‘Sobering’: New ‘Nation’s Report Card’ shows lowest US student scores in decades

Students across the United States continue to struggle academically, with some test scores falling to their lowest levels in 20 years.

That’s according to an exam known as “the Nation’s Report Card.”

The National Assessment of Educational Progress has been tracking students’ progress since 1969. The latest results show there has been a decade-long decline in high schoolers’ reading and math scores.

The NEAP released its latest findings on Tuesday. From January to March 2024, it assessed about 23,000 eighth graders in science, 19,300 12th graders in math, and 24,300 12th graders in reading.

The results were less than ideal, according to National Center for Education Statistics Acting Commissioner Matthew Soldner.

“These results are sobering,” Soldner said. “The drop in overall scores coincides with significant declines in achievement among our lowest-performing students.”

So how did students do compared to 2019?

The NEAP found that just 31% of the eighth graders performed at or above proficient.

For 12th-grade math, only 22% performed at or above proficient.

There was a slightly better result for 12th-grade reading, with 35% performing at or above proficient.

So what’s happening? The NEAP says that while the COVID pandemic had an impact on student achievement, some experts say scores had been falling before that. Some of the other factors include heightened absenteeism, increased screen time, and shorter attention spans.

The results also reveal that the gap between the highest and lowest performing students is widening in certain areas, like eighth-grade science and 12th-grade math. Also, schools were making headway in closing the gender gap in math and science, but certain programs were phased out during COVID.

You can find the full report here.

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