Eighth-graders in the United States lost ground on digital literacy between 2018 and 2023, according to the International Computer and Information Literacy Study, which assesses preparedness for the digital world.

While U.S. students’ computer and information literacy scores were slightly higher than the international average, they were below average for computational thinking, the National Center for Education Statistics found in analyzing the study of more than 2,300 students.

The drop in digital literacy comes as young people are spending more time online and generative artificial intelligence is making it harder to tell what is real and fake.

Peggy G. Carr, the center’s commissioner, said the results are “disappointing” because “these skills are as fundamental as the three Rs (reading, writing and arithmetic).”

The average U.S. score for computer and information literacy in 2023 was 482, down 37 points from 2018, compared with the international average of 476.

The average U.S. score for computational thinking also declined 37 points — to 461 in 2023, compared with the international average of 483.