Education

Nation's Report Card shows lag in reading and math test scores

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The nation’s report card has officially been published and it shows alarming trends in fourth and eighth grade math and reading. In Connecticut, our students have stayed on a steady course, but education advocates say there’s room for improvement.

The Nation’s 2024 Report Card published by the National Center for Education Statistics shows there is a lot of work to be done in classrooms across the country.

The Nation’s Report Card includes the testing results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NEAP)  which evaluates math and reading levels in fourth and eighth grade students.

Overall, the latest report shows students are scoring low in math and reading and in some states, there have been minimal improvements. However, most states show no significant change in both subjects and grades.

In Connecticut, the Department of Education said the state’s scores were “stable” on the nation’s report card, however some education advocates said it also shows the need for improvements in the classroom.

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Joselyn DeLancey, vice president for the Connecticut Education Association (CEA) said the current scores are, in part, a result of the underlying behavioral issues that have been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“In the age of social media and access to learning, students are looking for quick fixes and quick answers, they get a TikTok video, it's two minutes, but that’s not what it’s like being in a classroom where we’re there for seven hours a day doing content for the bulk of that time,” DeLancey said.

Delancey added the NEAP results are only one indicator of students and schools' success.

She said the CEA is advocating at the state level for more educators in order to better support students in the classroom.

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The Connecticut Association of Boards of Education (CABE) recommended Boards of Education should stay on top of trends to ensure they are offering the most effective programs and proper support for students and staff.

"As board members they are the governing body for the district, they determine the budget priorities and having that professional development experience enables them to make the best decisions for the students in their district,” CABE Executive Director Patrice McCarthy said.

Parents in New Haven were not shocked to hear about the nation’s results.

“The problem with the way they’re teaching nowadays is they’re not teaching for students to learn properly, they’re teaching for children to score,” parent Alicia Beniquez said.

Beniquez said school districts have also made significant changes to their curriculums which she believes has hurt students.

“They took out cursive, children don’t know how to write anymore, so yes they’re going to be bad at math, they’re going to be bad at reading cause the public school system is getting worse and worse by the year," she said.

Another parent of New Haven Public Schools said school districts across the country need to focus on giving teachers the appropriate resources.

“We have to look at the big picture, providing students and teachers the resources they need to help them catch up, whether it's extra programs, or a collective effort to get people back up to speed,” Andrew Conroe said.

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