Why Are US Kids Falling Behind in Reading and Math? Smartphones & Social Media Blamed

US schoolchildren are falling further behind in reading and math, with analysis showing the decline began years before the pandemic and is closely tied to smartphones and social media. Latest National Assessment of Educational Progress data show only 22 per cent of high school seniors reached proficient or above in math in 2024, down from 24 per cent in 2019, while reading proficiency stood at 35 per cent, down from 37 per cent.

Higher percentages scored below basic in both subjects. The findings have sparked debate among educators and policymakers, many of whom blame digital distractions for sapping pupils' focus and reducing time available for study.

A Decade-Long Learning Recession

The slide forms part of a longer-term pattern. The Education Scorecard report released in May 2026 found reading scores down in 83 per cent of US school districts and math scores down in 70 per cent compared with a decade earlier. Eighth-grade reading levels are now at their lowest point since 1990.

The downturn started around 2013, reversing two decades of steady progress and only accelerating during Covid school closures. Researchers from Stanford, Harvard and Dartmouth describe it as a 'learning recession' that the pandemic turned into a deeper crisis.

Chronic absenteeism as mentioned in a Slashbot report remains elevated at 23 per cent of pupils, making recovery significantly harder. The biggest losses have come among lower-achieving students, widening existing achievement gaps.

The Smartphone Connection

The timing aligns strikingly with the explosion in smartphone ownership and social media use among teenagers. Median eighth-grade math scores on the NAEP peaked in 2013 – precisely when smartphone adoption took off – and have fallen modestly since, with far sharper drops for the lowest-performing pupils as described in a Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Catholic schools recorded similar declines after 2013.

Social media's design to capture attention has cut into sustained reading practice and homework completion. An Instagram post shared by education campaigners put it plainly: 'Your school district is probably scoring worse than it was 10 years ago. One trend lines up almost perfectly with the decline: smartphones becoming a constant presence in kids' lives and classrooms.'

The Guardian details how Harvard scholar Martin West, vice-chair of the National Assessment Governing Board, told a Senate hearing that the circumstantial evidence is strong enough to warrant action. 'We lack direct evidence of a causal link between smartphones and learning, but I'm convinced that this technology is a key driver of youth mental health challenges, a distraction from learning, both inside and outside of schools, and a deterrent to reading.'

Policy Responses and the Road Ahead

The Education Week reported that US schools spent $30 billion (£22 billion) on educational technology in 2024, yet academic outcomes have continued to slip despite the investment. In response, more than a dozen states have introduced cellphone bans during school hours, with teachers reporting improved concentration and participation.

Several states have rolled out phonics-based reading programmes, producing gains in Louisiana, Maryland and Tennessee. Similar trends have appeared in other countries with high smartphone adoption rates as reported Parent Data, although global PISA score declines between 2012 and 2022 were driven primarily by pandemic-related school closures.

Early data from phone-free schools suggest gains in focus and reduced social media-related disruptions.Reading recovery remains slow, but the growing number of districts trialling restrictions on personal devices offers hope that the long decline in US pupil performance can finally be halted and reversed.