Alarming data shows drop in math, reading scores as left pushes woke agenda
‘Outnumbered’ co-hosts discuss new data that shows test scores for fourth-grade students dropped to record lows in reading and math and debate the effects of the pandemic and woke ideology on education.
In light of recent statistics showing children's literacy rates have decreased post-pandemic, an education expert urged the need to support teachers in order to restore academic competency.
Pro bono literacy advocate Marilyn Muller told "America’s Newsroom that "our daughter started kindergarten in a Massachusetts public school and very quickly showed signs that I now know are associated and linked with reading failure. She was frustrated by the task. She would avoid the task and those behaviors would manifest with a refusal to go to school."
"And in the afternoon when she would get off the bus, or I would pick her up at school, she would get into her safe space in the car and have what's called a basically a meltdown after school restraint," Muller said.
PARENTS CAST BLAME FOR 'DEVASTATING' NATION'S REPORT CARD IN WAKE OF PANDEMIC: 'VERY BAD DECISIONS'
New test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress revealed devastating conclusions that 9-year-olds fell drastically behind in math and reading since 2020, and many frustrated parents blame forces behind the pandemic-related school lockdowns.
The drastic academic declines hit almost all races and income levels. In math, Black students lost 13 points, compared with five points among White students. Nine-year-old's reading scores dropped by the largest margin in more than 30 years..
Already low-performing students were hit hardest.
American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten praised the deal as a "game-changer for teachers and families drowning in an ocean of online dishonesty." (REUTERS/Aaron P. Bernstein/File Photo)
"In 2022, reading and mathematics scores for students at all five selected percentile levels declined compared to 2020," the Education Department reported. "In both subjects, scores for lower-performing age 9 students declined more than scores for higher-performing students compared to 2020."
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Muller said that teachers' and educators' preparation programs are not including science and reading in their curricula.
"So we have teachers that are in the classroom who are passionate about serving children and improving lives with literacy, but they don't have the tools that they need to teach these children how to read appropriately. And so our educator preparation programs are failing teachers."
Several parents, activists, and politicians reacted, saying COVID-19-related school lockdowns can account for the regression and agreeing that teachers unions were the biggest culprit.
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