New national data provides evidence of widespread learning loss among American schoolchildren following COVID-19 school closures. While declines in scores on this specific test began well before the pandemic, American students have suffered larger testing declines since the start of the pandemic than they did in the previous eight years.
The National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) regularly administers the National Assessment of Educational Progress long-term trend (LTT) test, also known as the Nation's Report Card, to a representative sample of American schoolchildren. Last September, results of the test given to 4th and 8th graders in late 2020 revealed dramatic score declines.
