The kids who had been “left behind” are doing much better today than 25 years ago. But what about everyone else?
I see three key trends worthy of comment.
1. Progress in math in fourth and eighth grade has been widespread and long-lasting. Virtually all groups of students are doing much better now than before. Here are a few examples of what widespread progress looks like, reproduced from this 2017 post:
Eighth grade math, white students, 1990–2015
