The National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP) 2024 results released Tuesday reveal historically low scores – furthering the national downward trend that began over a decade ago.
The assessment evaluated 12th graders in reading and math and eighth graders in science. The scores in all subjects were the lowest they’ve ever been, according to the report.
For the 12th graders, 45% of students scored below the NAEP basic threshold in math and 32% scored below it in reading. This means nearly half of the students can’t apply knowledge about percentages to solve real-world problems and one-third can’t draw general conclusions from a block of text.
“If America is going to remain globally competitive, students must be able to read proficiently, think critically, and graduate equipped to solve complex problems,” U.S. Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said.
Meanwhile, only 33% of 12th grade students were considered ready for entry-level college coursework in math. In reading, 35% were ready for entry-level courses.
