(FILES) Students sit with their laptop computers at St. Joseph Catholic School in La Puente, California on November 16, 2020. US student test scores in reading and math remain below pre-pandemic levels as a worrying gap continues to widen between high and low performers, officials said on January 29, 2025,. The biennial tests of American fourth and eighth graders -- correlating roughly to ages nine and 13, respectively -- showed improvements in 2024 for some students, but a steady decline for the lowest 10 percent. (Photo by Frederic J. BROWN / AFP) (Photo by FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images)