5  Conclusion

In conclusion, this analysis highlights significant declining trends and disparities in Mathematics and Reading scores among 9-year-old students. While scores improved steadily from the 1980s to the early 2000s, recent declines, particularly from 2020 to 2022, reflect the disruptive impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. Historical inequities in performance persist, with Black, Hispanic, and low income students facing greater challenges. Moving forward, addressing these gaps will be essential for ensuring fair educational outcomes.

For future analysis, data that incorporates more than one variable in the datasets could uncover more insights into differences between across different demographics. Furthermore, the introduction of significance tests could improve our analysis by indicating the statistical significance of drops in reading and mathematics scores.