High School Recovery Was Missed

Updated: 2025.09.22 30D ago 4 sources
NAEP reports 12th‑grade math and reading at their lowest in 20+ years, with 45% below basic in math and 32% below basic in reading. Pandemic recovery efforts focused heavily on early grades, but these results show a serious shortfall at the high‑school end of the pipeline. College‑level readiness in math fell to 33%, signaling urgent needs in grades 9–12. — It redirects learning‑loss debates and funding toward high schools, graduation standards, and community‑college remediation rather than concentrating remediation only in K–8.

Sources

American students are getting dumber
Matthew Yglesias 2025.09.22 90% relevant
The piece highlights the Sept. 9, 2025 NAEP release showing record‑low 12th‑grade reading and broad declines, reinforcing that post‑pandemic recovery has not materialized at the high‑school end (while noting D.C.’s bounce‑back), which aligns with the idea that high school recovery was overlooked.
Record-Low 35% in US Satisfied With K-12 Education Quality
msmash 2025.09.19 55% relevant
The Gallup finding of record‑low K‑12 satisfaction aligns with evidence of post‑pandemic learning setbacks (e.g., NAEP declines), suggesting public perception is deteriorating alongside measured performance.
The Nation’s Report Card Shows How Education Policy Has Failed
Jennifer Weber 2025.09.15 80% relevant
The article cites the 2024 NAEP showing record‑low 12th‑grade reading and math performance and argues high schoolers never recovered from earlier losses, echoing the idea that remediation focused on early grades while upper grades fell behind.
US High School Students Lose Ground In Math and Reading, Continuing Yearslong Decline
BeauHD 2025.09.09 100% relevant
NAEP 2024: 'Scores for our lowest‑performing students are at historic lows' and 12th‑grade averages at multi‑decade lows
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