2024 data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress, which looks at the reading and math scores of 4th and 8th grade students, shows that while math scores remained largely the same in both grades, reading scores declined across the board.
One-third of all 8th graders failed to reach the NAEP's reading benchmark, the largest percentage ever recorded.
"Reading scores [are] declining dramatically among all of our students, including higher performers," relays Jeanne Allen, founder and CEO of the Center for Education Reform. "Students have made some progress with math, but only at the upper ends of the spectrum."
In other words, only kids who typically perform higher did better in math. Fewer than 40% of kids on average can do math at grade level, and fewer than 30% can read at grade level. Those numbers drop to under 20% for disadvantaged children and children of color.
That basically means that 70%-80% of those students are not going to make it to high school, and if they do make it to and through high school, they are just being passed on.
Allen says several factors contribute to this, but the issue begins with a lack of good instruction.
"There's not one reason, but I will say the content … is done poorly," she submits. "We spend a lot more time teaching climate change, teaching diversity, talking about how kids feel than what kids know."
Meanwhile, more and more parents across the nation are recognizing that education is not one-size-fits-all. President Trump has also released an executive order asking his education agency heads to look at how to move more money to fund parents' choices.
Allen contends that giving parents the choice to vote with their feet, to take their tax dollars to the school of choice, helps their children and all educators.
"These scores are a wake-up call, and until we put money in the hands of parents, we're going to continue to have this failure," she concludes. " Until we break up the system, schools will not personalize or address these deficiencies."
