But, me, I fully believe it is due to the war on public education by the US GOP. I wish these articles broke down these scores by school type the children go/went to.
Kids sent to high end private schools by their ultra rich parents probably have seen no such decline. It is like the US is trying to move into a caste society, ruling class and serf class.
edit: spelling
They're learning precalculus in middle/high school these days, a subject I had no exposure to until late college (and which I had to cheat my way through). I can't help them with much of their homework anymore. School is way more challenging than it used to be.
But then they go home and learn mindless consumerism, social engineering and conspiracy theory from their phones.
The kids are better-educated than myself, but they exhibit a general lack of creativity. Everything is "role playing" other people's behavior or fanfiction expanding other people's work; even their sense of humor is meme-based and monosyllabic. Where their behavior turns malicious/criminal, they're usually getting their inspiration from some counter-culture influencer encouraging it.
A test that measures ability to think outside the box is showing poor results with this generation? Color me shocked!