US High School Students Continue Decline in Math and Reading Proficiency, Raising Concerns About Academic Preparedness
Recent national assessment data reveal that American high school students are continuing a yearslong decline in core academic skills, particularly in math and reading. Results from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), often called “The Nation’s Report Card,” released in early 2025, showed marked decreases in performance for 12th graders, alongside longer-term declines seen in younger grades.
The NAEP scores for the class of 2024, administered a few months before their graduation, highlight troubling trends. In both math and reading, average scores declined compared to previous years, with all but the highest-performing students registering lower results. In particular, only 33% of 12th graders were estimated to be ready for college-level math, down from 37% in 2019. These numbers suggest a troubling gap between students’ academic skills and the demands they will face in higher education and the workforce.
Lesley Muldoon, executive director of the National Assessment Governing Board, stressed the gravity of these findings, stating, “Students are taking their next steps in life with fewer skills and less knowledge in core academics than their predecessors a decade ago.” She emphasized the importance of using assessment data like NAEP as a tool for driving educational improvements.
The decline is not limited to high school seniors. The January 2025 NAEP report highlighted continued drops in reading scores among 4th and 8th graders. Average reading scores fell by 2 points from 2022 to 2024 in both grades, continuing a downward trend that began well before the COVID-19 pandemic. No state showed gains in reading scores over this period, except for a single large urban district—Atlanta Public Schools—which recorded some improvement in 4th grade reading.
Patrick Kelly, a member of the National Assessment Governing Board and an educator, warned that “student academic achievement is the cornerstone of national success and security,” describing the current lack of progress as a threat to the country’s future.
Moreover, the data indicate growing disparities between higher and lower-performing students in math, further complicating efforts to close achievement gaps. Although more than half of high school seniors reported acceptance into four-year colleges, the discrepancy between college admission and academic readiness highlights challenges facing students transitioning to postsecondary education.
Efforts to reverse these trends will require focused policy changes and investments in education, with an emphasis on addressing both the immediate impact of the pandemic and the systemic issues affecting educational outcomes. The Governing Board urges educators, policymakers, and the public to leverage NAEP data to inform strategies that boost student learning and prepare young Americans for future societal and economic demands.