The education community has been rocked by recent data concerning the nation’s 8th graders. The latest Nation’s Report Card, released by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), reveals a concerning decline in the scores of eighth-grade students in U.S. history and civics. This marks a significant development as it is the first time civics scores have experienced a decline, while U.S. history scores have been steadily decreasing since 2014.

In response to the data, U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona contextualized the data through an ongoing political debate surrounding school curriculum and funding.

“The latest data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress further affirms the profound impact the pandemic had on student learning in subjects beyond math and reading. It tells us that now is not the time for politicians to try to extract double-digit cuts to education funding, nor is it the time to limit what students learn in U.S. history and civics classes,” said Cardona in a statement. “We need to provide every student with rich opportunities to learn about America’s history and understand the U.S. Constitution and how our system of government works. Banning history books and censoring educators from teaching these important subjects does our students a disservice and will move America in the wrong direction.”

Read the full report here.