US Student Math Scores Plummet

 From the education blog, Chalkbeat:

U.S. fourth graders saw their math scores drop steeply between 2019 and 2023 on a key international test even as more than a dozen other countries saw their scores improve. Scores dropped even more steeply for American eighth graders, a grade where only three countries saw increases. 

The declines in fourth grade mathematics in the U.S. were among the largest in the participating countries, though American students are still in the middle of the pack internationally. The extent of the decline seems to be driven by the lowest performing students losing more ground, a worrying trend that predates the pandemic.

The TIMSS results echoed the 2022 findings of the National Assessment of Educational Progress or NAEP, which saw major declines in math scores among both fourth and eighth graders. American students’ scores actually started to decline before the pandemic for reasons that are not entirely clear.

Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, said the NAEP results two years ago were “devastating,” and the TIMSS results are “just as devastating.”

One in five U.S. eighth graders scored below the low benchmark, meaning they lacked even basic proficiency.

“I would call these declines sharp, steep declines,” she said.

These results came from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study or TIMSS where 

assessment comes from more than 650,000 fourth and eighth graders in 64 countries who took the tests in 2023. The test has been administered every four years since 1995. The results are used to monitor how many students have foundational math and science skills.

These are the first TIMSS results since the COVID response disrupted education around the world. TIMSS is the first international test to show improvements in some countries since the pandemic, with countries in Eastern Europe and the Middle East in particular showing gains. 

Singapore, South Korea, Hong Kong, and Japan topped the rankings in most grades and subjects. 

Also interesting:

The 2023 tests saw a growing gender gap in favor of boys across many countries, especially in fourth grade math. Gender gaps that were prominent when TIMSS was first administered in 1995 had narrowed over time, but seem to have returned. 

On Science results:

A number of countries that once scored below the U.S. on the TIMSS in math are now ahead. American students’ ranking in science is better, but average scores for fourth graders are now below 1995 scores.

On Attendance:

The surveys found that on average one in 10 students worldwide misses school at least once a week and one in five miss school at least once every two weeks. Absenteeism was even higher in some countries. Across subjects and grades, students who rarely missed school scored the highest and students who missed school often scored the lowest.

“We have a good percentage of students who seem to be disengaged in school at this early age,” Hastedt said. “That’s clearly a very disturbing finding and something that asks for policy reactions.”