中文摘要
许多人担忧2019年以来K–12学生成绩的大幅下降。这种担忧不无道理,因为它关系到学生的学习状况及其日后的生活结果。较少为人注意的是,在经历30多年的增长之后,学生成绩增长在疫情之前便已出现持续下滑。我们考察以全国和州层面NAEP成绩衡量的成绩下降的性质。我们的分析表明,疫情前的成绩下降幅度很大,开始时间早于通常认为的时间,且在州与州之间差异很大。重要的是,疫情学习损失的很大一部分其根源远在2020年之前,很可能不能归因于疫情本身。对通常被提出的各种学习损失成因的证据进行分析表明,成绩下降很可能源自多种影响因素,这些因素在各州之间和不同时期各不相同。要恢复学业成果方面的增长势头,很可能需要多方面的变革。教育政策主导权向各州的下放,为各州领导人迎接这一挑战提供了重要契机。
Abstract
Abstract Many are concerned about the large decline in K–12 student achievement since 2019. And rightly so, given what it signals about student learning and later life outcomes. Less noted is the pre‐pandemic sustained decline in student achievement growth that followed more than 30 years of increases. We examine the nature of achievement decline as measured by national and state NAEP scores. Our analysis suggests that pre‐pandemic achievement declines are large, began earlier than commonly thought, and vary substantially among states. Importantly, a large portion of the pandemic learning losses have their roots well before 2020 and are likely not attributable to the pandemic per se. An analysis of evidence for commonly suggested causes of learning loss suggests that achievement declines likely result from several influences that vary across states and over time. Regaining momentum on academic outcomes will likely require many changes. The devolution of leadership for education policy to states offers an important opportunity for state leaders to embrace this challenge.