National report card shows drop in math scores for Arizona 8th-graders

PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) -- Math test scores took a hit nationwide for 13-year-olds, and Arizona 8th graders are no exception. The Nation’s Report Card records student performance for grades 4, 8, and 12 in public and private schools. In the latest report this week, math scores for 8th graders were down nine points from the previous school year.

The data is compiled from an annual exam where the maximum students can score is 500 in math. Arizona’s average score was 271 for the 2022-2023 school year, matching the national average. The Arizona average for the previous school year was 280, which was also a nine-point difference.

Save Our Schools Arizona feels the struggle of retaining teachers and says the impact of COVID learning is still affecting students. “There’s a lot of great evidence that really shows school closures was a piece of it, online learning was a piece of it. But really, the experience that we all felt together really shattered a lot of kids’ lives. It was traumatic for a lot of kids,” said Beth Lewis, the director of Save Our Schools Arizona.

State Superintendent Tom Horne was not satisfied with the state’s result. He said he plans to address the recent report by focusing more on the math curriculum for younger grade levels so kids can get up to speed by 8th grade. He also wants to work on reducing distractions in the classroom. “It’s not the fault of the kids, it’s the fault of prior leadership focusing on things other than academics. We are sending out school improvement teams, highly qualified teachers and administrators, to go out to the schools and help them do better,” said Horne.

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