CBS News97%
What led to the so-called "learning recession" in American schools? 96%
5/14/2026, 12:21:30 AM
BS Summary: This video contains 30 faulty reasoning types, including Post Hoc (False Cause), Negativity Bias, and Anecdotal, with Hasty Generalization as the most egregious example at 33.2% saturation with 189 hits. Analysis detected 2,039 faulty-reasoning hits from 570 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 93.8% and a BS Rank of 96% (700 of 16,813 videos). This video is worse (more manipulative) than 95.80% of the video peer group.
Well, the annual education scorecard is highlighting a long-term decline in learning among American students.
Scholars at Harvard, Stanford, and Dartmouth analyze state test scores from third-to-eighth graders and from 5,000 school districts in 38 states.
The report found nationally that students are nearly half a grade level behind pre-pandemic reading scores.
However, they are making slight gains in math.
The data also shows the declines have affected students from different socioeconomic, geographic, and racial backgrounds.
Schools have been focused on catching kids up since the COVID-19 pandemic upended education, but educators who worked on the scorecard say this so-called learning recession began before the pandemic.
For more on that, let's bring in CBS News National Correspondent Meg Oliver, who has covered education extensively for us.
So, Meg, you and I both have, you know, I have one child, you have three.
I'd like to get to some of your own tips, but what led to this so-called learning recession that we're talking about now?
Well, as you mentioned, this started well before the pandemic.
2013, actually, is when we started to see this slide, and there were a couple things happening.
One, states and schools were backing away from test-based accountability, but at the same time, that's when social media came into play.
And in 2014, maybe one in 14 said that they were on the internet constantly.
You would fast-forward to 2022, nearly half. And now today, Jericka, you know that students can average up to 9 hours of screen time, and that is interfering.
We've seen this dramatic shift for phone-free schools, but now there are several states that are pushing to reduce technology across the board, especially laptops, because we know that the data shows higher daily screen exposure in the classroom among 15-year-olds corresponds with not only math and lower reading scores, math and reading, but also science, as well.
So, when you look at this study, there were five states in the District of Columbia apparently that had meaningful growth.
Um, how are educators sort of learning from that? Like, what's going on there that needs to be implemented in other places?
>> All of those states that showed this growth, they all changed the way they teach. They took legislative action. One in particular is Tennessee, and we actually went there for the CBS Evening News in 2023, and we went to this Nashville elementary school where they went back to phonics-based I remember that. reading.
reading. They infused high-dosage tutoring.
They supplemented their literacy um program after school during the summer, and it's paying off.
But, they had to change.
>> Really quick, what are your tips?
Well, I talked to one of the researchers at Harvard today, and he said take a hard look at how much time your kid spends on social media at home.
Is it getting in the way of reading? And also, nine times out of 10, parents assume their child is reading on grade level.
Ask their teacher. What are your mom tips? Your personal tips?
>> My personal tips, you never take the phone to bed at night. You never take it to the bedroom, Jericka. Amen. And you know what I told my daughter? There will be homework during the summer break.
>> There you go. Summer slide, no. Exactly.
Thank you so much.
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