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The nation's 4th and 8th graders once again posted underwhelming performance on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, with 2024 results showing little to no progress toward regaining pre-pandemic levels in math and reading.
Average scores in reading actually dropped from 2022 in the latest results for the assessment, known as the Nation's Report Card, released Wednesday by the U.S. Department of Education's National Center for Education Statistics.
Reading scores in 2024 for each grade level fell 5 points from 2019 levels. For math, the average score dipped 3 points for 4th graders and 8 points for 8th graders between 2019 and 2024.
And just since 2022, average reading scores fell 2 points for both grades 4 and 8. The decline continues a downward trend that began in 2019, according to NCES.
NAEP reading scores continued to drop nationwide in 2024
Both 4th and 8th graders have seen an ongoing decline in their reading performance since 2019.
“NAEP has reported declines in reading achievement consistently since 2019, and the continued declines since the pandemic suggest we’re facing complex challenges that cannot be fully explained by the impact of COVID-19,” said NCES Associate Commissioner Daniel McGrath in a Wednesday statement.
In math, however, 4th graders showed small signs of progress — their national average score rose by about 2 points since 2022. There was no notable change for 8th grade math scores between 2022 and 2024.
In a Wednesday statement, NCES Commissioner Peggy Carr said signs of learning loss recovery “are mostly math and largely driven by higher-performing students. Lower-performing students are struggling, especially in reading.”
NAEP math scores still below pre-pandemic levels
From 2022 to 2024, students nationwide saw small gains in 4th grade, while 8th graders' scores were stagnant.
The worrying trends persisted at the state level, especially with reading scores.
Between 2019 and 2024, only one state — Louisiana — saw an increase in 4th grade reading scores, while 11 states showed no significant change and scores in 38 states decreased. For 8th grade, no states saw improvement in reading compared to 2019 — though 12 had no significant change and 38 showed declines.
In math, Alabama was the only state to see an increase for 4th grade between 2019 and 2024. At the same time, 4th grade math scores dropped for 21 states and 28 saw no significant change from 2019.