US eighth-grade history, civics scores fall to 1990s levels
- Edu. sec: Data underscores impact the pandemic had on student learning
- For the first time, civic scores fell from 153 in 2018 to 150 in 2022
- Only 14% of students reached at or above “proficient” scores in history
FILE – Students work in the library during homeroom at D.H.H. Lengel Middle School in Pottsville, Pa., on March 15, 2022. Test scores in history and civics have declined slightly for eighth-grade students in the U.S., according to results that show an increasing number of children lack a basic understanding in either subject, according to the the National Assessment of Educational Progress, Wednesday, May 3, 2023. (Lindsey Shuey/Republican-Herald via AP, File)
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(NewsNation) — Scores for eighth-graders in U.S. history and civics are down across the nation, according to the latest data released Wednesday by the National Assessment of Educational Progress.
Data from the Nation’s Report Card revealed that U.S. history scores declined from 236 in 2018 to 258 in 2022, a steady decline that began in 2014. This marks the lowest scores have been since the assessment began in 1994.
The new data marks the first-ever drop in civics scores, declining from 153 in 2018 to 150 in 2022. Data shows the scores match the assessment score from 1998, which was the first year that students were assessed in the subject.
Only 14% of students reached at or above “proficient” scores in U.S. history, while only 22% of students met the same benchmark in civics.
The latest data includes results from exams by students in 2022, marking the first to include the pandemic years. It also follows the decline in reading and math among fourth- and eighth-grade students.
U.S. Education Secretary Miguel Cardona said the results “further affirms the profound impact the pandemic had on student learning.”