News - Welcome

Ideas that Shape the Future of Education

Artificial Intelligence

EdTech Innovations

AI Ethics in Education

Digital Citizenship

Federal/State Policy

Digital Divide & Equity

Funding

Assessment Scores

Instructional Design

Universal Design for Learning (UDL)

Pedagogy & Best Practices

Online Learning

Student Engagement

Future of Learning

January 29th, 2025

NAEP Releases latest scores…

Click to read

Charts that defined education in 2024

From the spread of AI to the limits of federal COVID aid, these research findings captured the world of education this year…

Click to read

January 29th, 2025

Press Release: WASHINGTON (January 29, 2025)

Fourth Graders’ Mathematics Scores Improve Following Historic Drops, Eighth Graders Show No Change

Reading Scores Continue to Decline

WASHINGTON (January 29, 2025)—The Nation’s Report Card shows that the nation’s fourth- and eighth-graders are not making the level of progress needed to regain ground lost during the pandemic, although there are some signs of progress.

Grade 4 mathematics scores improved between 2022 and 2024, a two-point gain that follows a 5-point decline from 2019 to 2022, according to results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) released today by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). Eighth-grade scores in mathematics showed no significant change.

The most notable challenges evident in the 2024 data are in reading comprehension. Reading scores dropped in both fourth and eighth grades since 2022, continuing declines first reported in 2019, before the pandemic.

“Overall, student achievement has not returned to pre-pandemic performance,” NCES Commissioner Peggy G. Carr said. “Where there are signs of recovery, they are mostly in math and largely driven by higher-performing students. Lower-performing students are struggling, especially in reading.”

In 2024, the percentage of eighth-graders’ reading below NAEP Basic was the largest in the assessment’s history, and the percentage of fourth-graders who scored below NAEP Basic was the largest in 20 years.

In eighth grade, the data also show widening gaps since 2022 between higher- and lower-performing students as higher performers regained ground lost and their lower-performing peers continued to decline or show no notable progress.

In eighth-grade mathematics, this widening gap is most pronounced. Lower-performing students declined, while higher-performing students improved. As a result of this divergence in performance, the average score in 2024 was not significantly different than in 2022.

In fourth-grade mathematics, the gap also grew as the scores of the lowest performing students did not change significantly from 2022, while the highest performing students’ scores increased.

In reading, lower-performing students struggled the most. At both fourth and eighth grades, the scores of students at the 10th and 25th percentiles in 2024 were lower than the first NAEP reading assessment in 1992.

Signs of Progress

Grade 4 mathematics performance in states and districts tells the most encouraging story between 2022 and 2024. Fifteen states and jurisdictions and 14 urban districts improved in fourth-grade mathematics compared to 2022. Several urban districts posted gains that exceeded the national increase, with gains of up to 10 points (District of Columbia Public Schools).

In eight of the states/jurisdictions, the scores of students at the 25th and 75th percentiles also improved (Delaware, the District of Columbia, Louisiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New York, and Puerto Rico).

Of the fourteen districts that improved in fourth-grade mathematics, seven had gains at both the 25th and 75th percentiles (Atlanta, Baltimore, the District of Columbia Public Schools, Guilford County [North Carolina], Houston, Los Angeles, and Miami-Dade).

In several states and districts, 2024 performance in at least one grade and subject was not measurably different from their pre-pandemic performance in 2019. Two states stand out for exceeding their 2019 scores in 2024: Alabama scored higher in fourth-grade mathematics, and Louisiana scored higher in fourth-grade reading.

Absenteeism, which rose over the pandemic period, has declined since the 2022 assessment, but not to pre-pandemic levels.

National and Regional Results: Reading

Nationally, average scores in reading for both grades have declined two points since 2022. The reading assessment data also show that larger percentages of students scored below the NAEP Basic level. Forty percent of fourth-graders and 33 percent of eighth-graders scored below NAEP Basic in 2024—higher than the percentages reported in 2022.

“NAEP has reported declines in reading achievement consistently since 2019, and the continued declines since the pandemic suggest we’re facing complex challenges that cannot be fully explained by the impact of COVID-19,” said NCES Associate Commissioner Daniel McGrath.

When viewed by race/ethnicity, average fourth-grade reading scores dropped since 2022 for students who are Asian (five points), White (two points), and Two or More Races (three points). At grade 8, Hispanic students’ average reading scores fell by five points since 2022, with decreases at both ends of the performance spectrum. In addition, the score for White students at grade 8 has decreased by one point since 2022.

At the regional level, fourth-graders’ reading scores declined in the West, Midwest, and South. The average reading score in the Northeast is not measurably different from 2022. Those fourth-graders who attend schools in cities and suburbs and students in rural schools showed a decline compared to 2022. Students who attend school in towns had no measurable difference.

At eighth grade, average reading scores have declined in the South and West since 2022. For eighth-grade students in city, suburban, and town schools, average reading scores declined, driven by lower-performing students. There is no measurable change in the average reading score for eighth-graders at rural schools.

Across other demographics, average reading scores decreased for fourth-graders who are male (three points), female (one point), English learners (five points), and public school students. The average reading score is not measurably different from 2022 for fourth-graders who are economically disadvantaged. Grade 8 reading scores showed a similar pattern except for students identified as economically disadvantaged.

National and Regional Results: Mathematics

In mathematics, the average score for fourth-graders has risen about two points since 2022, from 236 to 237. For eighth-graders, there is no significant change in the average score between 2022 and 2024. Average scores at both grades remain lower than in 2019.

