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There are times when information emerges that not only is unexpected, but downright shocking.
Similarly, there are instances when new findings merely confirm what people -- experts as well as many individuals not regarded as experts -- long have anticipated.
A recent article in The Express was an example of the latter -- on a topic relevant not only in the United States, but throughout the world.
The information contained in that article should serve as an important guideline in terms of avoiding the unwanted situation ever again. Actually, there is too much at stake.
The article in question was introduced by the headline "Pandemic spurred global learning drop." Many people in this country recognized that outcome in their own homes regarding their own children.
Those parents were witnesses to what their children had to do to catch up with where those children needed to be on the learning ladder. It can be deduced that some children still are trying to catch up to classmates of theirs who remained determined to keep up with their learning, despite their mandated absence from their classrooms, while they did not.
It is true that some children who routinely are home-schooled can keep up with their peers who report to actual classrooms. However, that probably is not the case for most students accustomed to in-school learning who are put in the position of not being able to learn inside a classroom where they can interact in person with their teachers and other students -- and the ideas, opinions and perspectives that those other people provide.
For children not accustomed to a good home-school environment based on good discipline and heeding expected learning outcomes, there can be too many distractions eroding the learning process.
That can put those children at a disadvantage eventually in competing against young adults whose learning was rooted in classroom discipline and an organized introduction and presentation of information, as well as the testing accompanying the overall process.
"Students around the world suffered historic setbacks in reading and math during the COVID-19 pandemic," the article began, "with declines in test scores so widespread that the United States climbed in global rankings simply by falling behind less sharply, a new study finds.
"The state of global education was given a bleak appraisal in the Program for International Student Assessment, the first study to examine the academic progress of students in dozens of countries during the pandemic," the article continued.
The study, released last Tuesday, spanning nations rich and poor, big and small, and involving testing administered in 2022, found that the average international math score fell by the equivalent of three-quarters of a year of learning, while reading scores fell by the equivalent of half a year.
According to the study, in the countries where students were tested, 25 percent now are considered low performers in math, reading and science, meaning that they struggle to perform basic math problems or interpret simple texts.
The study report characterized the new results as an "unprecedented drop in performance." Across all participating countries, the average math score fell by approximately 15 points since similar 2018 testing, with reading scores falling by 10 points.
The bright result came from the subject of science, where there was little change from the scores recorded in 2018.
The United States and other nations around the world should make digesting all of the information in the report a mandatory assignment.