GEORGIA (WALB) - Reading and math scores have dropped to their lowest level in more than 20 years. This greatly impacts teenagers in the 12th grade, according to an exam released Tuesday, Sept. 9, which is known as the nation’s report card.

In 2024, 41% of students in Georgia tested as “proficient or distinguished learners” in American Literature and 45% in algebra concepts.

In reading, 32% of high school seniors scored below “basic,” meaning they were not able to find details in a text to help them understand its meaning.

In math, the average score in 2024 was the lowest since 2005, when the assessment framework changed significantly.

Only 33% of high school seniors were considered academically prepared for college-level math courses, a decline from 37% in 2019.

Experts say that COVID-19 played a major role in the falling scores, between school closures and heightened absenteeism.

Now, educators say a big problem is children’s increased screen time, shortened attention spans and a decline in reading long-form writing both in and out of school.

One out of six Georgians are considered “functionally illiterate,” according to Matthew Smith, the Director of Policy and Research at the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education.

This means those students “struggle to read for comprehension putting them in adverse risk for fraud or misinformation because they cannot comprehend when something’s not true.”

One of the solutions Smith suggested is encouraging parents and to be more involved.

“Teenagers and young adults are gonna learn more when it’s fun, and there’s something that happens from kindergarten to 12th grade where we lose that spark. We lose that interest. What we need to do as parents is really foster that learning and development and career exploration. Because if we’re not making it tangible for them and not having some kind of alignment with what they see in their life and in their community, in their environment, they’re gonna be continued to become disengaged.”

Other solutions that are being implemented by the Georgia Department of Education (GaDOE) are new ELA standards for K-12. The new standards will embed the science of reading, and they are being rolled out in every single Georgia classroom this year.

Additionally, GaDOE is expanding the state’s top screener which is an AI tool that gives one-on-one tutoring to students who need it.

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