The mathematics assessment data show higher percentages of students performed at or above NAEP Proficient at both grade levels since 2022. At grade 4, the percentage of students performing at or above NAEP Proficient increased to 39 percent in 2024 from 36 percent in 2022. The percentage in 2024 is lower than the 2019 percentage (41). At grade 8, the percentage of students scoring at or above NAEP Proficient increased to 28 percent in 2024 from 26 percent in 2022, but the 2024 percentage is lower than the 2019 percentage (34).

Among racial/ethnic groups, the data show average mathematics scores have improved since 2022 for Black, Hispanic, and White students at grade 4. Black and Hispanic fourth-graders’ scores rose by three points each, which include increases among the higher-performing students. At grade 8, Hispanic students’ scores fell by three points since 2022.

In mathematics for grades 4 and 8, all school locales (town, rural, suburb, city) showed no measurable changes in the average scores from 2022. However, at grade 4 mathematics, higher-performing students at the 75th percentile showed improvement across school locations.

Regional data show fourth-graders improved their mathematics scores in the Northeast and South with no statistical change in the Midwest and West. Eighth-graders showed no statistical score change across regions.

Among other demographic groups, average mathematics scores at grade 4 increased by two points from 2022 for male and female students and for public school students. The score rose by three points since 2022 for fourth-graders who were economically disadvantaged.

State Results

From 2022 to 2024, states’ average reading scores for both grades either declined or had no significant change. For fourth grade, most states and jurisdictions (47) saw no significant change in average reading scores, and five had declines. Scores decreased for lower-performing students in four of the five states with declines on average. At eighth grade, 44 states and jurisdictions saw no significant change in average reading scores since 2022, and eight saw declines.

In mathematics, grade 4 scores increased for 15 states/jurisdictions. Another 37 states and jurisdictions saw no significant change in fourth-grade average scores since 2022. At eighth grade, 49 states and jurisdictions saw no significant change in the average mathematics score since 2022. In four states, the average mathematics scores for eighth grade decreased.

District Data

NAEP assessed public school students in 26 urban districts as part of its Trial Urban District Assessment (TUDA) program in 2024. Of those districts, 25 have results that can be compared to 2022. Orange County, Florida participated in the TUDA program for the first time in 2024.

At grade 4, the average reading score increased in one district since 2022: Atlanta Public Schools. The fourth-grade reading score did not measurably change for most other districts (20) and decreased in four. At grade 8, the average reading score in 2024 did not significantly change in 18 districts and decreased in seven.

In fourth-grade mathematics, 14 urban school districts participating in TUDA saw average score increases, many with gains exceeding the nation: District of Columbia Public Schools gained 10 points; Guilford County Schools, Baltimore and New York City 8 points; and Houston 7 points. Eleven had no measurable score change since 2022.

At eighth grade, 17 districts had no measurable change in average mathematics scores, and eight saw decreases since 2022.

Pre-Pandemic Comparisons

Nationally, overall average student scores in mathematics and reading have not returned to pre-pandemic levels. Compared to 2019, the average reading scores for both grades in 2024 are five points lower. Compared to 2019, the average mathematics score is three points lower for grade 4 and eight points lower for grade 8 in 2024.

At the state level, average scores for fourth-grade reading are lower in 39 states and jurisdictions compared to 2019. Only one state, Louisiana, has a 2024 average fourth-grade reading score that is higher than the pre-pandemic level. At eighth grade, no state or jurisdiction has an average reading score that is higher than in 2019. Instead, scores are lower in 38 states and are not measurably different in 14. Compared to 2019, one state, Alabama, has a higher average fourth-grade mathematics score. In 22 states and jurisdictions, average fourth-grade mathematics scores are lower. At eighth grade, average mathematics scores are lower in 51 states and jurisdictions, and two did not show measurable difference.

About the Assessment

Since 1969, the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), also known as The Nation’s Report Card, has been the largest nationally representative and continuing assessment of what students in U.S. public and private schools know and are able to do in various subjects. In 2024, NCES administered the NAEP mathematics and reading assessments to fourth- and eighth-graders in public and private schools in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity schools, Puerto Rico (mathematics only), and in 26 urban districts. The assessments were administered between January and March of 2024. Approximately 235,000 fourth-graders from approximately 6,100 schools and 230,000 eighth-graders from approximately 5,400 schools participated in the 2024 mathematics and reading assessments. Representative samples of schools and students are drawn from each state, district, Puerto Rico (mathematics only), the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Department of Defense Education Activity schools. Results for states and districts are for public schools only.

Visit https://www.nationsreportcard.gov/ to view the report.

###

The National Center for Education Statistics, a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, is the statistical center of the U.S. Department of Education and the primary federal entity for collecting and analyzing data related to education in the U.S. and other nations. NCES fulfills a congressional mandate to collect, collate, analyze, and report complete statistics on the condition of American education; conduct and publish reports; and review and report on education activities internationally.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) is a congressionally authorized project sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education. The National Center for Education Statistics, within the Institute of Education Sciences, administers NAEP. The commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics is responsible by law for carrying out the NAEP project. Policy for the NAEP program is set by the National Assessment Governing Board, an independent, bipartisan board whose members include governors, state legislators, local and state school officials, educators, business representatives, and members of the general public. NAEP has been reporting information about what students across the country know and can do in major school subjects since 1969.

This will close in 0 seconds