TAKEAWAYS OF LTT ASSESSMENTS

 The key takeaways from the 2022–2023 Long-Term Trend (LTT) Assessments are as follows:

1. Decline in Scores: The average scores for 13-year-olds declined 4 points in reading and 9 points in mathematics compared to the previous assessment administered during the 2019–20 school year¹. Compared to a decade ago, the average scores declined 7 points in reading and 14 points in mathematics.

2. Performance Trends by Percentiles: Reading scores declined at all selected percentiles since 2020¹. The declines ranged from 3 to 4 points for middle- and higher-performing students to 6 to 7 points for lower-performing students.

3. Impact of the Pandemic: The assessments were conducted ahead of schedule to provide data on post-pandemic student performance². In nearly all grades, achievement gains during 2022–23 fell short of pre-pandemic trends, which stalled progress toward pandemic recovery.

4. Declining Student Performance: There was a decline in student performance in basic reading skills, particularly for lower-performers across racial/ethnic groups at age 9⁴. There was also a more widespread loss in basic mathematical knowledge among lower- and higher-performing Black, Hispanic, and White students.

5. Comparison with Previous Years: The average scores in LTT reading and mathematics for 9-year-olds in 2022 were higher than the earliest assessments in the 1970s, but lower compared to the previous assessments in 2020². The 2022 reading score for 9-year-old students was 7 points higher than 1971, but 5 points lower than 2020². The 2022 mathematics score for 9-year-olds was 15 points higher than 1973, but 7 points lower than 2020.