Scores in math and reading declined at the worst level in decades for students during the pandemic, according to a new assessment.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also referred to as the “Nation’s Report Card,” released the report on tests administered to nine-year-old students nationwide this week.

“Average scores for age 9 students in 2022 declined 5 points in reading and 7 points in mathematics compared to 2020,” the report stated. “This is the largest average score decline in reading since 1990, and the first ever score decline in mathematics.”

The assessment compared reading and math scores from the winter of 2020 with the “results of long-term trend assessments in the winter of 2022.”

Black students were impacted more severely in math scores in comparison with white students, according to the assessment.