E4E Reacts to NAEP Results Showing Alarming Declines and Widening Gaps

Scores paint grim picture as Washington continues to slash federal funding, though NY state scores show signs of progress   

September 9 (New York) — Educators for Excellence (E4E) today responded to newly released National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) scores, which show deeply concerning declines and widening equity gaps in 8th-grade science and 12th-grade reading and math since 2019. The results underscore an urgent need for increased federal, state, and local investment in student learning and data collection–at a time when President Trump and Congress are pursuing the opposite.

Reading scores for 12th graders dipped for all but the highest-achieving students, reaching the lowest average score in the test’s history. Eighth-grade science scores declined to where they stood in 2009, and low-performing students’ scores dropped most significantly, making the gap between high- and low-performers the widest it’s ever been. Average 12th-grade math scores dropped by three points since 2019, dipping below where they were in 2005, when this version of the math test was first administered.

Though the need for student and teacher supports are stronger than ever before, the Trump administration and Congress have taken significant steps to radically scale back federal education spending and data collection. The U.S. Department of Education (USDE) laid off half of the Institute on Education Sciences (IES) staff, and the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which administers NAEP, eliminated a dozen tests in various subjects and grade levels. 

The Trump administration’s budget proposal for next fiscal year–currently being hashed out in Congress–recommends cutting education research funding by $980 million, including direct cuts to NAEP. These cuts defy the values of our country’s teachers; a 2025 nationally representative survey found that 79% of teachers–and 81% of Republican teachers–favor the collection of student achievement data to identify opportunity gaps among schools and student subgroups.

“Teachers rely on data every day to tailor instruction, challenging high achievers and supporting struggling students,” said Jennifer López, a high school social studies teacher in Los Angeles Unified School District. “It’s unfathomable that the federal government would pursue eliminating the funding and tools that allow us to mirror that approach when attempting to support our students equitably across the country.”

A gender gap re-emerged in 8th-grade science scores, with female students falling behind their male peers after progress had been made in closing this gap in the years leading up to the pandemic. Additionally, nearly one-third of 12th graders reported missing three or more days of school in the month prior to taking the assessment, compared to 25% in 2019. 

While the dampening effect of the pandemic on national student achievement appears to persist in these most recent scores, other assessment data–like from the recent 2025 New York State test scores–offer a roadmap to success. After launching NYC Reads, which invested heavily in uniform high-quality curricula and aligned professional learning across New York City Public Schools (NYCPS), the nation’s largest school system saw a seven-point jump in third-grade reading scores.

“Since the pandemic–and in some cases before then–NAEP scores have shown declines across the board. Cutting the tools we use to identify and remedy those gaps is like unplugging a fire alarm because it’s blaring too loudly,” said Marielys Divanne, Executive Director of Educators for Excellence-New York. “Instead of covering our ears to tune out that alarm bell, we should look to examples like high-quality literacy curricula and aligned PL in NYCPS and working to replicate that success across the country.”

Today’s NAEP scores highlight how essential federal investment in student learning and data collection is to addressing persistent and widening disparities. Congress must reverse course and fully fund both student supports and the data tools that help educators target resources to the students who need them most. Educators for Excellence is committed to continuing to hold them accountable for doing so in coalition with the teachers we serve and the dozens of education organizations working to protect and improve public education at the federal level. 

The NAEP assessments reported today were administered between January and March 2024. They represent the first national report on student learning since the Trump administration began making large cuts to federal education spending. They are also the first assessments of the subjects in the tested grade levels since before the COVID-19 pandemic.