The National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), called the “Nation’s Report Card,” revealed that high school seniors’ scores in math and reading are at record lows.
According to the data, only 22% of high school seniors are proficient in math, and only 35% of high school seniors are proficient in reading.
Science scores were also low for eighth graders, with only 31% scoring proficiently.
“Today’s NAEP results confirm a devastating trend: American students are testing at historic lows across all of K-12. At a critical juncture when students are about to graduate and enter the workforce, military, or higher education, nearly half of America’s high school seniors are testing at below basic levels in math and reading,” Education Secretary Linda McMahon said in a statement. “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.”
She explained that the issue is not “about how much money we spend, but who controls the money and where that money is invested.”
NCES Acting Commissioner Matthew Soldner called the test scores “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. “Among our nation’s high school seniors, we’re not seeing a larger percentage of students scoring below the NAEP Basic achievement level in mathematics and reading than in any previous assessment.”
“Instead of a bloated federal system, the Trump Administration is moving forward with a bold plan to return education back to the individual states,” the White House said, noting that states are “best equipped to meet the needs of their students.” The White House pledged to provide “every available opportunity for parents to enrich the education of their children through individual choice.”
