Gen Z Is the First Generation Dumber Than Their Parents

Re:Gen Z Is the First Generation Dumber Than Their Parents by GlibMonkeyDeath on Sunday October 18, 2026 @10:59AM (#50141663)

Indeed - all the graphs in that link show lower test scores for longer "in school cpu use". But the longitudinal comparison (2012-2018) show almost no change (except for zero CPU use, which they didn't really explain.)

This link shows the longitudinal drop in 2022 for the US - almost assuredly pandemic related https://nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=38. Otherwise the scores are higher than ever.

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Re:Gen Z Is the First Generation Dumber Than Their Parents by swed420 on Sunday October 18, 2026 @11:11AM (#50141768)

> almost assuredly pandemic related

But even in your link, you can see the plateau and subsequent decline prior to COVID.

The pandemic just exacerbated an already existing problem.

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Re:Gen Z Is the First Generation Dumber Than Their Parents by treis on Sunday October 18, 2026 @11:26AM (#50141911)

I don't know how much stock should be put in these numbers. Here in Atlanta there was widespread cheating organized by teachers and principals to game the results.

With NCLB test scores became very important. With Every Child Succeeds they became less so. The difference could simply be how much incentive is there to game the scores.

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Re:Gen Z Is the First Generation Dumber Than Their Parents by swed420 on Sunday October 18, 2026 @12:26PM (#50142518)

Gaming the scores is indeed a problem, but it too existed as a problem before the pandemic.

So once again, the pandemic was only an amplifier of problems that already existed.

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