Years of slipping test results: What’s dragging down US students? | The Jerusalem Post

Jpost · May 17, 2026 · 856 words · By JERUSALEM POST STAFF

Educational Achievement Decline Science of Reading Reforms Education Funding Efficiency

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Daily briefing

What to know about Educational Achievement Decline

A new national analysis of district-level test scores shows that a downturn in US student achievement long predates the pandemic and has continued in most places through 2024, with the first comparative picture through 2025 indicating a broad, sustained slide…

Claims checked 21

Techniques found 2

Topics 3

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage

Left0%

Center75%

Right25%

4 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Why it matters

Researchers report that a “learning recession” began around 2013, with average annual losses in reading achievement from 2017 to 2019 as large as those from 2019 to 2022.

Common ground

Eighth-grade reading scores have fallen to their lowest levels since 1990, and fourth-grade reading is back to pre-2003 performance.

Perspective signals

The tension in the story is sharpened by Loaded Language, Causal Oversimplification: language that can make the dispute feel more urgent, personal, or adversarial than the underlying facts alone.

Follow-up questions

What new context would change how readers understand this Educational Achievement Decline story?
What evidence would most clearly confirm or weaken the claim that its benefits [digital reading] are estimated to be six to seven times smaller than print reading?
How does this story connect Educational Achievement Decline with Science of Reading Reforms over the next few days?

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.jpost.com/science/article-896444

psychologyPropaganda Techniques Detected

eFinder identified 2 propaganda techniques in this article. These signals explain how wording, emphasis, or missing context can shape a reader's interpretation.

warning

Loaded Language 80% confidence

Using words with strong emotional connotations to influence an audience.

Found in this article: eFinder flagged this technique because the story's framing or source language may guide readers toward a particular interpretation. Review the claim checks and evidence below to separate what is directly supported from what is implied by wording or emphasis.

Why it matters: Recognizing loaded language helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

warning

Causal Oversimplification 60% confidence

Assuming a single cause for a complex issue.

Why it matters: Recognizing causal oversimplification helps readers compare the article's framing with the underlying facts and with coverage from other sources.

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 21 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

schedule Pending 11

info Single Source 3

verified Verified By Reference 3

help Insufficient Evidence 2

check_circle Corroborated 2

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Claim 1: “its benefits [digital reading] are estimated to be six to seven times smaller than print reading”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 2: “Eighth-grade reading scores have fallen to their lowest levels since 1990”

SINGLE SOURCE

Al Jazeera reports that scores for 13-year-olds (typically 8th grade) have fallen to their lowest levels in decades, but the specific 'since 1990' benchmark is not explicitly corroborated by multiple sources in the provided text.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — us is the Internet country code top-level domain (ccTLD) for the United States. It was established in February 1985. Registrants of us domains must be U.S. citizens, residents, or organizations – or f…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/.us

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic consisting of 50 states and a federal c…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — Us, us, uS, or US commonly refers to: Us (pronoun), the objective case of the English first-person plural pronoun we U.S., an abbreviation for the United States Us, us, uS, or US may also refer to:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Us

+ 3 more evidence sources

schedule

Claim 3: “In California, per-student spending has surged since 2019, rising from roughly $17,423 per pupil... to a record $28,282 per pupil”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 4: “New data from Stanford’s Educational Opportunity Project—covering grades 3-8 in districts across 40 states and the District of Columbia, representing about 68% of US districts”

SINGLE SOURCE

The New York Times search result mentions the 'Educational Opportunity Project' released data, but the specific details about 40 states, D.C., and 68% of districts are not corroborated by a second independent source in the provided evidence.

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web search NEUTRAL — Leland Stanford Junior University, [9][10] commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_University

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web search NEUTRAL — At Stanford, our mission of discovery and learning is energized by a spirit of optimism and possibility that dates to our founding. Here you’ll find a place of intellectual expansiveness, wide-ranging…
https://www.stanford.edu/

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Stanford Health Care delivers the highest levels of care and compassion. SHC treats cancer, heart disease, brain disorders, primary care issues, and many more.
https://stanfordhealthcare.org/

schedule

Claim 5: “states that had not adopted those reforms [science of reading] by January 2024 showed no improvement”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 6: “North Carolina... students have improved in math compared with 2022 but remain about half a grade level behind their 2019 performance”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

help

Claim 7: “five states—Georgia, Idaho, Wyoming, Nebraska, and Iowa—did not make math gains over that period [since 2022], according to NPR”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for this specific claim regarding NPR and the listed states.

