U.S. 8th graders鈥� digital literacy skills declined between 2018 and 2023 on , a global assessment of students鈥� preparedness for the digital world.
U.S. scores were on par with the international average for computer and information literacy, but they were below the international average for computational thinking, according to the of the study, which included more than 2,300 students from 118 schools in the United States.
The study comes as young people are spending more time online and as the media landscape is becoming more complex. Generative artificial intelligence is making it even harder to tell what鈥檚 real and what鈥檚 not, and that鈥檚 why experts say it鈥檚 important for kids to learn how to think critically about all the information they鈥檙e being inundated with every day.
The average computer and information literacy score for U.S. students in 2023 was 482鈥攁 37-point decline from 2018, when the average U.S. score was 519, according to the NCES. The international average in 2023 was 476. The assessment defines computer and information literacy as the ability 鈥渢o use computers to investigate, create, and communicate in order to participate effectively at home, at school, in the workplace, and in society.鈥�
For computational thinking, the average U.S. score in 2023 was 461, which is also a 37-point decline from the 2018 U.S average of 498, according to NCES. The international average in 2023 was 483. Computational thinking is defined as the ability 鈥渢o evaluate and develop algorithmic solutions to [real-world] problems so that the solutions could be operationalized with a computer.鈥�
The highest proficiency level starts at a score of 661 and can go up from there based on the difficulty level of the questions.
The results are 鈥渄isappointing,鈥� said NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr in a statement. 鈥淭he results highlight the need for further inquiry and concentrated efforts to address the computer and informational literacy skills of our students鈥攖hese skills are as fundamental as the 3 R鈥檚 [reading, writing, and arithmetic].鈥�
The decline in scores in the assessments didn鈥檛 just happen in the United States. Average computer and information literacy scores were also lower in three other education systems: Denmark, Finland, and Germany. Average computational thinking scores also declined in Denmark and Germany.
Building digital literacy skills requires explicit teaching, not just tech time
While the COVID-19 pandemic led to an increase in students and educators using digital tools for teaching and learning, it did not translate to an increase in students鈥� digital literacy-related skills, according to the report.
鈥淭hese are skills that likely require explicit teaching rather than passive exposure to technology in order to develop productively in most students,鈥� the report said.
In the United States, there isn鈥檛 a national mandate to teach media/digital literacy skills to K-12 students, but more state legislatures are asking state boards of education to adopt or consider adopting media literacy education standards. As of December 2023, at least 18 governors had signed bills concerning K-12 media literacy or digital citizenship education, according to nonprofit advocacy group .
Daniela DiGiacomo, an associate professor at the University of Kentucky鈥檚 School of Information Science, said she鈥檚 鈥渘ot surprised鈥� about the results.
鈥淯ntil we make it a policy priority from a top-down perspective, as well as provide on-the-ground support for teachers, it won鈥檛 become ubiquitous or routine that students are getting these experiences,鈥� DiGiacomo said.
U.S. students lag behind other countries in computational thinking
The same could be said for computational thinking鈥攐ne of the pillars of computer science education, according to experts.
Teachers have a lot of pressure to teach the content that is tested, experts say, and because there鈥檚 often no mandate and no resources to teach media literacy and computer science, those topics get pushed aside, even if teachers think they鈥檙e important.
Comparing the United States with countries that have higher average computational thinking scores鈥攕uch as South Korea, where the average score was 537 in 2023 and 536 in 2018鈥斺�渋t shows the difference between having a clear national mandate,鈥� said Jake Baskin, the executive director of the Computer Science Teachers Association. There鈥檚 a 鈥渃lear need to invest in rolling out computer science education across the K-12 grade span to keep up with our peers in other nations.鈥�
More states are requiring students to take a foundational computer science class to graduate, according to Code.org鈥檚 annual report. In 2017, one state, Nevada, had enacted a requirement. Now, 10 more states are in the process of implementing new requirements.
鈥淲e鈥檝e seen really tremendous growth in the number of schools that are offering computer science and an outstanding surge of teachers that have raised their hand and said, 鈥業 know this is important for my students and I want to learn with them and figure out how to bring this content into my classroom,鈥欌�� Baskin said. But we 鈥渉ave a long ways to go.鈥�
