While everyone plays the blame game, they overlook this simple quotation:

The declines don’t mean that students failed to learn anything or forgot things they already knew between 2019 and 2022. Rather, students did learn over that period, but progressed at slower rates than their peers had in prior years.

All states see some scores decline and none see gains

And

Not a single state saw clear gains on any test.

So what does that mean?

Consider this:

School Hours stayed the same.

Homework stayed the same.

Curricula and tests stayed the same.

Some schools never closed, but instead welcomed staffing shortages.

Thus, Only one thing was different.

The talent of teachers and their mastery of the classroom was missing.

Academic circles need to spin this argument on its head.

>>> Don’t value teachers = tests go down.

The math is without fallacy.

The proof is there.

The value of teachers is plain.

We should not complain that teachers have proven their value.

We should celebrate it.

And give them the tools they need to close this gap.

They know how.