Is it fair to blame COVID-19 for the state’s decline in student test scores since 2019?

K-12 STUDENTS ACROSS MASSACHUSETTS will not be required to wear masks when they return to school this fall. / AP FILE PHOTO/LYNNE SLADKY
STUDENT TEST scores are down in Rhode Island and across the nation since 2019. Is it fair to blame COVID-19?/ AP FILE PHOTO/LYNNE SLADKY

Rhode Island student test scores in both reading and math have declined since 2019, according to the “Nations Report Card” issued Oct. 24 by the National Assessment of Educational Progress. 

The decline in test scores in math and reading for both fourth and eighth grade students mirrors a national trend. 

But Rhode Island’s National Assessment of Educational Progress said in a statement the NAEP results confirm that the state’s K-12 education system is in crisis.

“Rhode Island’s NAEP results align with RIPEC’s recent analysis of the K-12 system, which reported low proficiency rates in reading and math, and disturbingly low proficiency among economically disadvantaged students, students of color, limited English proficient students, and students with disabilities,” the group said. “These results should be unacceptable for families, educators, elected officials, and businesses. Rhode Island can and must do better for our students and the economic future of our state.”

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The R.I. Department of Education has yet to release the 2022 Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System standardized test results. The 2021 results showed that the statewide overall proficiency rate dropped from 2019.

Is it fair to blame COVID-19 for the state’s decline in student tests scores since 2019?

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