Today, the U.S. Department of Education released the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) Long-Term Trend results. The headline from education news site The 74 says it all: “‘Nation’s Report Card’: Two Decades of Growth Wiped Out by Two Years of Pandemic.”

According to the entity that oversees NAEP testing, “The LTT [Long-Term Trend] assessment was administered to 9-year-olds in early 2020, immediately prior to school closures due to COVID-19. By assessing 9-year-olds in 2022, when schools were reopened, the LTT captures student performance at two critical points in time. Results will improve our understanding of the pandemic’s impact on student learning.”

Long-Term Trend results do not include state-level scores. Fortunately, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction will release state test scores for the 2021-22 school year later today.