New national assessment results released earlier this week are just the latest to send a clear message: students in our nation’s public schools need more support. National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) results released earlier this year for fourth and eighth graders showed how schools aren’t sufficiently supporting students in reading and math. And the NAEP results released earlier this week demonstrate that trend continues in high school.

Literacy is one of the major civil rights issues of our time, and we are in the midst of a literacy crisis. There is a lot of focus on early literacy, because third grade reading proficiency is a key predictor of future success. Unfortunately, less attention has been paid to literacy in later grades — and reading scores for 12th graders are at an all-time low.

• Just two-thirds of all students scored at or above basic – meaning 1 out of 3 students is leaving high school without the skills to, for example, use context to determine the meaning of unknown words.
• This pattern is worse for the groups of students who are consistently underserved in our nation’s schools: 51% of Black, 41% of Latino, and 43% of students from low-income backgrounds scored below basic on the 2024 reading assessment.

There is a similar story in math. Every student is a “math person” — we must dismantle the myth that makes any student believe the contrary. Basic math skills are a necessity of everyday life, and access to and success in advanced math courses in high school opens doors to a host of career opportunities in higher-paying STEM fields. Unfortunately, too many of the country’s 12th graders are not getting the math preparation they need.

• Just over half (54%) of all students scored at or above basic, including 30% of Black students, 40% of Latino students, and 38% of students from low-income backgrounds.
• This means that too many students cannot, for example, apply percentages to solve real world problems like calculating a tip on a dinner bill or the discount for an item that is on sale.

NAEP also released results for eighth grade science. Middle school is a critical time for students to begin developing college and career aspirations, and to build 21st century skills that will equip them for the jobs of tomorrow — even if they don’t exist yet. Unfortunately, the data released shows that schools need to do so much more to prepare eighth graders to succeed in science.

• While 61% of all students scored at or above basic, the same is true for just 47% of students from low-income backgrounds, 38% of Black students, and 47% of Latino students.
• In addition, there is a shocking decrease in the percentage of students with high levels of confidence in science — from 34% in 2019 to 28% in 2024.

Yes, these results are dismal. There’s been much focus on declines in NAEP scores — and rightfully so. For some subjects and grades, including 12th grade reading, all the progress that has been made to improve student achievement over the last 30 years has been lost. Reading scores for high school seniors are now lower than they were in 1992.

Amid a backdrop of the Great American Heist that is stealing students’ futures, and the Trump administration’s campaign to “return education to the states” — explicitly inviting states to request waivers from key funding and accountability provisions in the main K-12 federal education law — these latest results from NAEP show that, in fact, states are not ready for that responsibility without guidance and oversight. NAEP scores, especially for lower performing students, have been declining for about a decade — coinciding with the last time the U.S. Department of Education invited states to request waivers from federal requirements.

The federal government, states, and school districts must come together to identify, fund, and implement evidence-based strategies to improve educational opportunities for students — especially students of color, students from low-income backgrounds, English learners, and students with disabilities. We know what works: improving literacy instruction and curricular representation, improving access to diverse educators, and building strong accountability systems. And we know what doesn’t work: private school voucher programs that drain money from public schools to unaccountable private institutions, grade retention, and punitive approaches to truancy that fail to address the root causes of chronic absenteeism.

It’s also important to remember that these scores are being released — on a delayed schedule — while concerns are increasing about disappearing data and research, changes with the schedule and general future of NAEP, and the integrity of data and statistics from the federal government. As this release shows, the NAEP data is essential to highlight gaps and help make the case for additional resources. Education advocates must continue to monitor what data continues to come out from the Department of Education about how state, district, and school leaders are meeting students’ needs.