Pandemic data shows 9-year-old math and reading scores plummeted, Twitter reacts: 'Absolutely devastating'

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Conservatives, politicians, media personalities and more reacted on Thursday to a new set of test results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which showed that math and reading test scores plummeted for 9-year-old students during the pandemic. 

"Average scores for age 9 students in 2022 declined 5 points in reading and 7 points in mathematics compared to 2020," the Department of Education said. "This is the largest average score decline in reading since 1990, and the first ever score decline in mathematics."

During the pandemic, local and federal government in addition to schools, forced students to learn virtually. Several studies have shown remote learning has had a negative effect on children attending school. 

Many on Twitter blamed Democrats and teachers unions, as others said the findings were "unsurprising." 

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Students wearing masks board a school bus outside New Explorations into Science, Technology and Math school, in the Lower East Side neighborhood of New York, Dec. 21, 2021. In a reversal, New York Mayor Eric Adams is considering a remote option for schools. (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File) (AP Photo/Brittainy Newman, File)

Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said, "this is what happens when you put politics over the education of kids." 

Jason Furman, a former economic adviser to Barack Obama, pointed to the "abuse" of Economist and Brown University professor Emily Oster, who released a study during the height of the pandemic that suggested schools were not super-spreaders.

"You're not hearing from a lot of people on some topics because they don't want to deal with it," he said. "The result is worse outcomes," Furman continued to say in a Twitter thread encouraging more people to speak up about similar issues. 

"I would also encourage more people to speak up. I know more people were concerned about children & learning loss than expressed it. Ditto on other issues. It can be hard but share your expertise & views, even or perhaps especially when contrary to your team's narrative," he said. 

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Oster also responded to the data, and said it was "terrible" and "unsurprising." 

Stephen L. Miller, contributing editor for the Spectator, responded to the data with a screenshot of a quote from Dr. Anthony Fauci. Fauci was asked about shutdowns and if they would "forever" damage children. 

Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, attends a meeting with members of the White House Covid-19 Response Team at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Tuesday, Jan. 4, 2022.  (Ting Shen/Bloomberg via Getty Images)

"Well, I don't think it's forever irreparably damaged anyone," Fauci said at the time. "People selectively … pull things out about me."

CNN's Kristen Holmes said the news was "absolutely devastating," and that it was "the biggest story today." 

The New York Times' Evan Hill noted that Black students "lost 13 points" compared to "five points" lost among white students, "widening the gap between the two groups."

Rep. Dan Bishop, R-N.C., said that Democrats and teachers unions "own this." 

"The impact of their lockdowns are coming home to roost, and it is nothing short of devastating," he said.

Others tagged Randi Weingarten, the American Federation of Teachers president, and said that she was the "mastermind behind the strategy of putting kids last." 

"Randi Weingarten and all of the members of teachers' unions who fought tooth and nail to keep kids locked out of school are responsible," Real Clear Politics co-founder Tom Bevan said. 

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A study published in April by the U.K. government found that COVID lockdowns impacted younger children's social and writing skills long after they've returned to the classroom.