American fourth and eighth graders are struggling with math after COVID-19 prompted school closures across the country, per a new report.
"I would call these declines sharp, steep," a commissioner at an agency within the U.S. Department of Education, Peggy Carr, said according to a Wall Street Journal report. "Something that we should be concerned about is that this isn’t just the impact of the pandemic."
American students took the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study (TIMSS) along with students from other countries, with nations like Finland and England surpassing the U.S. in math and science respectively.
Some educators are pointing to changing trends in American education as possible areas for concern.
"Coming out of Covid, parents and students got comfortable with the idea that it’s OK to stay home," a middle school principal in Georgia, Suzan Harris, told The Journal.
Scores for American students dropped after years of gains, according to the Journal, falling even faster compared to other countries in eighth grade math and fourth grade science.
School systems across the country, including in Chicago, are facing heightened "chronic absenteeism" from students and even among teachers who have skipped more than 10 days of the 2023-2024 school year.
State records show that over 41% of Chicago Public School (CPS) teachers exceeded 10 days of absence last year, the Chicago Tribune reported.
Some education experts argue that the education gaps in the U.S. cannot be solved easily.
"It takes a certain amount of time to teach the Pythagorean theorem," he said. "Teachers can’t just talk faster."
As President-elect Donald Trump continues to assemble his cabinet before taking office on Jan. 20, his education policy became a focus of debate after announcing his intention to appoint Linda McMahon to lead the Department of Education.
McMahon, the former head of World Wrestling Entertainment, will likely lead an effort to reduce federal government involvement in education for students, if she is successfully appointed.
Fox News' Josh Nelson contributed to this report.
