U.S. Teen Reading Scores Decline to Near 25-Year Low, Raising Educational Concerns
New global test results from the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) indicate a significant decline in the reading scores of 15-year-olds in the United States. These scores have fallen to a near 25-year low. The PISA test, administered last year, included approximately 760,000 15-year-olds across 91 countries, with a snapshot of 4,600 U.S. students from 144 schools. While math and science scores for U.S. teens remained largely steady, the reading score dropped by 14 points since 2022. Education experts, such as Naomi Baron of American University, describe these numbers as 'awful.' Tracey Burns of the National Center on Education and the Economy noted that a 14-point decrease is equivalent to about half a year of schooling. This trend is not isolated to the U.S., as global test scores have been plummeting for nearly 15 years, with science scores down 19 points, math down 30 points, and reading down a substantial 35 points since 2012. The COVID-19 pandemic was initially hoped to be a temporar... 
