News Coverage of the NAEP Scores
New York Times: “The reading skills of American high school seniors are the worst they have been in three decades, according to new federal testing data … The results, from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, long regarded as the nation’s most reliable, gold-standard exam, showed that about a third of the 12th-graders who were tested last year did not have basic reading skills.”
AP: “Eighth-grade students also lost significant ground in science skills, according to the results from the National Assessment of Education Progress. The assessments were the first since the pandemic for eighth graders in science and 12th graders in reading and math.”
The 74: “In one particularly grim indicator, a larger percentage of the Class of 2024 scored in the tests’ “below basic” level in both math and reading than in any previous assessment dating back decades.”
Chalkbeat: “More than half of these students reported being accepted into a four-year college, but the test results indicate that many of them are not academically prepared for college, officials said.”
WSJ: “Students who were already struggling tended to fall further behind, creating an even wider gap between the top and bottom. Girls’ scores, on average, dropped faster than boys’. Both trends have shown up on other assessments.”
CS Monitor: “A new batch of student test scores indicate a slump in college and career readiness, as well as a decline in science knowledge. Both of those could have profound implications for the country’s economic future.”
Social Media Reactions
Debra Tisler: “This is a collapse not only of numbers, but of lives and opportunity.”
Paul Runko: “These scores are heartbreaking because behind every number is a child struggling to learn. Parents deserve answers and action to ensure schools get back to the basics of reading, writing, math, and science.”
Brian Jodice: “America's students are falling further-and-further behind. What happened to all of the funds for learning loss that the teachers unions fought so hard for? When do those kick in?”
Cristina Gulacy-Worrel: “Worst reading scores, EVER, guys.”
Jason Bedrick: “The new NAEP results reveal a national travesty. But we shouldn’t put all the blame on COVID, as the pre-COVID trend was already negative. The failure of schools to provide well-ordered learning environments with a content-rich curriculum is the primary culprit, and the rise of smartphones (and failure to address them) also played a key role, among other factors.”
Diego Lopez: “I remember when teachers actually had to sit down and READ actually READ with their students. Too many put their kids in front of a smart board these days and let that do the ‘teaching.’ Whatever we’ve been doing hasn’t been working across the board.”
Lindsey Burke: “The new 2024 NAEP results released this morning are devastating. In all subjects, scores for the lowest-performing students declined and are as low as they've ever been.”
Beanie Geoghegan: “What will it take for Americans to wake up?”
