This is a very complicated thing to try to unwind, but the expectation of an increase in scores seems to rely on faith in the exam itself, and that changes in h

This is a very complicated thing to try to unwind, but the expectation of an increase in scores seems to rely on faith in the exam itself, and that changes in how school is taught would necessarily lead to improvement in scores. Obviously there are a billion other things that could affect these scores, such as electronics or the general societal and technological trend (and I am as guilty as anyone) towards shorter attention span, lack of delayed gratification, etc.