schedule

Claim 8: “23% of students were chronically absent in the 2024–25 school year, up from 15% before the pandemic”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

info

Claim 9: “Between 1990 and 2013, the average fourth grader performed at roughly the level of an average sixth grader in 1990”

SINGLE SOURCE

No evidence was provided that compares the performance of a 2013 fourth grader to a 1990 sixth grader.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — Historically, in the United States, local public control (and private alternatives) have allowed for some variation in the organization of schools. Elementary school includes kindergarten through fift…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K–12_education_in_the_United_S…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — And they’re hitting us for 12-14 hours straight each night while we sleep. Why Is This Alarming? A growing body of research links chronic low-level microwave exposure to various health issues. It can …
https://drrobertyoung.com/weaponized-5g-pulsating-microwaves…

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web search NEUTRAL — The United States is ranked 30/. Below is the average IQ by country, updated as of January 1, 2025. This study is based on data from 1,352,763 worldwide who took the same IQ test on this website in 20…
https://www.thecaliforniacourier.com/average-iq-by-country-2…

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Claim 10: “roughly 46% of New York third graders are reading below basic proficiency”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 11: “By 2022, nearly half of U.S. teenagers were online “almost constantly””

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

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Claim 12: “Researchers report that a “learning recession” began around 2013”

CORROBORATED

Multiple independent web search results explicitly state that the U.S. entered a 'learning recession' around 2013, noting that test scores began to flatten or drop at that time.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 13: “over 130 districts—about 21%—continue to use older “balanced literacy” and “three-cueing” curricula [in New York]”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 14: “fourth-grade reading is back to pre-2003 performance”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The provided evidence does not contain any information regarding fourth-grade reading performance returning to pre-2003 levels.

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+ 3 more evidence sources

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Claim 15: “Black students’ reading proficiency in California remained flat at 32% between the year before the governor took office and the most recent reporting year”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

schedule

Claim 16: “in schools that issue devices, more than 80% of students receive them by kindergarten”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

check_circle

Claim 17: “reading scores fell in 83% of districts with data and math scores fell in 70% compared to a decade ago”

CORROBORATED

Two separate web search results explicitly confirm that reading scores fell in 83% of districts and math scores fell in 70% compared to a decade ago, citing the same data source.

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — U.S. student test scores have fallen across 83% of school districts in reading and 70% in math over the past decade, with declines affecting rich and poor districts equally. Reading scores were alread…
https://www.edwardconard.com/macro-roundup/btw-2015-and-2025…

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web search NEUTRAL — Reading and math scores fell slowly and then, during the pandemic, quickly."Compared with a decade earlier, reading scores were down last year in 83 percent of school districts where data was availabl…
https://www.joannejacobs.com/post/down-in-the-dumps-learning…

travel_explore

web search NEUTRAL — See how your district’s scores have changed since 2015, and compare it with other districts in your area.American math and reading test scores have fallen in the last decade , according to data releas…
https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/upshot/look-up-dist…

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Claim 18: “White students’ reading proficiency declined from 65% to 62% [in California]”

PENDING

This claim was extracted as a checkable statement from the article. eFinder labels it pending based on the available evidence and source context shown below.

verified

Claim 19: “average annual losses in reading achievement from 2017 to 2019 as large as those from 2019 to 2022”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

While evidence discusses losses between 2019 and 2022, there is no specific data in the provided evidence comparing the annual loss magnitude of 2017-2019 to 2019-2022.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In mathematics, an average of a collection or group is a value that is most central, common, or typical in some sense, and represents its overall position. In mathematics, it most commonly refers to t…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Average

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the olde…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dow_Jones_Industrial_Average

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — In statistics, a moving average (rolling average or running average or moving mean or rolling mean) is a calculation to analyze data points by creating a series of averages of different selections of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Moving_average

+ 3 more evidence sources

verified

Claim 20: “By 2025, students are roughly 0.6 grades lower in reading and 0.4 grades lower in math than their 2015 peers”

VERIFIED BY REFERENCE

The evidence mentions students performing worse than 2019 peers, but does not provide the specific '0.6 grades lower in reading and 0.4 grades lower in math' metric relative to 2015 peers.

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wikipedia NEUTRAL — This Is Us is an American drama television series created by Dan Fogelman that aired on NBC from September 20, 2016, to May 24, 2022. The series follows the lives and families of two parents and their…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/This_Is_Us

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+ 3 more evidence sources

help

Claim 21: “seven states, plus D.C., registered reading gains between 2022 and 2025”

INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE

No evidence was found after searching for this specific claim regarding reading gains between 2022 and 2025.

info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.