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Thursday, October 31st, 2019

Reading Scores on National Exam Decline in Half the States

Author:     Erica L. Green and Dana Goldstein
Source:     The New York Times
Publication Date:     Oct. 30, 2019 Updated 7:13 p.m. ET
 Link: Reading Scores on National Exam Decline in Half the States
Stephan:   Two trends are converging to the serious detriment of American social wellbeing. I do not believe it is possible to maintain a healthy democracy when a large percentage of the population is functionally illiterate, but that is exactly what is happening. Why is it happening? That is the second trend, the destruction of public education as the Republicans under Trump, Moscow Mitch, and Betsy DeVos attempt to privatize education. Under their plan children become little spigots that allow a small group of rich people, through corporations they create, to tap into the public treasury, drain off billions of taxpayer dollars and turn those dollars into profits.    And the result: America now ranks 125th amongst the nations of the world in terms of literacy. The people of Libya and Botswana are more literate than Americans.

Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos
Credit: Michael A. McCoy/The New York Times

WASHINGTON, D.C. — America’s fourth and eighth graders are losing ground in their ability to read literature and academic texts, according to a rigorous national assessment released Wednesday that is likely to fuel concerns over student achievement after decades of tumult on the educational landscape.

Two out of three children did not meet the standards for reading proficiency set by the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a test administered by the National Center for Education Statistics, the research arm of the Education Department.

The dismal results reflected the performance of about 600,000 students in reading and math, whose scores made up what is called the “nation’s report card.” The average eighth-grade reading score declined in more than half of the states compared with 2017, the last time the test was given. The average score in fourth-grade reading declined in 17 states. Math scores remained relatively flat in most […]

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