While teachers unions push politics, reading scores hit historic lows

America is facing a reading catastrophe. Nearly five years after pandemic closures, only 31% of fourth graders can read proficiently, achievement gaps are widening, and student performance continues to slide. Yet instead of treating literacy as an emergency, many of the nation’s most powerful teachers unions remain consumed by political activism — organizing protests, advancing ideological causes, and turning classrooms into vehicles for social advocacy while millions of children struggle to read at grade level.

According to an analysis of state standardized tests taken by more than 20 million K–8 students, reading scores in most grades are unchanged from spring 2021. And in some cases, they have fallen further. 

The data is stark: Fourth- and eighth-graders are now reading two points below their 2022 levels, extending an already steep 3-point drop since 2019. The lowest-performing students now score roughly 100 points below the highest-performing students, a gap that has been growing for