Math and reading scores for U.S. high school seniors are plummeting, according to new federal data released on Tuesday. Reading skills in particular have suffered, with test results dropping to their lowest scores since the assessments first began in 1992.
According to the new data, 32% of 12th grade students performed below the assessment’s basic reading achievement level, which measures whether students can find relevant details within text and come away with a literal understanding of what they read. In 1992, the portion of 12th grade students falling below that basic measure of reading comprehension was 20%.
Only 35% of 12th graders demonstrated a “proficient” level of reading skill, meaning that they could connect key points across reading samples and make more sophisticated inferen