American classrooms have been confronted with a crisis that revealed shocking details in a new survey released by the National Assessment of Educational Progress Card (NAEP), also called America’s Report Card.
According to the results issued by the NAEP, eighth-graders’ science scores have decreased by 4 points since 2019, and 12th graders’ math and reading scores dropped by 3 points in the same time period.
The tests were held between the period from January to March 2024.
NAEP, which is responsible for providing data for the Nation’s Report Card, is authorized by Congress and is the largest national representative test to know the American students' learning metrics.
Back in 1969, NAEP tests were introduced for the very first time. The average 12th-grade math score was recorded as the lowest since the assessment program began in 2005.
In 2024, the average 12th-grade reading was the lowest when compared to all the previous assessment results.
In science, the 2024 assessment results reveal a historic decline in eighth-graders’ average science scores, marking the first drop since NAEP began that assessment process in 2009 for science.
According to Lesley Muldon, who is executive director of the NAEP Governing Board, the test reveals an alarming trend.
She says, “This means these students are taking their next steps on life with fewer skills and less knowledge in core academics than their predecessors a decade ago."
"And this is happening at a time when rapid advancements in technology and society demand more of future workers and citizens - not less.”
According to the NAEP, students are performing worse on average than they did in previous years.
In a nutshell, the results indicate a decline in student performance since 2019.
The report by the NAEP also spotlights a rise in chronic absenteeism nationwide, with 31 percent of 12th graders missing for three or more days of school in the past month, up from 26 percent in 2019.
Since the Trump administration made cuts to the US Education Department, it is the first time that NAEP has released its assessment results.
Following the cuts, the department abandoned about a dozen national and state-level assessments through 2032, affecting tests planned for the students of 12th grade, with half of those tests intended for them.
