Pitt professor says pandemic influenced declining scores on Nation's Report Card

Kids only just got back to school, but their report cards are already in, and they're not looking good for high school seniors.

University of Pittsburgh School of Education assistant professor Josh Bleiberg said while COVID may feel far away, its effects are still lingering in new test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, also known as the Nation's Report Card.

"There's definitely a pandemic influence going on here," Bleiberg said. "If they're students who struggled to learn online, well, they might learn a little bit less because they weren't in a room with an actual teacher."

What's long been considered the country's most reliable standardized test gave a look at skills among last year's high school seniors for the first time since the pandemic. They're a group that went from middle school to graduation during the entirety of the outbreak.

According to the results, only 35 percent of 12th graders are proficient in reading, the lowest in more than 30 years, showing that roughly a third of seniors tested in 2024 did not have basic reading skills. Just 22 percent of them are proficient in math, the lowest in 20 years.

"There's a trend that's also going on throughout the country, but I think it's a little bit more acute in Pennsylvania, which are these changes to enrollment," Bleiberg said.

Bleiberg said that declining enrollment is also a result of the pandemic. Combined with a lack of resources and still no state budget, these factors are making it more difficult for students to learn.

On the other hand, he said the education system is seeing some improvement. The historic levels of absenteeism during and after COVID are coming down.

"We're much better situated today than we were even a few years ago," Bleiberg said.

Experts also believe that increases in screen time contributed to these test scores.

As far as statewide numbers, the Pennsylvania State Education Association told KDKA the Nation's Report Card does not release them for 12th graders since the tests are given to a smaller group of students than other grades.