National test results released Monday show the devastating effect of the pandemic on learning in Maryland, with achievement dropping to 1998 levels, wiping out two decades of educational progress. The drops in achievement by Maryland students on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, or NAEP, were some of the largest in the nation, particularly in fourth grade reading and math. While 35% of the state’s fourth graders were proficient in reading in 2019, just 31% were in 2022. And in math, the percentage of proficient fourth graders dropped eight points from the 2019 results to 31% this year. “There’s no sugarcoating the results,” Maryland State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury said. Relative to the rest of the nation, the state has been on a decline since 2011, he said. “You can’t just say it is because of the pandemic. The pandemic exacerbated the loss.”
