Student test scores plummet in Missouri and Kansas, new data shows. Blame COVID

In a new report showing the effects of COVID-19 disruptions on student learning, both Missouri and Kansas saw test scores drop this year from pre-pandemic levels, in some cases erasing decades of growth.

The stark results of this year’s National Assessment of Educational Progress exams, known as the Nation’s Report Card, show that the country saw its largest-ever decline in math scores. Missouri and Kansas are in line with most states, with scores diving in both math and reading from 2019 to 2022, according to the report, released Monday by the U.S. Department of Education’s National Center for Education Statistics.

“The results show the profound toll on student learning during the pandemic, as the size and scope of the declines are the largest ever in mathematics,” center Commissioner Peggy Carr said in a news release. “The results also underscore the importance of instruction and the role of schools in both students’ academic growth and their overall wellbeing. It’s clear we all need to come together — policymakers and community leaders at every level — as partners in helping our educators, children, and families succeed.”

Since schools shut down when COVID-19 first hit in March 2020, educators have been sounding the alarm that the closures, as well as the difficult pivoting back and forth from online to in-person classes, could leave students months behind, and widen long-documented achievement gaps.

Many educators and universities have been putting less stock in test scores in recent years, arguing that they don’t paint a full picture of a student’s achievement or career readiness. But officials say such data has helped show whether students suffered learning loss during the pandemic, and the new report offers a comprehensive look at the pandemic’s impact.

A majority of states, including Missouri and Kansas, saw lower scores on average across grades and subjects since 2019. Compared to that year, no states saw improvements in math in 2022. Missouri and Kansas are among the 43 states and jurisdictions that reported declining average fourth-grade math scores, and among the 51 states and jurisdictions that saw falling eighth-grade math scores.

On a call with reporters on Friday, Carr said the report also shows a “troubling rise” in the percentage of students performing below the assessment’s “basic” level — meaning students showed only partial mastery of tested skills. In math, 25% of fourth graders tested at the lowest level this year, compared to 19% in 2019. Worse, 38% of eighth graders tested below the basic level, an increase from 31% before the pandemic.

Eighth grade math results are “particularly concerning,” she said, as the grade is “where a pivotal moment is taking place for students and their academic careers.” In eighth grade, she said, the score declines were widespread, observed across most racial and ethnic groups, and among all students, whether they were lower or higher performing.

“Eighth grade is a pivotal moment in students’ mathematics education, as they develop key mathematics skills for further learning and potential careers in mathematics and science,” said Daniel J. McGrath, the center’s acting associate commissioner for assessment. “If left unaddressed, this could alter the trajectories and life opportunities of a whole cohort of young people, potentially reducing their abilities to pursue rewarding and productive careers in mathematics, science, and technology.”

While the declines in reading scores were not as sharp, most states saw drops. Fourth-grade reading scores fell in 30 states and jurisdictions, including Missouri and Kansas, and eighth-grade reading scores declined in 33. In reading, the percentage of fourth graders testing at the lowest level increased from 34% in 2019 to 37% in 2022, and the percentage of eighth graders at that level rose from 27% in 2019 to 30% this year.

The toll of COVID

In Kansas City and nationally, educators have warned that children fell behind during the pandemic, especially as schools reported higher rates of chronic absenteeism, and are now struggling to catch up.

Students missed out on the end of the 2020 school year when buildings were shut down. And in Kansas City most returned the next fall to online-only classes as case numbers, hospitalizations and deaths raged on before vaccines became available. Some students without internet access sat in parking lots, using businesses’s Wi-Fi to attend classes, or were given packets of homework.

Educators throughout the Kansas City area said they were noticing dozens of students “disappear,” not logging into online classes or responding to messages from teachers. It was a greater problem in urban districts, where many parents were unable to afford child care. Older children helped teach their younger siblings from home. And some high schoolers dropped out and went to work.

When districts announced plans to start the following school year online, parents in the more affluent suburbs of Kansas City staged protests. Worried about their children falling behind in school, as well as their physical and mental health, they fought for in-person classes and for sports to resume. With ongoing protests and the threat of lawsuits, it didn’t take long before several suburban districts allowed sports and changed their criteria to start bringing students back to classrooms.

Urban districts were more cautious, and many students did not return to classrooms until spring of 2021. Educators worried that achievement gaps would be exacerbated in the districts that serve a higher percentage of low-income students and students of color.

“Despite the countless obstacles that students faced over the course of the pandemic — including instability at home, decreased access to resources, teacher shortages, cyberbullying, and an uptick in violence once schools reopened — we also see pockets of remarkable resilience across the country, particularly in the country’s urban districts,” Carr said in the release. “But academic recovery cannot simply be about returning to what was ‘normal’ before the pandemic, as the pandemic laid bare an ‘opportunity gap’ that has long existed. It also showed how every student was vulnerable to the pandemic’s disruptions. We do not have a moment to waste.”

Falling test scores are a focus of several political campaigns ahead of November elections across both Missouri and Kansas. Attorney General Derek Schmidt, for example, the Republican Kansas gubernatorial candidate, has attacked Democratic Gov. Laura Kelly for declining test scores, blaming her decision to close schools at the height of the pandemic. Kelly has repeatedly said she makes “no apologies” for closing schools because it was necessary to protect the lives of students and teachers.

