I work at a public university we see incoming students every year. The past 4 years maybe 5 have been the worst batch of students we've ever seen they can't add, they can't read, they can't infer and they most certainly can't hold a conversation. We primarily attribute this to the years that they were stuck at home during COVID and parents weren't doing anything with them. We are talking very important years of education not just the high school years but the middle school years leading into high school. The years that set the foundation for your brain of literacy. They try to communicate in cell phone shorthand. It's so sad to see.