The nation’s report card for 2024 has been published.  There were historic drops in student progress in 2022, which many believed were the result of the pandemic. Therefore, we are very interested to learn what 2024 looks like for United States students. 

Key Concerns: 

• U.S. students have not recovered from the pandemic’s impact on education. National scores are below pre-pandemic levels (2019) in all tested grades and subjects. 

• Higher-performing students drove most of the progress in 2024, widening the gap between higher- and lower-performing students. On a 500-point scale, the lowest-performing students score about 100 points below the highest-performing students. 

Reading in 2024: 

• Reading scores are down nationally in both 4th and 8th grades. No state saw reading gains compared to 2022. 

• In 2013, 32% of 4th graders were Below Basic; in 2024, 40% are Below Basic. 

• A third (33%) of 8th graders are not reading at the NAEP Basic level, meaning they struggle with basic literary elements. 

Math in 2024: 

• 4th-grade math scores are up nationally by 2 points, driven by middle- and higher-performing students. Scores for lower-performing students were flat. In 2013, 17% of 4th graders were Below Basic; in 2024, 24% are Below Basic. 

• 8th-grade math scores are flat nationally, masking gains by higher-performing students and stagnation among lower performers. 

Subgroup Patterns: 

• In 8th grade, Hispanic students saw significant declines compared to 2022, with a 5-point drop in reading and a 3-point drop in math. 

• In 4th-grade math, Black, Hispanic, and White students saw average score gains driven by higher-performing students, while lower performers’ scores remained flat. 

Surpassing Pre-Pandemic Scores: 

• Only Louisiana surpassed its 2019 4th-grade reading score, and only Alabama surpassed its 2019 4th-grade math score. Louisiana’s success may be linked in part to the mandated literacy training for teachers. 

Peggy Carr, commissioner of the National Center for Educational Statistics, states: “We are not seeing the progress needed to regain the ground lost during the pandemic. Signs of recovery are mostly in math and driven by high-performing students, while low-performing students are struggling, especially in reading. This is not just a pandemic story; our nation faces complex challenges in reading.” 

These statistics demand close monitoring as we consider funding for education. What can we do to reverse this trend?