Pandemic Impact: Nationwide Exams Show Record Drops in Math and Reading Scores

Results from the 2022 National Assessment of Educational Progress are showing the largest drop in math scores ever with declines in every state.  Reading scores didn’t fare much better with the largest drop in 4th grade reading since 1990.  Educators say that the pandemic has exacerbated existing gaps in education and tech issues hampered remote learning.  Ben Chapman, education reporter at the WSJ, joins us for the big concern, it could take years for students to recover.

Next, as winter approaches public health officials are warning that other viruses could be coming back with a vengeance.  Covid is obviously a concern with new variants always on the horizon, but flu cases are higher than usual for this time of the year, and then there are worries of respiratory syncytial virus or R.S.V.  Apoorva Mandavilli, reporter at the NY Times, joins us for how cases are expected to be mild, but the sheer number of them could overwhelm hospitals.

Finally, there’s an army of robot workers coming to fill in during this tight labor market.  Better technology and improved cost-effectiveness are hitting at a time when employers are still facing a worker shortage.  A half-million industrial robots were installed globally last year, and we’re also seeing a rise the “service” robot industry with everything from autonomous cleaning robots and those that can unload trucks.  Christopher Mims, tech columnist at the WSJ, joins us for what to know.

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