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Technology and COVID hurt, but they're not the main problem.
American 13-year-olds read no better than teenagers in 1971.
That is the conclusion of the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) long-term trend exam, the only national test the federal government has administered in the same form for more than half a century. After decades of reform efforts, new technologies, and a more-than-doubling of inflation-adjusted spending per student, our students are no better off.
Many will blame COVID-19. That was the dominant explanation when the last round of long-term trend results was released in 2022 and 2023. NAEP even saw fit to put it in the title: “Reading and mathematics scores decline during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
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Jennifer Weber is an adjunct fellow at the Manhattan Institute.