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NAEP 2024: Seniors Hit Record Lows in Reading, Math as Eighth-Grade Science Slides

The results underscore widening gaps with sharper declines for lower-performing students, intensifying calls for targeted interventions.

GOETTINGEN, GERMANY - MAY 12: High school graduates of the 13th grade of the Abendygymnasium (Evening Gymnasium) write their A-levels (Abitur) in mathematics, after they could only prepare themselves for two weeks at school due to the Corona crisis on May 12, 2020 in Goettingen, Germany. Across Germany tenth graders began returning to school two weeks and twelfth graders are returning this week in cautious steps to reopen schools that have been closed since March as authorities lift lockdown measures that had been imposed to stem the spread of the virus. The A-Level examinations in Lower Saxony, which were postponed for 3 weeks due to the corona pandemic, began late and under difficult conditions. (Photo by Christian Ender/Getty Images)
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Students wait a line to enter the school on the first day of classes at New York City public schools in Manhattan, U.S., September 4, 2025. REUTERS/Jeenah Moon/ File Photo
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Overview

  • National data show 12th-grade reading at its lowest on record and 12th-grade math at its lowest since 2005, with only top performers avoiding declines.
  • Shares below NAEP Basic rose to 32% in 12th-grade reading and 45% in 12th-grade math, while 38% of eighth graders scored below Basic in science.
  • College readiness fell, with testing officials estimating 33% of the class of 2024 ready for college-level math (down from 37% in 2019) and 35% ready in reading.
  • Gaps widened between high- and low-performing students—reaching a record in eighth-grade science—and a gender gap in science reappeared as girls' scores fell more.
  • Education Secretary Linda McMahon said federal spending has not improved achievement and urged returning control to states; NAEP surveys also reported declines in inquiry-based learning and student confidence.