pronounced among lower-performing students. The percent of students performing “below basic” in reading is at its highest point ever for eighth grade and highest point since 2000 for fourth grade.
“A line can be drawn between these falling scores, and the fact that the Biden-Harris administration colluded with teachers’ unions to keep schools shuttered long after public health officials said they could be reopened,” said Dr. Cassidy. “The most vulnerable children were hurt the most. This will be the failed legacy of the Biden-Harris education policy.”
In 2024, Cassidy released a report outlining the severity of declining child literacy and its long-term effects. In a HELP Committee hearing earlier this year, he underscored the need for the Committee to work with local and state partners to improve literacy nationwide.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) administered the NAEP reading and math assessments to 235,000 fourth graders and 230,000 eighth graders between January and March of 2024.
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