Particle.news
Download on the App Store
38 ARTICLES
·
15h ago

Nation’s Report Card Finds 12th-Grade Math and Reading at Lowest Levels in Decades

The release is fueling calls for states to take more control of recovery efforts.

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)
National scores released Tuesday showed 31% of eighth graders were proficient in science in 2024, down four percentage points from 2019. Among 12th graders, 33% were proficient in math and 37% proficient in reading, a drop of two percentage points in each category.
Image
Image

Overview

  • Only 22% of 12th graders performed at or above proficient in math and 35% in reading, while 31% of eighth graders reached proficiency in science.
  • Forty-five percent of seniors scored below NAEP’s basic level in math and 32% fell below basic in reading, with average reading at its lowest on record and math at its lowest since 2005.
  • Eighth-grade science scores fell to 2009 levels, with 38% below basic and a renewed gender gap after steeper declines for girls.
  • Officials reported historic lows for the lowest-performing students and widening achievement gaps, alongside higher absenteeism as 31% of seniors missed three or more days in the prior month.
  • The assessments were administered nationwide from January to March 2024, the first since the pandemic, as Education Secretary Linda McMahon pushes to devolve control to states and educators urge targeted, evidence-based recovery efforts and warn about college readiness.