紐時賞析／美國學生成績 一代不如一代

Why U.S. Test Scores Are in a Generation-Long Decline

美國學生成績 一代不如一代

Almost everywhere in America, students are performing worse than their peers were 10 years ago, according to new, district-level test score data released Wednesday by the Educational Opportunity Project at Stanford University.

根據史丹佛大學「教育機會計劃」公佈的最新學區層級測驗數據，幾乎美國各地學生的表現都比10年前的同齡學生更差。

Compared with a decade earlier, reading scores were down last year in 83% of school districts where data was available. Math scores were down in 70%. The declines have affected both rich and poor districts, and crossed racial and geographic divides.

和十年前相比，在有資料可得的學區中，去年閱讀成績下滑的比率高達83%；數學成績下滑的比率則是70%。這些退步同時出現在富裕與貧困地區，也橫跨了不同種族與地理區域。

The new data underscores that many districts have experienced a long-term slump in student achievement, not just a blip during the pandemic.

新資料顯示，許多學區的學生表現是長期下滑，不只是疫情期間短暫受挫而已。

From 2017 to 2019, students lost as much ground in reading as they did during the pandemic, and reading scores continued to fall at a similar rate through 2024.

從2017到2019年，學生在閱讀上的退步幅度，幾乎和疫情期間一樣大；而且一直到2024年，閱讀成績仍持續以相近速度下滑。

Immediately after the pandemic, there was hope that students would recover quickly. The new data shows that scores inched upward in reading last year and have climbed more steadily in math since 2022. But it has been nowhere near enough to make up for lost ground, researchers said.

疫情剛過後，人們原本希望學生能很快補回落後的進度。不過，新資料顯示，去年閱讀成績只小幅回升，數學自 2022年以來雖然穩定改善，但都還遠遠不夠彌補先前流失的學習成果。

The biggest losses have been among the lowest-achieving students.

退步最嚴重的是原本學習表現就最弱的學生。

“I cannot be more emphatic: This is an enormous problem that’s not getting enough attention,” said Nat Malkus, a senior fellow studying education policy at the American Enterprise Institute.

智庫「美國企業研究院」教育政策資深研究員納特．馬爾庫斯說：「我必須非常強調，這是一個重大問題，卻沒有獲得應有的重視。」

Education experts say there is no single reason for the declines. But the timing provides some clues.

教育專家表示，成績下滑沒有單一原因，但時間點提供了一些線索。

Students’ test scores had been increasing since 1990 — then abruptly stopped in the mid-2010s. That coincided with two events: an easing of federal school accountability under No Child Left Behind, which was replaced in 2015; and the rise of smartphones, social media and personalized school laptops.

學生的測驗成績從1990年以來一直持續上升，到了2010年代中期卻突然停止成長。這一時間點正好與兩件事重合：一是《不讓任何孩子落後法》在2015年被新法案取代，聯邦對學校的問責制度趨於寬鬆；二是智慧型手機、社羣媒體以及學校配發的個人學習筆電的普及。

The pandemic then accelerated learning declines, especially for the poorest students. Some pandemic effects have lingered. Student absenteeism, for example, remains higher than prepandemic.

接着，疫情又進一步加劇學習退步，尤其對最貧困的學生影響最大。疫情的部分後遺症至今仍在，例如學生缺課情況仍比疫情前嚴重。

In 1 in 3 school districts in the United States, students are reading a full grade level lower than they were in 2015.

美國每三個學區中，就有一個學區的學生閱讀水準比2015年整整落後一個年級。

Math scores declined more steeply during pandemic school closures but also started rebounding more quickly. Researchers say that’s probably because math is more affected by what happens in school, while reading skills can be developed at home.

數學成績在疫情期間學校停課時下滑特別明顯，但之後反彈速度也較快。研究人員說，很可能是因爲數學學習較仰賴學校系統性教學，閱讀能力比較容易在家裡自行培養。

文／Claire Cain Miller, Francesca Paris and Sarah Mervosh，譯／國際中心

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