Crumbling classrooms: Why American students are falling behind in Math and reading
The United States, the land of opportunities, has long held the badge of nurturing classrooms with analytical rigour and literary finesse, producing generations fluent in thought and calculation. Today, that legacy is in peril. The latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores paint a disquieting picture: Nearly one-third of high school seniors cannot reach basic reading proficiency, and 45% falter in fundamental mathematics. These figures are not a fleeting anomaly; they mark the culmination of a slow, insidious unraveling of the nation’s decade-long confluence of systemic pedagogical shifts, the relentless encroachment of digital culture, and societal patterns that are quietly, yet profoundly, reshaping how young Americans read, reason, and compute.
In essence, a generation is losing its bearings, not overnight, but bit by bit, text by text, calculation by calculation. The question now is not merely how students fell behind, but how a culture that once prized intellectual resilience allowed the very bedrock of literacy and numeracy to erode.
Pandemic or preexisting trends?
While school closures and remote learning exacerbated the crisis, the downward trajectory began well before 2020. According to NAEP data, the proportion of 12th graders scoring at least “basic” in reading fell from 74% in 2013 to 67% in 2024, while math proficiency declined from 65% to 55% over the same period. These statistics underscore a persistent erosion of foundational skills and suggest that pandemic disruptions acted as a catalyst, not the root cause, of the decline.
The attention deficit of the digital age
One of the most profound influences on literacy and numeracy is cultural and technological. Students today inhabit a world of rapid-fire notifications, bite-sized content, and constant screen exposure. The stamina required for sustained reading and complex problem-solving has diminished. Carol Jago, associate director of the California Reading and Literature Project, observes that contemporary high school students may read only three books a year compared to twenty in previous generations, as reported by Associated Press.
Instructional narrowing and shortened curricula
Curricular design in English and math has increasingly emphasized short texts, excerpts, and test preparation. In mathematics, procedural fluency often overshadows reasoning and conceptual understanding. In reading, students engage less with extended narratives or sophisticated argumentation. As a result, learners are less equipped to tackle the complex, real-world problems they will encounter in college and the workforce.
The widening inequality gap
Declining performance is not evenly distributed. NAEP data indicate widening disparities: Students from under-resourced schools and lower-income households face the steepest declines. In addition, the gender gap in STEM subjects has re-emerged, with girls showing a sharper decline in science and math scores as targeted engagement programs have lapsed. The education system increasingly risks reinforcing social inequities rather than mitigating them.
Societal pressures amplifying academic deficits
Beyond the classroom, societal factors amplify these declines. Increased screen time, shrinking attention spans, and reduced engagement with long-form reading collectively weaken literacy. Simultaneously, rapid technological and economic changes demand higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills. Students entering adulthood with eroded competencies risk reduced career prospects and diminished civic engagement.
Rebuilding foundations: A path forward
Experts argue that reversing these trends requires sustained pedagogical reform: extended reading assignments, inquiry-based STEM learning, and engagement with complex problem-solving must become central to instruction. Equally vital is policy intervention, including targeted support for underperforming schools, investment in early literacy, and programs designed to close gender and socioeconomic gaps.
Beyond crisis management
The decline in American students’ performance in math and English is a multifaceted, decade-long crisis, rooted in systemic educational, cultural, and technological shifts. COVID-19 exposed vulnerabilities but did not create them. Rebuilding intellectual foundations, restoring academic rigor, and cultivating curiosity are essential to equip students for a knowledge-driven 21st century. Failure to act risks producing a generation inadequately prepared for the challenges of higher education, the workforce, and civic life.
In essence, a generation is losing its bearings, not overnight, but bit by bit, text by text, calculation by calculation. The question now is not merely how students fell behind, but how a culture that once prized intellectual resilience allowed the very bedrock of literacy and numeracy to erode.
Pandemic or preexisting trends?
While school closures and remote learning exacerbated the crisis, the downward trajectory began well before 2020. According to NAEP data, the proportion of 12th graders scoring at least “basic” in reading fell from 74% in 2013 to 67% in 2024, while math proficiency declined from 65% to 55% over the same period. These statistics underscore a persistent erosion of foundational skills and suggest that pandemic disruptions acted as a catalyst, not the root cause, of the decline.
The attention deficit of the digital age
One of the most profound influences on literacy and numeracy is cultural and technological. Students today inhabit a world of rapid-fire notifications, bite-sized content, and constant screen exposure. The stamina required for sustained reading and complex problem-solving has diminished. Carol Jago, associate director of the California Reading and Literature Project, observes that contemporary high school students may read only three books a year compared to twenty in previous generations, as reported by Associated Press.
Instructional narrowing and shortened curricula
Curricular design in English and math has increasingly emphasized short texts, excerpts, and test preparation. In mathematics, procedural fluency often overshadows reasoning and conceptual understanding. In reading, students engage less with extended narratives or sophisticated argumentation. As a result, learners are less equipped to tackle the complex, real-world problems they will encounter in college and the workforce.
The widening inequality gap
Declining performance is not evenly distributed. NAEP data indicate widening disparities: Students from under-resourced schools and lower-income households face the steepest declines. In addition, the gender gap in STEM subjects has re-emerged, with girls showing a sharper decline in science and math scores as targeted engagement programs have lapsed. The education system increasingly risks reinforcing social inequities rather than mitigating them.
Societal pressures amplifying academic deficits
Beyond the classroom, societal factors amplify these declines. Increased screen time, shrinking attention spans, and reduced engagement with long-form reading collectively weaken literacy. Simultaneously, rapid technological and economic changes demand higher-order reasoning and problem-solving skills. Students entering adulthood with eroded competencies risk reduced career prospects and diminished civic engagement.
Rebuilding foundations: A path forward
Experts argue that reversing these trends requires sustained pedagogical reform: extended reading assignments, inquiry-based STEM learning, and engagement with complex problem-solving must become central to instruction. Equally vital is policy intervention, including targeted support for underperforming schools, investment in early literacy, and programs designed to close gender and socioeconomic gaps.
Beyond crisis management
The decline in American students’ performance in math and English is a multifaceted, decade-long crisis, rooted in systemic educational, cultural, and technological shifts. COVID-19 exposed vulnerabilities but did not create them. Rebuilding intellectual foundations, restoring academic rigor, and cultivating curiosity are essential to equip students for a knowledge-driven 21st century. Failure to act risks producing a generation inadequately prepared for the challenges of higher education, the workforce, and civic life.
Next Story