NAEP Scores Highlight The Growing Challenge We Face

NTLC Member and Massachusetts educator Genelle Faulkner reflects on the 2024 Nation’s Report Card scores

Last month, the Nation’s Report Card (NAEP) 2024 scores confirmed what millions of other teachers and I already knew: our students, particularly those already struggling, have not even scratched the surface of post-pandemic academic recovery. In fact, they’ve fallen further behind, and the vast, pre-existing gaps between the highest-performing students and those struggling the most have widened further. 

Though I knew this would likely be the case, seeing the scores was a stark reminder of how deeply the pandemic impacted student learning and the growing challenge we face to close the widening achievement gap. While this is frustrating, we must remain hopeful, policy-focused, and solutions-driven in our commitment to improving education.

The national average for reading declined by two points in both fourth and eighth grade, while math scores rose by just one point in fourth grade and remained stagnant in eighth. Low-performing students saw the most significant effect, driving the vast majority of the national decrease, with fourth and eighth graders posting the worst reading scores in over 30 years. 

My home state of Massachusetts, often praised for its public education system, did not escape these trends. While scores remained above the national average, they haven’t yet rebounded to pre-pandemic levels. Across all grade levels, diverse and economically disadvantaged student populations continue to show lower scores in English and math, with gaps as high as 39 points between students identified as economically disadvantaged and their peers. 

These results are unacceptable. Also unacceptable—even unfathomable—is the new federal administration’s response to them. Rolling back federal education resources at precisely the moment schools need them most is the wrong answer to a long intractable problem. 

The results also reinforce the urgency of our work as educators and activists. We must call on the federal government to play its part in bolstering teacher diversity and retention, equitable school funding systems, high-quality and culturally relevant curriculum implementation, and welcoming and inclusive learning environments—all things laid out in E4E’s National Policy Agenda. 

As educators and advocates, our voices are essential to driving change. Student success, particularly for our most vulnerable populations, is at stake. President Trump’s Education Secretary must hear directly from us what needs to be done to move forward, not back.

We owe this to our students and ourselves. Join us: sign our petition today calling on the federal government to reimagine our education system—not dismantle it.

Genelle Faulkner