Biden education secretary decries book banning after post-COVID test score plunge: A 'disservice' to students
Only 13% of students were proficient in history while 22% were proficient in civics
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona is blaming book "banning" for dismal U.S. history and civics scores released Wednesday by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), better known as the "nation's report card."
Numbers indicated a dip of 5 points in U.S. history, reaching 258 on a point scale of zero to 500, and only 13% of students tested scored at or above the proficient level in the subject, per The Associated Press.
Civics, scored on a scale ranging from zero to 300, fell for the first time since 1998, dropping two points to 150 between 2018 and 2022. Numbers also showed that just 22% of those tested scored at or above the proficient level in the subject.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}US MATH, READING TEST SCORES PLUNGE FOR STUDENTS ACROSS COUNTRY FOLLOWING COVID-19 PANDEMIC
Miguel Cardona speaks after then President-Elect Joe Biden announced him as his nominee for Education Secretary at the Queen theatre on December 23, 2020, in Wilmington, Delaware. ( (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images))
The most recent declines are the latest indication of COVID-era school policies' lasting impacts on student performance, particularly with stringent closure and quarantine protocols and transitions to remote learning.
Touching on the results that continue a decline from previous years, Cardona partly blamed book "banning" and censorship for the dismal outcome, seemingly taking a jab at Republicans like Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis who notoriously cracked down on allegedly divisive rhetoric in classrooms across The Sunshine State and even rejected a proposed outline for an AP African American Studies course.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Test scores show only 13% of students are proficient in U.S. history and only 22% are proficient in civics. (iStock)
"The latest data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress further affirms the profound impact the pandemic had on student learning in subjects beyond math and reading. It tells us that now is not the time for politicians to try to extract double-digit cuts to education funding, nor is it the time to limit what students learn in U.S. history and civics classes," Cardona said in a press release issued Wednesday.
"We need to provide every student with rich opportunities to learn about America’s history and understand the U.S. Constitution and how our system of government works. Banning history books and censoring educators from teaching these important subjects does our students a disservice and will move America in the wrong direction," he concluded.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Miguel Cardona, US secretary of education, from left, Xavier Becerra, secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), and Deb Haaland, US secretary of the interior, listen as US President Joe Biden speaks during a cabinet meeting at the White House in Washington, DC, US, on Thursday, Jan. 5, 2023. (Sarah Silbiger/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Overall, numbers released Wednesday indicate 40% of eighth graders tested scored below the "basic proficiency" standard in U.S. history, meaning, according to The Associated Press, "they likely cannot identify simple historical concepts in primary or secondary sources."
In civics, 31% of students performed below expectations.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Republican officials have particularly stifled conversations about race and gender that could be allegedly deemed divisive or "woke," but many blame the decline in test performance – including on college readiness examens such as the SAT and ACT – to transitions in learning styles spawned by the COVID-19 pandemic.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.