VA Math, Reading Scores Drop Following Pandemic; But Some Close To National Averages

VIRGINIA — There’s no question the coronavirus pandemic upended learning in Virginia, but fourth and eighth graders’ test scores in math and reading show just how much, according to an achievement assessment known as the Nation’s Report Card.

The report card, released Wednesday by the National Center for Education Statistics, also revealed a worrisome trend for democracy — slides in U.S. history and civics test scores, according to NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr.

The report from the NCES, an arm of the Education Department’s institute of Education Sciences, looks at the key measurements of math and reading proficiency in 2022 compared with 2019, before the COVID-19 interruptions in learning.

In 2022, scores on the fourth and eighth grade National Assessment of Educational Progress math tests were the lowest since the initial assessments in 1990. Reading scores also declined nationally.

In Virginia, the report shows the average fourth and eighth grade math scores were the lowest reported since 2000. With reading scores, the fourth-grade average was at its lowest level since 1994, while the average eighth-grade reading scores were at their lowest level since before 1998, when this type of testing was first reported.

In Virginia public schools:

Fourth graders scored an average of 236 on math tests in 2022, which is lower than their average score in 2019 (247) and lower than their average score in 2003 (239). On those tests:

• 38 percent of fourth graders scored at or above the proficiency level in math. This was a smaller percentage than 2019 (48 percent) but larger than that of 2000 (24 percent).
• 75 percent of fourth graders scored at or above the basic level in math, which is down from the 87 percent reported in 2019 but above the 71 percent for 2000.

Eighth graders scored an average of 279 on math tests in 2022, which is higher than their average score in 2019 (279) and higher than the 273 score for public school students across the U.S. On those tests:

• 31 percent of eighth graders scored at or above the proficiency level in math. While this was a lower than in 2019 (38 percent), it was greater than the 25 percent reported in 2000.
• 65 percent of eighth graders scored at or above the basic level in math. This is the same percentage reported in 2000 (65 percent), but was lower than the 75 percent reported in 2019.

On 2022 reading tests, fourth graders scored an average of 214, which not significantly different than the 216 average for students across the U.S. On those tests:

• 32 percent of fourth graders scored at or above the proficiency level in reading. This was down from the 38 percent reported in 2019 but slightly above the 30 percent from 2000.
• 60 percent of fourth graders scored at or above the basic level in reading. While this was down from the average of 69 percent reported in 2018, it was not significantly different from 1998 (62 percent).

Eighth graders scored an average of 260 on reading tests in 2022, which was down slightly from 2019 (262) and lower lower the the 266 reported in 1998.

The average score (260) in 2022 for eighth-grade students in Virginia is not significantly different than the average score for other public school students across the country (259). On those tests:

• 31 percent of eighth graders scored at or above the proficiency level in reading. This was not significantly different that percentages reported in 2019 and 1998, which were both the same (33 percent).
• 69 percent of eighth graders scored at the basic level in reading. While this is not significantly different than the 71 percent reported in 2019, it is down from the 78 percent in 1998.

The report didn’t break out how Virginia eighth graders performed on U.S. history and civics tests, but the drop in scores nationally is “a national concern,” Carr, the NCES commissioner, said in a news release.

“Self-government depends on each generation of students leaving school with a complete understanding of the responsibilities and privileges of citizenship,” she said. “But far too many students are struggling to understand and explain the importance of civic participation, how American government functions, and the historical significance of events.”

U.S. history test scores have dropped since 2018 among all students except among the very top-performing students. In civics, scores declined for lower- and middle-performing students and did not change for higher-performing students.

The number of students who performed below the basic level increased in both subjects, and about 4 in 10 eighth graders performed below the basic level in history.

Only 13 percent of eighth graders scored at or above the national proficiency level in U.S. history, the lowest proportion to reach that level in any subject on the tests, Dan McGrath, the acting associate commissioner of the NCES, said in the news release.

Only about one-fifth of students were at or above proficiency levels in civics, which is the second-lowest proportion of students reaching that level in any subject, he said. This was the first decline ever recorded by the civics assessment.