Decade-Long Decline , Continues With 8th Grade , History Scores Plunging.<br />'The New York Times' reports that falling test scores <br />show the alarming impact of the pandemic on student <br />performance across nearly every academic area.<br />According to recent national test scores,<br />students in the United States showed <br />a sharp decline in knowledge of American history.<br />The latest test results represent <br />an acceleration of a ten-year downward trend. .<br />2022 saw approximately 40% of students in the <br />eighth grade score "below basic" in U.S. history. .<br />In 2014, the number of eighth graders <br />with "below basic" scores was at 29%. .<br />'NYT' reports that declines across all subjects were <br />typically driven by the lowest-performing students. .<br />The alarming trend has pushed federal <br />officials to consider rewriting the test <br />to determine what students are missing.<br />According to 'NYT,' falling reading comprehension <br />levels may have contributed to plunging knowledge <br />of history, as well as a de-emphasis on social studies.<br />According to Kristin Dutcher Mann, a history professor at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, students are , "lucky if they get 30 minutes for social studies twice a week.”.<br />It doesn’t bode well for the future <br />of this country and for the future <br />of democracy if we don’t start doing <br />more instruction in social studies, Kristin Dutcher Mann, history professor at the University <br />of Arkansas at Little Rock, via 'The New York Times'
