Discipline reforms hurt student achievement

District‑level test scores through 2025 show reading and math declines across most U.S. districts, with the largest falls among lower‑achieving students and Black students. The article hypothesizes that post‑2014 shifts in disciplinary practice and a broader cultural pivot (the 'Great Awokening') — alongside COVID closures — reduced accountability and in‑person adult supervision in ways that depressed measurable learning. — If true, this links cultural and policing/policy debates (school discipline, accountability, 'anti‑racism' reforms) to concrete learning losses and would reshape K–12 reform priorities and political arguments about equity and standards.