The 2024 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores reveal that U.S. fourth and eighth-grade students are still trailing pre-pandemic performance levels in both reading and math. While there are some signs of recovery, particularly in math among higher-performing students, the overall trend remains concerning.
U.S. fourth and eighth-grade students continue to lag behind pre-pandemic levels in reading and math, according to the 2024 National Assessment of Education al Progress (NAEP) scores released Wednesday. Known as the Nation's Report Card and administered every two years, the assessment revealed that average reading scores for both fourth and eighth graders have declined by 2 points since 2022.
While fourth-grade students have shown an average increase of 2 points in math over the past two years, and eighth-grade math performance remained stable, both grade levels are still struggling to reach pre-pandemic proficiency in both subjects. Compared to 2019 performance, both fourth and eighth graders are 5 points behind in reading. In math, fourth graders are down 3 points and eighth graders are down 8 points, according to the data.The U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which administers the NAEP, noted in a press release that signs of recovery are mostly evident in math and primarily driven by higher-performing students. A breakdown of math results for both fourth and eighth graders indicates that significant improvements from 2022 were only observed in students at the 50th percentile and above. Students in the 10th and 25th percentiles did not demonstrate substantial changes, the data shows. NCES also evaluated the percentage of students who reached 'NAEP proficient' levels in math and reading. Students deemed 'NAEP proficient' have 'demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter, including subject-matter knowledge, application of such knowledge to real-world situations, and analytical skills appropriate to the subject matter,' according to NCES.Only 31% of fourth graders and 30% of eighth graders were found to be 'NAEP proficient' in reading, representing declines from both 2022 and 2019. In math, 39% of fourth graders and 28% of eighth graders reached the proficient level, both down from 2019. NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr emphasized the concerning trend in a video highlighting the results, stating, 'Unfortunately, the nation has not returned to pre-pandemic levels, and the struggle is most apparent in reading.' She added, 'While a few states and districts are making progress, we don't see the nationwide progress needed to reverse pandemic declines.' Carr stressed the urgency of addressing these challenges, saying, 'These results clearly show that students are not where we need them to be or where we want them to be.' Louisiana and Alabama emerged as the only two states to exceed any pre-pandemic levels in both reading and math. Louisiana fourth graders showed improvement in reading compared to 2019, while Alabama fourth graders recorded higher math scores. The NCES conducted the assessment between January and March of last year, involving over 117,000 fourth graders from 6,100 schools and more than 115,000 eighth graders from 5,410 schools.
NATIONAL ASSESSMENT OF EDUCATIONAL PROGRESS READING SCORES MATH SCORES PANDEMIC LEARNING LOSS EDUCATION
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