US student scores hit new lows in Nation's Report Card Cole Behrens and Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY NETWORKSeptember 9, 2025 at 11:01 PM 5 High schoolers in the United States last year earned their lowest marks on reading and math in two decades, according to "The Nation's Report Card," released on S...
- - US student scores hit new lows in Nation's Report Card
Cole Behrens and Karissa Waddick, USA TODAY NETWORKSeptember 9, 2025 at 11:01 PM
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High schoolers in the United States last year earned their lowest marks on reading and math in two decades, according to "The Nation's Report Card," released on Sept. 9.
The test, also known as the National Assessment of Educational Progress, is the largest nationally representative assessment of K-12 student achievement.
The latest results show high school students across public and private schools backsliding in math, science and reading in 2024, continuing a decade-long decline in student performance nationally.
Between 2019 and 2024, 12th graders declined in math and reading proficiency and eighth graders' science scores declined by four points, according to the results.
The average 12th-grade reading and math scores hit their lowest since the respective subject matter tests began in 1992 and 2005. The 2024 results also mark the first time the average science score for eighth graders fell since that subject matter assessment began in 2009.
Matthew Soldner, acting commissioner of the National Center for Education Statistics, called the report "sobering."
"The drop in overall scores coincides with significant declines in achievement among our lowest-performing students, continuing a downward trend that began even before the COVID-19 pandemic," Soldner said.
Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, said the test shows the largest-ever percentage of students who aren't achieving proficiency level on the NAEP.
"This means these students are taking their next steps in life with fewer skills and less knowledge in core academics than their predecessors a decade ago," Muldoon said. "And this is happening at a time when rapid advancements in technology and society demand more of future workers and citizens ‒ not less."
Close up of teenage boy during a test.Students are worse on average than previous period
Almost a third of students in 12th grade performed below the "basic" achievement level in reading, 2% more than in 2019 and 12% more than in 1992, according to the NEAP report. For math, 45% of 12th graders performed below the "basic" achievement level, 5% more than in both 2019 and 2005.
Science scores fell to 2009 levels, after rising for years. Nearly 40% of eighth graders performed below the "basic" achievement level, 5% more than in 2019 but not significantly different from how they performed in 2009.
The only exceptions to the declining scores were students in the 90th percentile of test-takers, who improved slightly in their scores or did not decline over time, according to the report.
Jon Valant, director of the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution, said the declines in scores for the country's lowest-performing students mirrored past results.
"We're seeing the students who have been scoring the highest continuing to do roughly how they've done in the past, but the kids who were behind are just falling farther behind," Valant said. "We've seen these declining scores for years now and it doesn't feel like policymakers are taking that problem seriously."
What's leading to declining scores?
Experts and policymakers have pointed to a number of possible reasons for the declines in test scores.
Department of Education Secretary Linda McMahon said the numbers show why the Trump administration is seeking to dismantle the federal education agency and give more control to states.
Kindergarten teacher Brittany Bosas, 30, of Wayne, Michigan goes over classwork with Wysdom Green, 6, of Detroit, while Congressman John Moolenaar, Michigan Speaker of the House Matt Hall, U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon and Executive Prinicipal Salwa Kinsey tour a kindergarten classroom at Pembroke Academy,
"Despite spending billions annually on numerous K-12 programs, the achievement gap is widening, and more high school seniors are performing below the basic benchmark in math and reading than ever before," McMahon said.
Others, including Valant, blame the declining numbers on missed school during the COVID-19 pandemic, an uptick in screen time and social media use, a lack of "coherent policymaking" and student absenteeism, which rose during the pandemic and hasn't fallen since.
In the NAEP report, nearly a third (31%) of 12th graders reported missing three or more days from school in the previous month in 2024, up from 26% in 2019.
"There's a bigger question about cultural attitudes toward school right now and a lot of people are concerned we may be adopting a too-casual attitude about the importance and value of school," Valant said. "That can be reflected in students not showing up."
Bottom line, Soldner said at a press conference: student achievement has slipped since the pandemic and isn't bouncing back.
"These results should galvanize all of us to take concerted, focused action to accelerate student learning," he said.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: 'Nation's report card' shows K-12 students continue to fall behind
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