America’s Reading Problem: Scores Were Dropping Even Before the Pandemic

The Dallas Morning News

Andrea Yon is used to helping students in need. At the Williston-Elko Middle School in rural South Carolina, where she has taught for seven years, more than 3 out of every 4 students are poor enough to qualify for free or reduced-priced lunch. Before the pandemic, some of her struggling seventh and eighth graders read at a fifth or sixth grade level.