Nation’s Report Card Shows Widening Gaps in Student Performance Post-Pandemic

Four years after the pandemic began, struggling students continue to fall behind in reading and math, with record lows in key proficiency metrics.

The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) reveals that reading and math scores remain below pre-pandemic levels for U.S. fourth and eighth graders.
Students in the lowest performance percentiles experienced the steepest declines, with eighth-grade reading scores down 8 points since 2019 and math scores unchanged since 2022.
A third of eighth graders scored below the 'basic' level in reading, marking the worst result in the test's history, while nearly one in four failed to meet basic proficiency in math.
Higher-performing students have mostly recovered to pre-pandemic levels, but the learning gap between top and bottom performers has widened significantly.
Experts and education officials warn of long-term consequences for students' academic and life outcomes, calling for urgent systemic changes to address the crisis.