(NewsNation) — As the back-to-school season ushers in a new academic year, concerns are mounting over a significant decline in student performance.

Results from a recent version of the Nation’s Report Card show that America’s 13-year-olds are struggling with basic math and reading skills.

Average scores reveal a troubling trend, with reading scores plummeting by four points and math scores experiencing an even more significant decline of nine points.

Former Education Secretary Arne Duncan joined “The Hill on NewsNation” to discuss the startling drop in academic achievements, calling it “a national emergency.”

“We have literally millions of kids who are very, very far behind,” Duncan said, stressing that the crisis is especially dire for those students who were already struggling prior to the pandemic.

“Millions were behind before the pandemic,” he said. “But that gap has gotten even wider. And the kids that were the furthest behind already fell even further behind.”

Duncan called for extended tutoring, longer school days, summer school and after-school programs to help students catch up and regain their educational footing.

“We can’t afford to have a lost generation of children,” he said. “So this has to be an all-hands-on-deck approach.”