A new national report shows a majority of states are seeing a decline in their students’ math and reading scores.
The Nation’s Report Card, shows nearly four in 10 eighth graders do not grasp basic math concepts like addition, subtraction, multiplication and division.
Heather Wilson is a mom of two young kids who had to navigate learning from home during the pandemic.
“There was definitely a difference in what they would have learned at home versus in the classroom,” Wilson said.
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Wilson is not surprised to hear math and reading scores are down across the country.
“The changes that schools went through, students, teachers, parents went through during the pandemic, there were bound to be after effects,” she said.
Since 2019 math scores for fourth graders in Ohio dropped three points and dropped 10 points for eighth graders.
For reading, fourth graders tested three points lower than they did in 2019, and eighth graders were five points lower than before the pandemic.
“In the academic world, we knew we were going to be facing lower test scores not just in the state of Ohio but also nationally so it’s not really a surprise to us but it’s a good snapshot to know where we stand,” Shannon Cox said.
Cox is the superintendent of the Montgomery County Education Service Center.
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She said parents should not panic but realize it’s going to take some time to recover from the last couple of years.
She recommended school districts take a look at what’s working for other districts, like dual teaching at Dayton Public Schools.
“What that has really allowed them to do is break those class sizes down even smaller and really focus on direct math and reading instruction within a much smaller group of kids,” Cox said.
As districts try to get those scores up, Wilson hopes people will respect the work teachers are doing.
“I sort of hope everyone’s giving teachers some grace in knowing that they have a lot on their plates,” Wilson said.
Parents can help prepare their students with practice tests found here.
©2022 Cox Media Group
