US student test scores have been falling for a decade across nearly every state and demographic, and this is bad news for the next generation of American workers.

• Reading scores dropped in 83% of school districts over the past 10 years; math scores fell in 70%.
• The decline hit rich and poor, all races, red and blue states — only DC, Mississippi, and Hawaii bucked the trend.
• Covid made it worse, but the slide started in 2017, pointing to screens and culture as the main cause.
• Even families that limit screens are not far behind families that do not — kids average 19 hours a week on internet devices.
• Chromebooks replacing paper homework, plus less reading, fewer board games, and less outdoor play, are eroding basic skills.
• Post-Covid, rich kids recovered with tutoring and poor kids got government help; middle-class kids fell further behind.

Outlook: Scores will likely keep sliding unless schools cut back on screens and bring back paper-based learning.