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US 'Report Card' shows students have fallen behind in reading, barely budged in math: ‘The news is not good’

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US 'Report Card' shows students have fallen behind in reading, barely budged in math: ‘The news is not good’

American students’ reading skills have continued to decline since the COVID-19 pandemic, while their math skills have barely improved, according to a report from the Department of Education released Tuesday. 

Often called the “Nation’s Report Card,” the 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is given every two years and considered one of the best indicators of the academic progress of the U.S. school system. The most recent exam was administered in early 2024 in every state, testing fourth- and eighth-grade students on their math and reading skills.

The results showed that, compared to 2022, the average math score for eighth grade students was virtually unchanged, while reading scores fell 2 points at both grade levels. One-third of eighth grade students scored below “basic” in reading, more than ever in the history of the assessment.

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A student raises their hand in a classroom at Tussahaw Elementary school Aug. 4, 2021, in McDonough, Ga. (AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)

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“Today’s NAEP results reveal a heartbreaking reality for American students and confirm our worst fears: not only did most students not recover from pandemic-related learning loss, but those students who were the most behind and needed the most support have fallen even further behind,” the DOE said in a statement. “Despite the billions of dollars that the federal government invests in K-12 education annually, and the approximately $190 billion in federal pandemic funds, our education system continues to fail students across the nation.”

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Students are considered below basic if they are missing fundamental skills. For example, eighth grade students who scored below basic in reading were typically unable to make a simple inference about a character’s motivation after reading a short story, and some were unable to identify that the word “industrious” means “to be hard-working.”

“The news is not good,” said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees the assessment. “We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic.”

Empty Classroom In Elementary School.

(Education Images/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)

Among the few bright spots was an improvement in fourth grade math, where the average score ticked up 2 points on a scale of 500. But it’s still 3 points lower than the 2019 pre-pandemic average, 

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Despite the abysmal results, some states and districts did make significant strides, including in Washington, D.C., where the average score increased 10 points. But for the most part, American schools are not showing significant progress. 

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Even more alarming for officials was the obvious divide between higher- and lower-performing students, which has grown wider than ever. Students with the highest scores outperformed their peers from two years ago, making up some ground lost during the pandemic. But the lowest performers are scoring even lower, falling further behind.

The latest setbacks follow a historic backslide in 2022. In that year’s exam, student achievement fell across both subjects and grade levels, in some cases at unprecedented levels.

Children in a classroom

Children reading at their desk in a classroom.  (Getty Images)

This round of testing again featured students whose lives were disrupted by the pandemic. When COVID hit in 2020, the fourth graders were in kindergarten, and the eighth graders were in fourth grade.

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But Carr said poor results can no longer be blamed solely on the pandemic, warning that the nation’s education system faces “complex challenges.”

A survey done alongside the exam found in 2022 that fewer young students were reading for enjoyment, which is linked to lower reading scores. And new survey results found that students who are often absent from class — a persistent problem nationwide — are struggling the most.

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“The data are clear,” Carr said. “Students who don’t come to school are not improving.”

The results provide fresh fuel for a national debate over the impact of pandemic school closures, though they’re unlikely to add clarity given the lack of definitive studies linking school closures to bigger academic setbacks. 

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Protesters target Tesla showrooms over Elon Musk’s cost-cutting

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Protesters target Tesla showrooms over Elon Musk’s cost-cutting

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Protesters gathered outside Tesla showrooms across the US on Saturday to demonstrate against the drastic cuts Elon Musk, the billionaire adviser to President Donald Trump, is imposing on the federal government.

Organisers cited 37 protests across the country as part of an effort co-ordinated through the social media hashtags #TeslaTakedown and #TeslaTakover.

Musk’s car company is emerging as a target for political outrage in the US and Europe in response to the billionaire’s outsized influence in the White House.

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Through his so-called Department of Government Efficiency (Doge), Musk has orchestrated the dismissal of tens of thousands of civil servants, and gained access to sensitive US Treasury payments. He has also voiced his support for the German far-right and called for the centre-left government of Sir Keir Starmer in the UK to be thrown out.

What began with Tesla owners slapping bumper stickers on their cars saying “I bought this before Elon went crazy” has grown to activists projecting an image of Musk making a gesture many have likened to a Nazi salute on to Tesla’s factory in Berlin.

