Today, evaluations in mathematics and reading are given every two years to a wide sample of students in fourth and eighth grade; 12th grade students receive them every four years. Naep also manages voluntary evaluations in other subjects outside the mandate of Congress.
What to do with the test scores
Reading scores fell for 12th grade students, they wait among the most eachiving studies, compared to 2019, the last time this test was administered. Compared to the first 12th grade reading evaluation of Naep, in 1992, the current average score is 10 points lower.
“The scores for our lower performance students are in a historical decrease in the minimums, which is more than a decade ago,” Matthew Soldner, an interim director of EIS, told journalists. “My predecessor warned about this trend, and its predecessor also warned about this trend. And now I am warning you of this trend.”
The 2024 evaluation evaluated students for reading comprehension skills and surveyed on opportunities to learn and interact with reading inside and outside school.
The mathematical scores of twelfth grade fell the same amount as the reading scores and were 3 lower points than in 2005, the first time this version of the mathematics test was administered.
“These results should be galvanized to all to take concerted and focused measures to accelerate student learning,” Soldner said.
Among the eighth grade students, the average science score fell 4 points compared to 2019. Student scores decreased in all areas, both for low and high performance students.
In addition to measuring the academic performance of students, Naep also examines things such as the level of comfort of students with certain subjects and their assistance. In these surveys, a minor participation of eighth grade students indicated high levels of confidence in their scientific skills compared to their counterparts in 2019.
And almost a third of 12th grade students reported that three or more school days were missing in the month prior to the evaluation evaluation in 2024, an increase of 2019.
How changes in the Education Department are impacting students’ evaluations.
Legally, the federal government It has no power About what is taught in schools. So, while the launch of Tuesday is measured student performance under President Biden, experts avoid linking Naep scores with any partular administration.
“The federal government is in a unique position with these test scores to be the marker of American education, to tell us what is happening and for whom,” says Nat Malkus, deputy director of the Institution of Educational Policy. “[That] It does not mean that you have the ability to solve these problems. That is a job for the United States. “
But behind the scene, federal changes have It had an impact on how the Nation’s qualifications card is administered, according to a senior official at the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), which NAEP manages.
The official, who informed journalists on anonymity, confirmed that the cut to the United States Department of Education left only two senior employees assigned to NAEP and said that NCE was based on the addition of colleagues in other departments to obtain the new release.
Nes confirmed that, to comply with the evidence mandates of the Congress in 2026 and 2028, the Secretary of Education of the United States, Linda McMahon, approved an exemption to add at least eight staff positions before the end of the year.
Marty West is at the Massachusetts Primary and Secondary Education Board and is vice president of the National Evaluation Governing Board (NAGB), which establishes Naep’s policy. He says he trusts the ability of the department to comply with Naep’s deadlines in the future: “The preparation for the evidence that will be administered in early 2026, for example, really started five years ago and were quite down.”
There will also be Ferwer deadlines to meet. This spring, the NAGB cut to a box, planned evaluations for the fourth grade science, the history of the USA and the writing in the fourth grade in the room, eighth and twelfth grade, which were administered to administer approximately the next seven years.
“It was not too unusual in terms of the history of the program,” says West about the update of the evaluation schedule. “We feel [it] It was an important step for us to allow our cocklesagues in NCE to focus their energy on the evidence we feel were more important. “Among them are mathematics and reading tests.
NAGB is an independent and non -partisan organization composed of state and local representatives.