On Friday, Carr said that the new report does not provide any evidence as to whether states that had students learning at home for longer periods of time saw a difference in test scores. Officials said that they will continue evaluating the data to analyze the pandemic’s impact on student learning.

“I want to be very clear, the results in today’s Nation’s Report Card are appalling and unacceptable,” U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona said on Friday’s call. “They’re a reminder of the impact this pandemic had on our learners and the important work we must do now for our students. This is a moment of truth for education.”

Nearly 450,000 students nationwide took the exams between January and March 2022. Before that, the assessments were last administered in 2019.

The achievement levels are performance standards showing students’ comprehension in math and reading, with students in fourth and eighth grades tested every two years since 2003. The reading assessments began in 1992, and the math exams were first administered in 1990.

Results are reported as percentages of students performing at or above three achievement levels. Students at the “basic” level show they have partial mastery of knowledge and skills. Students performing at or above the “proficient” level demonstrate competency over challenging subject matter — a different measure than state standards for whether students meet grade level requirements. And above that, students at the “advanced” level show superior performance.

Missouri

In Missouri, math scores in some cases fell to lower levels seen two decades ago.

The state saw a higher percentage of students scoring at the lowest level this year. In fourth grade, 28% of students scored below the basic level, up from 20% in 2019. In eighth grade, 39% of students were below the basic level, up from 30% before COVID.

The percentage of fourth graders who performed at or above the assessment’s “basic” level — meaning students showed partial mastery of tested skills — was 72% this year, down from 80% in 2019. The percentage was close to that in 2000, when 71% of fourth graders performed at the basic level in math.

In eighth grade, the percentage of Missouri students who performed at or above the basic level was 61% this year, down from 70% in 2019. In 2000, it was 64%.

Only 24% of eighth graders performed at or above the proficient level in math, down from 32% in 2019.

“The results serve as another indicator that high-quality instruction matters,” Missouri Commissioner of Education Margie Vandeven said in a news release. “It’s clear that the pandemic had an impact on student learning and that there is work to do. We must use this information, alongside state and local metrics, to continue accelerating post-pandemic learning with improved systems and processes to meet the needs of each student.”

Students fared better in reading compared to math, although in eighth grade, a higher percentage of students scored in the lowest category.

This year, 33% of eighth graders scored below the basic level in reading, compared to 26% in 2019.

The percentage of fourth grade students who performed at or above the basic level was 60% in 2022, not a significant change from the 64% in 2019, or the 61% in 1998. In eighth grade, 67% of students were at or above the basic level, down from 74% in 2019, and 75% in 1998.

In both math and reading, the state’s test scores were in line with national averages.

The report also shows a prolonged performance gap between Black and white students.

In eighth grade, the achievement gap grew this year compared to 1998 in reading, according to the report. In 2022, Black students had an average score that was 34 points lower than that for white students, compared to 23 points in 1998.

In other areas, the achievement gap was about the same as in 1998, showing no improvements in closing it. This year, Black fourth grade students had an average score in math that was 36 points lower than that for white students, for example.

Kansas

Kansas also saw more students performing at the lowest assessment level in math.

In fourth grade, 25% performed below the basic level, compared to 21% in 2019. Meanwhile 39% of eighth graders performed at the lowest level, worse than 29% before COVID.

In fourth grade, 75% performed at or above the basic level this year, down from 79% in 2019, and similar to the 76% in 2000. In eighth grade, 61% performed at or above the basic level this year, down from 71% in 2019 and 76% in 2000.

Only 23% of eighth graders performed at or above the proficient level, down from 33% in 2019.

Denise Kahler, a spokeswoman with the Kansas education department, said that the declines in test scores, “are disappointing, but not entirely unexpected. We have seen a dramatic increase in chronic absenteeism rates over the past year, which is something that the Commissioner has called on to be addressed immediately. We can’t teach kids if they aren’t coming to school.”

She highlighted that fourth graders have been “impacted by the pandemic for three out of their four years in school.”

And that since the national exams were not administered the past few years, “we’re at a disadvantage because we don’t know if the decrease would have been greater in 2021 and our 2022 scores actually reflect a rebound. We know that even though Kansas schools opened back up in August 2020 ahead of many other states, the disruptions caused by COVID (quarantines, staff and student illness) were extensive.”

The report showed no progress in improving performance gaps between Black and white students. This year, Black fourth graders had an average math score that was 34 points lower than that for white students, not significantly different from the gap in 2000 of 29 points.

The state was in line with national averages in both math and reading.

Kansas also saw a higher percentage of students performing at the lowest level in reading.

In fourth grade, 40% of students were below the basic level in reading, compared to 34% in 2019. In eighth grade, 33% of students were at the lowest level, up from 26% before the pandemic.

Fewer students performed at or above the basic level this year — 60% of fourth graders, compared to 66% in 2019 and 70% in 1998. Meanwhile 67% of eighth graders performed at or above the basic level, down from 74% in 2019 and 81% in 1998.

Kahler said that the state has been “putting several supports into place over the past year to address learning loss including investing $15 million into early literacy training for elementary teachers,” as well as implementing a screening tool to identify struggling readers and math students, and adopting new math training programs.