AUSTIN, Texas — New data is highlighting a growing concern about how well students are learning math and how to read.
According to the National Assessment of Education Progress (NAEP), scores for students in the fourth and eighth grade are getting worse since before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Average reading scores are down 5 points since 2019, and in math, fourth-grade scores are down 3% since 2019, with eighth graders dropping 8%.
Experts say the scores are driven by lower-performing students falling further behind, while top-performing students are bouncing back since the pandemic.
Eighth-grade students showed declines in both reading and math proficiency on the 2024 NAEP, also known as the Nation’s Report Card.
Reading assessment data shows 40% of fourth graders and 33% of eighth graders scored below basic proficiency in reading, higher than the percentages in 2022. In 2024, the percentage of eighth-graders scoring below basic proficiency in reading was the largest in the assessment’s history, and the percentage of fourth-graders who scored below basic proficiency in reading was the largest in 20 years.
In math, though, the percentage of students scoring at or above proficiency increased to 28% in 2024 from 26% in 2022. The 2024 percentage is still lower than the 34% reported in 2019, though.
Statewide, Texas eighth-graders saw declines in both reading and math, following national trends.
In reading, 25% of Texas eighth-graders scored at or above the NAEP proficient level in 2024, up slightly from 23% in 2022. The percentage of eighth-grade students in Texas who performed at or above the basic level in reading was 61% in 2024, down slightly from 66% in 2022.
In Texas, 43% of fourth graders scored at or above the NAEP proficient level in math, up slightly from 38% in 2022. The percentage of fourth-grade students in Texas who performed at or above the basic level in math was 79% in 2024, up slightly from 78% in 2022.
In reading, 28% of Texas fourth graders scored at or above the NAEP proficient level. The percentage of students in Texas who performed at or above the basic level was 57% in 2024, down slightly from 58% in 2022.
“The latest NAEP results confirm what yearly STAAR assessments have been telling us for all Texas students – pandemic-induced learning gaps remain,” said Texas Education Commissioner Mike Morath. “Intensive supports for our students and more tools to support parents will be needed to help our students achieve at higher levels.”
Austin ISD results
In Austin ISD, the district scored higher than other peer groups. The district scored higher than the state in eighth-grade math and both reading levels. Austin ISD was higher than the national public schools in fourth-grade math. The district was also higher than the larger cities grouping and all Texas peer districts (Dallas, Houston, Fort Worth) in all grades and levels tested.
In Austin ISD, the percentage of eighth-grade students who were deemed proficient in reading was 31% in 2024, up slightly from 26% in 2022.
The percentage of Austin ISD fourth graders deemed proficient in reading was 34% in 2024, down slightly from 37% in 2022.
About 46% of Austin ISD fourth graders were deemed proficient in math in 2024, up significantly from 39% in 2022.
About 29% of Austin ISD eighth graders were deemed proficient in math in 2024, up slightly from 27% in 2022.
The NAEP is administered in both reading and math roughly every two years in every state.
WFAA contributed to this report.