A Look at Declining Student Scores and What It Means
A Troubling Trend
Recent data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reveals a troubling trend: student scores in science, math, and reading have dropped significantly since 2019. This decline is evident across different grade levels, with:
- Eighth-graders' science scores falling by 4 points
- 12th-graders' math and reading scores each dropping by 3 points
The tests, conducted between January and March 2024, are the first to be released since the Trump administration cut funding to the U.S. Education Department. These cuts included laying off more than half of the staff at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), which is responsible for measuring student achievement and processing test data. As a result, about a dozen national and state assessments of student progress were canceled through 2032, with half of those tests planned for 12th-graders.
The Nation's Report Card
The NAEP, often called the Nation's Report Card, is the largest nationally representative test of student learning. It has been administered since 1969 and is mandated by Congress. The assessments in math and reading are given every two years to fourth and eighth-graders, while 12th-graders take them every four years. NAEP also administers voluntary assessments in other subjects.
The 2024 assessment tested 12th-graders on reading comprehension skills and surveyed them about their opportunities to learn and engage with reading both in and outside of school. The results showed that reading scores dipped for most students, except for the highest-achieving ones. Compared to the first 12th-grade reading assessment in 1992, today's average score is 10 points lower.
A Call for Action
Matthew Soldner, acting director of IES, warned that scores for the lowest-performing students are at historic lows, a trend that has been ongoing for over a decade. Math scores for 12th-graders also dropped by 3 points compared to 2005, the first time this version of the math test was administered. Soldner emphasized the need for concerted action to accelerate student learning.
Among eighth-graders, the average science score dropped by 4 points compared to 2019. Student scores decreased across the board, affecting both low- and high-performing students. Additionally, a smaller share of eighth-graders indicated high levels of confidence in their science skills compared to their counterparts in 2019. Nearly one-third of 12th-graders reported missing three or more days of school in the month prior to taking the assessment in 2024, an increase from 2019.
Federal Limitations and Future Steps
The federal government has no power over what is taught in schools, so while the recent release measured student achievement under President Biden, experts avoid linking NAEP scores to any particular administration. Nat Malkus, deputy director of education policy at the American Enterprise Institute, noted that the federal government serves as the scoreboard of American education but does not have the capacity to fix these issues, which is a job for the states.
Behind the scenes, federal changes have impacted how the Nation's Report Card is administered. A senior official at the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which administers NAEP, confirmed that the cuts to the U.S. Education Department left only two senior staffers assigned to NAEP. NCES relied on additional support from colleagues in other departments to release the new data. To meet congressional testing mandates in 2026 and 2028, U.S. Education Secretary Linda McMahon has approved a waiver to add at least eight staff positions before the end of the year.
Marty West, a member of the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education and vice chair of the National Assessment Governing Board (NAGB), expressed confidence in the department's ability to meet NAEP deadlines moving forward. He noted that preparation for the tests to be administered in early 2026 began as much as five years ago and were well underway by the spring of 2025.
The NAGB also slashed about a dozen planned assessments for the next seven years, including tests for fourth-grade science, 12th-grade U.S. history, and writing across fourth-, eighth-, and 12th-graders. West explained that this restructuring was not unusual and allowed NCES to focus their energies on the most important tests, such as those for math and reading. The NAGB is an independent, nonpartisan organization made up of state and local representatives, with no federal officials on the board by design.