New York’s schools are spending more than ever, but student performance keeps falling. The latest disappointing results showing declining reading skills are not an isolated setback, but part of a longer pattern.

For the past decade, New York’s fourth- and eighth-grade students’ performance in math and reading has been declining. Between 2013 and 2024, New York’s fourth-grade mathematics scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) fell from 240 to 234, while the reading scores declined from 224 to 215.

To be fair, student performance declined nationwide, and COVID made the problem worse. But two things stand out. First, New York’s decline began before COVID. Second, New York’s drop among fourth graders was larger than the national average.

Most importantly, this disturbing data about New York’s decline comes from the National Center for Education Statistics, an outside source, not from New York’s own education........

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