One teacher<\/a>, at least, says maybe they should be.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The results from 2024\u2019s National Assessment of Educational Progress<\/a> found that the slide in American students\u2019<\/a> reading abilities has only worsened. The percentage of 8th graders<\/a> with \u201cbelow basic\u201d reading skills was 33%, the lowest in the exam\u2019s three-decade history. The percentage of fourth graders<\/a> \u201cbelow basic\u201d was the largest in 20 years at 40%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cOur lowest performing students are reading at historically low levels,\u201d said Peggy Carr<\/u><\/a>, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which administers the NAEP exam. \u201cWe need to stay focused in order to right this ship.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n A big reason for the drop was the disruption in education caused by the height of the COVID-19<\/a> pandemic, but educators are looking to see if there are other causes<\/a> behind the drop in competency. \u201cThis is a major concern \u2014 a concern that can\u2019t be blamed solely on the pandemic,\u201d Carr said.<\/u><\/a> \u201cOur nation is facing complex challenges in reading.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Alarmed by the drop in reading scores, a high school teacher named Amber, who goes by @Amber.Maree44<\/a> on TikTok, is considering telling her students the grade level in which they read in hopes that it will motivate them and give them a reality check on their performance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m starting to think that we need to be more straightforward with students about their progress and where they\u2019re at academically,\u201d Amber said. \u201cI think they need to know what grade level they\u2019re performing at.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amber\u2019s perspective may also be helpful to parents. A 2023 study<\/u><\/a> revealed a significant gap between parents\u2019 perceptions of their child\u2019s performance and their actual standing compared to grade-level standards. Nearly nine out of ten parents thought their child was at grade level, while about half were below grade level nationally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cI\u2019m hesitant to do this because I know that we don\u2019t want students to feel bad about themselves, and I know that we don\u2019t want to discourage students by showing them their deficits. So I think, for a lot of students, having a real reality check like that where it\u2019s like, \u2018Hey, you\u2019re in high school. But it looks like you\u2019re reading at a fifth-grade level,\u2019 I think some students need that in order to push themselves to actually try in school,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Amber\u2019s suggestion runs counter to some in education who believe that if children are told they are below grade level, it will discourage them from reading<\/u><\/a>. Students may not challenge themselves by attempting to read above their level, or they may become discouraged.<\/p>\n\n\n\n This may further deter their progress, and it is far from an imperfect process to determine where a child is with their reading skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cTo the people saying \u2018oh but only tell the parents\u2019 no, the kid needs to know. The parents can\u2019t read for them, or do the work for them. also some parents don\u2019t care, or don\u2019t get it,\u201d one person wrote in the comments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n
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