US children fall further behind in reading, make little improvement in math on national exam

Given every two years to a sample of America's children, the National Assessment of Educational Progress is considered one of the best gauges of the academic progress of the U.S. school system. The most recent exam was administered in early 2024 in every state, testing fourth- and eighth-grade students on math and reading.

"The news is not good," said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, which oversees the assessment. "We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic."

Among the few bright spots was an improvement in fourth grade math, where the average score ticked up 2 points on a scale of 500. It's still 3 points lower than the 2019 prepandemic average, yet some states and districts made significant strides, including in Washington, D.C., where the average score increased 10 points.

For the most part, however, American schools have not yet begun to make progress.

Growing numbers of students lack basic reading skills

The average math score for eighth grade students was unchanged from 2022, while reading scores fell 2 points at both grade levels. One-third of eighth grade students scored below "basic" in reading, more than ever in the history of the assessment.

Students are considered below basic if they are missing fundamental skills. For example, eighth grade students who scored below basic in reading were typically unable to make a simple inference about a character's motivation after reading a short story, and some were unable to identify that the word "industrious" means "to be hard working."

Especially alarming to officials was the divide between higher- and lower-performing students, which has grown wider than ever. Students with the highest scores outperformed their peers from two years ago, making up some ground lost during the pandemic. But the lowest performers are scoring even lower, falling further behind.

It was most pronounced in eighth grade math: While the top 10% of students saw their scores increased by 3 points, the lowest 10% decreased by 6 points.

"We are deeply concerned about our low-performing students," said Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, which sets policies for the exam. "For a decade, these students have been on the decline. They need our urgent attention and our best effort."

The drop in scores continues a postpandemic slide

The latest setbacks follow a historic backslide in 2022. In that year's exam, student achievement fell across both subjects and grade levels, in some cases by unprecedented levels.

This round of testing again featured students whose lives were disrupted by the pandemic. When COVID hit in 2020, the fourth graders were in kindergarten, and the eighth graders were in fourth grade.

But Carr said poor results can no longer be blamed solely on the pandemic, warning that the nation's education system faces "complex challenges."

A survey done alongside the exam found in 2022 that fewer young students were reading for enjoyment, which is linked to lower reading scores. And new survey results found that students who are often absent from class — a persistent problem nationwide — are struggling the most.

"The data are clear," Carr said. "Students who don't come to school are not improving."

The results provide fresh fuel for a national debate over the impact of pandemic school closures, though they're unlikely to add clarity. Some studies have found that longer closures led to bigger academic setbacks. Those slower to reopen were often in urban and Democratic-led areas, while more rural and Republican-led areas were quicker.

The new results don't show a "direct link" on the topic, Carr said, though she said students clearly do better when they're in school.

Among the states that saw reading scores fall in 2024 are Florida and Arizona, which were among the first to return to the classroom during the pandemic. Meanwhile, some big school systems that had longer closures made strides in fourth grade math, including Los Angeles and New York City.

The success of big urban districts — 14 of which saw notable improvement in fourth-grade math when the nation as a whole saw only minor gains — can be credited to academic recovery efforts funded by federal pandemic relief, said Ray Hart, executive director of the Council of Great City Schools. Investing in efforts like intensive tutoring programs and curriculum updates is "really proving to make a difference," he said.

Republican lawmakers cast blame on Biden administration

The U.S. Education Department said the results are "heartbreaking" and reflect an education system that is failing students despite billions of dollars in annual funding and more than $190 billion in federal pandemic relief.

"The Trump Administration is committed to reorienting our education system to fully empower states, to prioritize meaningful learning, and provide universal access to high-quality instruction," the department said in a statement. "Change must happen, and it must happen now."

Republicans in Congress were quick to cast blame on former President Joe Biden's administration.

Rep. Tim Walberg, R-Mich., chair of the House Education and Workforce Committee, said the decline is "clearly a reflection of the education bureaucracy continuing to focus on woke policies rather than helping students learn and grow."

"I'm thankful we have an administration that is looking to reverse course," he said in a reference to President Donald Trump.

Compared with 2019 results, eighth grade reading scores are now down 8 points. Reading scores are down 5 points in both grades. And in fourth grade math, scores are down 3 points.

Yet officials say there's reason to be optimistic. Carr highlighted improvement in Louisiana, where fourth grade reading is now back above pre-pandemic levels, and in Alabama, which accomplished that feat in fourth grade math.

Carr was especially laudatory of Louisiana, where a campaign to improve reading proficiency resulted in both higher- and lower-performing students exceeding 2019 scores.

She drew attention to the state's focus on the science of reading — a research-backed approach that focuses on teaching phonics, or the building blocks of words, as children build toward literacy. The concept has been embraced by a growing number of blue and red states and has been credited for gains in some states.

"I would not say that hope is lost, and I would not say that we cannot turn this around," Carr said. "It's been demonstrated that we can."