American students continue to struggle academically in the aftermath of COVID-19, according to the latest National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results released Wednesday. The exam, widely regarded as the nation's report card, reveals concerning trends in both reading and mathematics performance.
The 2024 assessment shows reading scores declined by 2 points across both fourth and eighth grades. Most alarming is that one-third of eighth graders scored below basic reading levels - the highest proportion in the exam's history. These students struggled with fundamental skills like making simple inferences about character motivations in short stories.
While fourth-grade math saw a modest 2-point improvement, scores remain 3 points below pre-pandemic levels. Eighth-grade math scores stayed flat compared to 2022. The results also exposed a widening achievement gap - top-performing students began recovering lost ground while lower-performing students fell further behind, particularly in eighth-grade mathematics.
"The news is not good," said Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics. "We are not seeing the progress we need to regain the ground our students lost during the pandemic."
The assessment surveyed students whose early education was disrupted by COVID-19 - current fourth graders were in kindergarten when the pandemic began, while eighth graders were in fourth grade. However, officials note that poor performance can no longer be attributed solely to pandemic disruptions.
Some bright spots emerged from the data. Several major urban school districts showed notable improvements in fourth-grade math, which experts attribute to academic recovery efforts funded by federal pandemic relief. Louisiana and Alabama have returned to pre-pandemic levels in certain areas, with Louisiana's success linked to its focus on phonics-based reading instruction.
The U.S. Education Department called the results "heartbreaking," noting that despite billions in annual funding and $190 billion in pandemic relief, the education system continues to fall short. Compared to 2019, eighth-grade reading scores have dropped 8 points, while both grade levels show 5-point declines in reading. Fourth-grade math remains 3 points below pre-pandemic levels.
The findings underscore ongoing challenges in American education, including chronic absenteeism and declining student engagement with recreational reading. As schools work to address these issues, the latest results emphasize the urgent need for effective interventions to support struggling students and close widening achievement gaps.