OPINION:
Student test scores in math and reading have been steadily declining since 2013, well before COVID-19. The pandemic only exacerbated the loss, a new analysis by the Stanford Institute for Economic Policy Research shows.
This reversal ended two decades of progress. The primary reasons? The cultural acceptance that test-based accountability hindered a child’s academic progress.
The thought was that standardized testing caused mental stress for the child, negatively impacting their learning. Also, there was the argument that standardized testing produced inequitable outcomes across different student groups. George W. Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” era was, at its beginning, very focused on diversity, equity and inclusion concerns.
Not surprisingly, it was during this era that the Stanford researchers started to see the learning decline.
Standardized testing is still highly debated in this country, but before it was ditched by school districts, it identified learning gaps, objectively measured academic progress and provided students with accountability for their own academic success.
The second explanation for this “learning recession” given by Stanford researchers shouldn’t shock any parent: The rise of social media use. Almost every student today is assigned a Chromebook by their public school and tasked with completing assignments on it. All have an artificial intelligence tutor there to help them, lessening the demands on the teachers but also proving a distraction in the classroom.
Fifty-four percent of students ages 13 to 17 said they had used a chatbot like OpenAI’s ChatGPT or Microsoft’s Copilot for tasks like researching school assignments or solving math problems, Pew said in a report this year. That’s up from only 13% in 2023.
And students are using AI to cut corners — or, as some would say, cheat. Forty-four percent of teenagers admitted to using AI for “some” or “a little” schoolwork, with 10% using chatbots for help with all or most of their schoolwork.
Cellphones are also a hindrance. Studies have found that schools that ban them on campus experience decreased classroom distraction and resulted in happier teachers. Some schools have reported higher test scores and attendance since the bans went into effect.
As of this month, two-thirds of U.S. states have passed laws restricting cellphone use in K-12 schools, and more should follow suit. Ditching the Chromebooks would also be a bonus, as teenagers spend, on average, seven to nine hours a day in front of their screens.
Today, 8th-grade reading scores on national assessments are at their lowest point since 1990. Eighth-grade math scores are also at their lowest levels in two decades, with only 28% of U.S. students scoring proficient or above.
It’s clear that our nation’s classrooms are failing our students. Bringing back standardized testing and banning all devices in the schools could be the path to getting us, as a nation, back on track.
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