NAEP: US Seniors Hit Historic Lows in Reading and Math as Gaps Widen Beyond COVID

NAEP results show U.S. 12th graders at historic lows in reading and math and significant declines in eighth-grade science, with more students falling below basic proficiency. Achievement gaps have widened, including a renewed gender gap as girls’ STEM scores fell more sharply. Experts attribute the downturn to long-term trends and instructional shifts as well as pandemic disruptions, while policymakers disagree on whether solutions should center on state control or increased federal support.

Key Points

• NAEP 2024 shows historic lows: 12th-grade reading at its lowest since 1992 and 12th-grade math at its lowest since 2005; eighth-grade science also declined.
• More students are below 'basic': 32% in 12th-grade reading and 45% in 12th-grade math; only 33% are prepared for college-level math (down from 37% in 2019).
• Achievement gaps widened, including the largest-ever gap between top and bottom performers in eighth-grade science and a renewed gender gap with steeper declines for girls.
• Experts say declines predate COVID-19 and are linked to instructional shifts toward short texts, less inquiry-based learning, increased screen time, and reduced attention to long-form reading.
• Policy divisions over remedies: the Trump administration pushes more state control, while Democrats call for federal investment and warn against dismantling the Education Department.

Sentiment

Predominantly concerned and pessimistic about trends, broadly agreeing that a real decline exists and needs urgent action. The center of gravity blames phones/social media, COVID closures, weakened rigor, and school culture over simple funding increases, with sharp disagreements over demographics, unions, and the role of testing.

In Agreement

• Scores are indeed falling and predate COVID; the pandemic exacerbated existing declines.
• Smartphones/social media erode attention and learning; classroom phone bans are necessary.
• COVID school closures were academically catastrophic, especially for the broad middle of students.
• Social promotion and grade inflation depress rigor; students should be retained at key milestones if not proficient.
• School time is increasingly consumed by non-academic priorities (rules, drills, SEL), crowding out core instruction.
• Teacher burnout/attrition, weak training, and politicized curricula hinder instruction quality.
• Adopt evidence-based practices: science-of-reading (e.g., Mississippi), clearer benchmarks, and greater rigor.
• High spending alone doesn’t guarantee outcomes; funds are often misallocated to tech/consultants over teaching.

Opposed

• Demographics/immigration may explain much of the decline; controlling for them reduces the ‘crisis.’
• Teacher pay isn’t universally low (e.g., parts of California pay >$100k); unions aren’t the core problem.
• Comparisons to Asia overvalue rote memorization; in a phone/AI world, recall matters less than application.
• Blaming parents is unfalsifiable and not a useful policy lever; many parents are involved.
• Standardized testing and NCLB-era accountability caused teaching-to-the-test (Goodhart’s law), undermining real learning.
• Active learning and group work are research-backed; ‘looks like daycare’ is a misleading inference from classroom snapshots.
• Schools are primarily locally controlled; claims of deliberate federal ‘disassembly’ lack evidence.