The National Assessment of Educational Progress released Tuesday showed sharp declines in math and reading proficiency across multiple grade levels, with high school seniors recording the lowest results on record for the assessments' modern-era comparisons.
Just 35% of 12th-graders scored at or above the NAEP proficiency level in reading — the lowest share since the reading assessment for high school seniors began in 1992 — and only 22% reached proficiency in math, the lowest result since the current NAEP 12th-grade math test was introduced in 2005, according to scores drawn from tests administered to thousands of students in early 2024.
Education Secretary Linda McMahon called the findings a "devastating trend," saying nearly half of the nation's high school seniors are testing below NAEP's basic levels in math and reading. The report showed a three-point decline in average 12th-grade math and reading scores from 2019. Fourth-grade math averages were three points lower than before the COVID-19 pandemic, eighth-grade math fell eight points from five years earlier, and fourth- and eighth-grade reading averages dropped five points between 2019 and 2024.
Acting National Center for Education Statistics Commissioner Matthew Soldner said the results are "sobering," noting the drop in overall scores coincides with significant declines among the lowest-performing students and continues a downward trend that began before the pandemic. On both the math and reading assessments, scores fell across most of the distribution except among students at or above the 90th percentile; scores at the 10th and 25th percentiles are at record lows.
The NAEP report also found that 32% of high school seniors scored below the NAEP "basic" level in reading, up from 20% in 1992. On the math exam, 45% of 12th-graders failed to reach the basic benchmark, compared with 40% in 2005. Attendance data included with the results showed 31% of 12th-graders said they had missed three or more days of school in the month before taking the test, a 26% increase from 2019.
Republican lawmakers framed the findings as an urgent policy problem. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairman Tim Walberg of Michigan warned that low academic skills could weaken the economy and national security, while Sen. Bill Cassidy, chairman of the Senate HELP Committee, said the scores show students are leaving high school unprepared for the workforce.
The NAEP, often called "The Nation's Report Card," has conducted national samples of student achievement since 1969. Reading and math assessments are typically administered to fourth- and eighth-graders every two years and to high school seniors every four years. The newest results reflect the first nationwide high school testing cycle since 2019.
The Education Department has promoted a range of responses. McMahon has urged giving states more flexibility over school policies and said the administration is preparing a toolkit of resources for educators on reading strategies, artificial intelligence and other classroom issues. Some states are pursuing targeted steps such as stricter rules on cellphone use in classrooms to boost student focus.
Researchers and education groups said the data will inform debates over federal and state policy, funding, interventions for low-performing students, and strategies to address chronic absenteeism. The NAEP results underscore widening disparities between the nation's highest- and lowest-performing students and will likely shape discussions on accountability, curriculum and recovery efforts in the months ahead.
