US kids caught in ‘reading recession’ that predates COVID

Kids across the United States have been caught in the crosshairs of a “reading recession” that predated the COVID-19 pandemic and the virtual learning challenges it posed to students and parents alike, according to data released Wednesday by the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford. 

The new study found that children in a majority of U.S. states are performing at lower levels than they were in the decade prior. 

Recorded reading and math scores specifically showed a significant decline within the past year.

Reading scores dropped in 83 percent of school districts where data was available, while math dipped in 70 percent of districts compared to the previous decade, as reported by The New York Times.

Researchers from Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth universities found the same results when analyzing data collected from 5,000 school districts in 38 states using pre- and post-pandemic test scores, according to The Associated Press. 

Prior to the pandemic, test scores from 2017 through 2019 reflect a decline in reading capabilities, which continued even after........

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