Protesters rally at a Tesla showroom in New York on Saturday. © Bloomberg

The UK campaign group Led by Donkeys joined with Germany’s Centre for Political Beauty in January to project the image, part of a longer montage of Musk’s recent political statements. The group said it was produced in response to the Tesla chief executive’s endorsement of German far-right political party, the AfD.

Local news outlets have reported on arson and attempted arson at Tesla showrooms in Oregon and Colorado. Earlier this month a Tesla showroom in The Hague was defaced with graffiti that included swastikas and anti-fascist slogans.

Dutch police confirmed to the FT that they were in contact with Tesla and the investigation was continuing, but no arrests had yet been made.

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Tesla’s stock, which climbed after the presidential election, fell 6 per cent on Tuesday to $328.50. It rebounded to close the week at $355.84 but is still down 12 per cent since the start of the year.

“The worry of the Street is that Musk dedicating so much time — even more than we expected — to Doge takes away from his time at Tesla,” said Wedbush analyst Dan Ives.

“In addition, Musk’s Doge-related actions and more powerful alliance with Trump clearly could alienate some consumers to move away from the Tesla brand.”

About 50 to 100 protesters turned out in Portland, Oregon on Saturday, carrying signs saying, “Dethrone Musk” and “If Tesla survives, your country dies”.

Edward Niedermeyer, author of Ludicrous: The Unvarnished Story of Tesla Motors, was one of them. Since Musk’s power is not derived from election to public office, he said, boycotting and divesting from Tesla is the only tool available to curb his agenda.

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He argued that Tesla was overvalued and that its core business of making and selling cars was deteriorating. Significant losses could force investors to sell, triggering a drop in the share price and forcing Musk to sell a portion of his shares to meet a margin call.

“Every Tesla sale that you prevent, every dollar not spent servicing a Tesla, not charging at the Supercharger — these further degrade the business,” Niedermeyer said.

“It’s not easy, it’s not guaranteed, but we do have the opportunity to wipe out a huge amount of Elon Musk’s wealth.”

In Chicago, protesters carried a banner saying “Stop buying Nazi cars”.

City resident Lisa Pereira said she came to the demonstration because “you have to do something”. She said she was disturbed by the administration’s attempts to crush diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, its aggressive immigration enforcement, and the power wielded by Musk.

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“Everything is a little off the rails,” she said. “So I decided I had to show up. I had to be in cahoots with my soul.”

Chris White said he attended on Saturday because he fears “we’re living through a fascist coup”.

“My kids are trans,” he said. “I’m getting told they don’t exist. I don’t know if their healthcare will exist.”

Though one man yelled from a truck, “Elon’s my hero!” most passers-by in the heavily Democratic city expressed support.

“I’d rather buy a Rivian,” said one, referring to the electric-truck maker whose showroom was a block away from the protest.

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Tesla did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

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Amazon workers vote against unionizing a North Carolina warehouse

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Amazon workers vote against unionizing a North Carolina warehouse

Amazon’s distribution center in Garner, N.C., opened in August 2020.

Scott Sharpe/The News & Observer via Getty Images


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Scott Sharpe/The News & Observer via Getty Images

Amazon workers in North Carolina have voted against unionizing as the retail giant once again prevailed in its fight against labor organizing.

Around 4,300 workers at a warehouse in Garner, N.C., a suburb of Raleigh, were eligible to cast ballots over the past week. They voted whether to join the grassroots union called Carolina Amazonians United for Solidarity and Empowerment, or CAUSE.

Workers voted nearly 3-to-1 against unionizing. Federal labor officials’ tally showed 829 votes in favor and 2,447 votes against, with 77 ballots set aside as challenged by either the union or the company.

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Representatives of the unionization effort did not immediately respond to NPR’s request for comment on Saturday.

Union organizers, who are current and former workers, said they would push for higher wages, more reliable hours, better safety measures and other changes. They faced a staunch opposition campaign by Amazon.

Amazon, the nation’s second-largest private employer in the U.S. after Walmart, has argued its employees benefit from working directly with the company — without the involvement of unions.

“We’re glad that our team in Garner was able to have their voices heard, and that they chose to keep a direct relationship with Amazon,” Eileen Hards, a company spokesperson, said in a statement on Saturday. “We look forward to continuing to make this a great place to work together, and to supporting our teammates as they build their futures with us.”

