INDIANAPOLIS — Scores released Monday assessing students' math and reading proficiency show kids are falling behind dramatically since the pandemic.
Indiana's test results reflect a nationwide trend and it all has Indiana education leaders redoubling efforts to get kids back on track.
In what's dubbed "the nation's report card," grades from the National Assessment of Educational Progress tests for 2022 aren't good.
Startling stats show steep declines for our kids in fourth and eighth grades. Scores on the tests plummeted across the country in math and reading — the largest drop ever in almost every state and school district.
"It is hard to see the student learning decline," said Indiana Secretary of Education Katie Jenner.
Indiana education leaders weren't surprised to see a decline, considering COVID's impact on student learning.
But the unprecedented fallout from the pandemic may have been worse than expected.
Nationally, since the last test in 2019, the average fourth-grade math score decreased by five points. The average eighth-grade math score was down eight points.
Those are the lowest levels since the early 2000s.
Reading scores in both grades fell around three points nationwide. In Indiana, scores are down sharply, too, although not as low as some other states.
"We, as a state, score above average in mathematics, in grades fourth and eighth grade. In reading, we are right at national average. Usually, we score above the national average in both of those content areas and grade levels," Jenner explained. "We still have work to do."
To reverse the troubling trend, Indiana is investing in several new programs. That includes literacy coaches who understand the science of reading to help teachers better teach their students. The Lilly Endowment is paying for much of this program, which is in 50 schools this year and planned for more than 600 next year.
Indiana Learning Lab is another effort online that has workshops and resources for teachers and families.
Also, just this month, the state launched Indiana Learns, which will help parents pay for tutoring, all to make sure students' most basic skills get back on track.
"It is focused on high-dosage tutoring for math and reading for our students who need it the most," Jenner said. "We need to make sure we need to stay laser-focused on those key skills, those key foundational skills that we know every child needs."