Kids in reading recession as scores decline

Before every important test, teacher Nancy Barajas dims the lights, turns on a disco ball and blasts music from her playlist. Her sixth graders dance together as a “pre-celebration” to boost their confidence, then take their exam. Lately, there’s been a lot to celebrate in elementary schools in Modesto, California. Both reading and math scores have increased consistently over the past several years.

But across the country, results are gloomier. Experts warn that the US is experiencing a reading recession — a slide that predates the pandemic’s disruptions in schooling.

Reading scores have been falling for years

Scholars at Harvard, Stanford and Dartmouth analyzed state literacy test results from third to eighth grade for over 5,000 school districts in 38 states. The resulting Education Scorecard allows comparisons across districts and states. What they found was sobering: Only five states plus the District of Columbia had meaningful growth in reading test scores from 2022 to 2025. Nationally, students remain nearly half a grade level behind pre-pandemic reading performance and only slightly better in math.

Literacy test scores have been falling since 2013 for eighth graders and 2015 for fourth graders, according to the National Assessment of Educational Progress. “The pandemic was the mudslide that had followed seven years of steady erosion in achievement,” said Thomas Kane, a Harvard professor who helped create the scorecard.

Some states and school districts are making progress — largely by shifting toward phonics-based instruction and providing extra support for struggling readers. The picture is brighter in math. Almost every state saw improvements in math test scores from 2022 to 2025. Student absenteeism also declined in most states. In over 400 US school districts, including Modesto, reading or math growth outpaced demographically similar districts in the same state.

What’s behind the reading recession — and what’s working

They are still debating the causes. One possible factor is the rise of social media on smartphones and corresponding declines in kids’ recreational reading. States have also backed off on strict consequences for schools whose students fail to make progress on standardized tests, Kane said. But the states that improved reading scores — notably Louisiana, Maryland, Tennessee, Kentucky and Indiana — all had one thing in common: They ordered schools to teach with a phonics-based approach known as the “science of reading.”

For years, schools taught reading using methods that de-emphasized phonics and encouraged strategies such as guessing words based on context clues. As literacy scores tumbled over the past decade, parents, scholars and literacy advocates pushed for teaching methods that align with decades of research — largely by sounding out words. Along with reforming teaching methods, states have also required schools to screen for learning disabilities such as dyslexia and hire coaches to help teachers improve their reading instruction.

That said, “science of reading” reforms did not guarantee success. Some states, including Florida, Arizona and Nebraska, changed parts of their reading instruction but still saw test scores fall.

Modesto and Detroit show local progress

In Modesto, reading instruction was revamped during the pandemic, and math a couple years earlier. The district created a new department to help students who are still learning English. Schools also ramped up teacher training, paying educators $5,000 to complete an extensive “science of reading” program called LETRS, or Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling. Modesto’s test scores grew enough to represent an extra 18 weeks of learning in math and 13 weeks in reading. Nevertheless, the district still has a way to go: Overall scores remain far below grade level.

A focus on literacy has also improved scores in Detroit — but so have efforts to get kids in school more consistently. For years, the large urban district struggled with deplorable school conditions, leading to a 2016 lawsuit in which students argued they’d been denied the “right to read.” The lawsuit ended in a settlement of over $94 million. While the district is still far below the national average, student test scores have grown faster than in similar urban districts in Michigan. “It took a lot to rebuild systems, and now kids are learning at higher levels, but I’m still not satisfied,” said Detroit Superintendent Nikolai Vitti.

The money has helped Munger Elementary-Middle School, located in a largely Latino neighborhood, to employ 18 educators who give kids extra support in small groups. An attendance agent makes calls to the homes of absent students, even showing up at their doors. Just a few years ago, first grade teacher Samantha Ciaffone said it was normal for about seven or eight kids to be absent every day. Now it’s usually only one or two. “It allows us to be better educators to see kids consistently in the seat instead of once or twice a week,” she said.

Southern states lead in education reforms

For the last decade, the South has stood out as a region leading the way on education reforms — bucking an established trend of landing at the bottom of education rankings. Southern states were quick to change to research-based teaching methods and have paid to train and coach teachers. It’s paid off. Louisiana and Alabama were the only states where math scores were higher in 2025 than pre-pandemic. Louisiana is also the only state that beat its pre-pandemic average in reading, with 87% of traditional public school students attending a district where scores are higher than in 2019.

Alabama had standout gains in reading following the pandemic, driven by a state law requiring every school to use phonics-based instruction. The Legislature modeled math reforms in 2022 off Alabama’s reading successes. The state’s Numeracy Act standardized math instruction, required regular testing and mandated intervention for kids who lacked adequate math skills. Oxmoor Valley Elementary in Birmingham hired a full-time math specialist this year to help struggling kids. The school, which made the state’s “failing” list in 2016, has steadily improved math and reading scores, although a majority of kids still test below proficient in both subjects.

They stress such progress is possible across the U.S., because it’s been done before. Starting in the 1990s, the country saw decades of growth in test scores and graduation rates, while racial disparities declined. That progress continued until the mid-2010s. “We made enormous progress as a country in terms of educational success from over a 30-year period. Test scores went up dramatically,” said Stanford professor Sean Reardon. “And so I think that says, as a country, we can improve education and educational opportunity.”

At Modesto’s Fairview Elementary, where Barajas teaches, students now practice their reading speed and fluency every day. After a dance break, the class reads a one-page text together in unison for one minute, then students split into pairs to read again. Students learning English are paired with native English speakers, and each child gets a turn reading with Barajas. “Eventually, you get through the word like it’s water,” one boy said. “You just say it smooth.”