Hards said in an earlier statement that Amazon “already offers” what unions are requesting, such as “safe, inclusive workplaces, competitive pay, industry-leading benefits — including health care on day one, pre-paid college tuition, and a 401k with company match — opportunities for career growth, and more.”

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The company has long fought off efforts to organize its packers, delivery drivers and other employees. In January, workers at one Amazon-owned Whole Foods location in Philadelphia voted to become the first unionized store in the chain. Whole Foods has since asked the National Labor Relations Board to disqualify the union’s win, in part because the federal agency no longer has enough board members to certify the vote since President Trump fired a Democratic member.

The company continues to legally challenge its first unionized warehouse, in New York, nearly three years since the historic vote. In that time, the finances and internal cohesion of that upstart Amazon Labor Union deteriorated. The group has joined forces with the powerful International Brotherhood of Teamsters.

The Teamsters separately organized some of Amazon’s delivery drivers, though the company also does not recognize this representation. In December, the union led drivers and warehouse workers in picketing multiple locations around the U.S., trying to draw more people into the union fold and press Amazon to begin negotiating collective-bargaining contracts.

Amazon is also appealing a November ruling by a federal labor judge that ordered a third union election — a re-redo — at a warehouse in Alabama. In the original 2021 vote, workers overwhelmingly rejected the union. U.S. labor officials later found Amazon illegally influenced the result. The second election’s results remained too close to call for over two years, as the union and the company accused each other of breaking labor laws.

Amazon workers and federal labor investigators have filed numerous complaints alleging labor-law violations and illegal union-busting tactics by the company, which Amazon has denied and legally challenged. In fact, one of the company’s lawsuits has questioned the very existence of the National Labor Relations Board, arguing its structure violates the Constitution.

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Editor’s note: Amazon is among NPR’s recent financial supporters.

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Spotify to launch new premium service aimed at music ‘superfans’

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Spotify to launch new premium service aimed at music ‘superfans’

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Spotify will launch a new super-premium subscription aimed at audio enthusiasts that will cost an extra $6 a month, said three people briefed on the matter, as the Swedish group expands the streaming service.

Spotify will charge $18 a month for the new service and debut it later this year after sealing fresh licensing deals with Universal Music and Warner Music to allow their copyrighted songs from artists such as Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift to be included in the subscription.

Spotify has not announced a fresh deal with Sony Music, the third major record label and home to stars such as Beyoncé. The new subscription might not come until the autumn, said one person familiar with the discussions.

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The subscription, called “Music Pro”, will offer three main features to entice sign-ups: higher-quality audio; early access to concert tickets; and increased functionality such as a “DJ” option for streaming.

The ticketing feature is part of a push by the music industry to capitalise on “superfans” — the listeners who regularly buy merchandise and flock to concerts for their favourite stars.

Spotify’s main rivals, Apple Music and Amazon Music, already offer higher-quality “lossless” audio as part of their basic paid music streaming plans. Spotify has been teasing its own hi-def audio product since 2021, but it has been delayed repeatedly.

Spotify has been on a hot streak, having recently reported its first full year of profitability after slashing costs and laying off thousands of staff. Its shares have nearly tripled in the past year as investors cheered the results.

With a stock market capitalisation of $130bn, Spotify is valued by Wall Street as worth more than all three of the major record labels combined. The labels wanted to wring more money from Spotify in the most recent deals.

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Chief executive Daniel Ek earlier this month teased his plans for a new subscription tier during an earnings call. “The next version of the music industry, I believe, is one where we’re going to tailor experience of Spotify to all of these different subgroups,” he said. “We’re sort of moving from this one size fits all to this much more sort of specialised tier as the base of consumers are growing into the hundreds of millions.”

As part of the deals agreed with Universal and Warner, Spotify will also add more professional music videos to its platform, as it looks to compete with YouTube, TikTok and others.

Deutsche Bank analysts predicted this super premium tier “could drive the next leg of revenue growth” for Spotify.

But Midia Research offered a more sceptical view. “You could make a case that a superfan tier is disruptive innovation, but that will depend upon whether it really pushes the boundaries of what streaming is,” analyst Mark Mulligan wrote. “Otherwise, it may only be as ‘disruptive’ as mobile carriers having premium plans for higher-spending consumers.”

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